Hacker Love: Why you should encourage hacking in your CSRs.
Kitty Hacker
Customer watchdog service site The Consumerist calls them “customer service ninjas”— they’re the
people who know the tricks and tips that can get you, the hapless consumer, real help.
“Well, off the record,
I tried this once and it worked for my last customer” they whisper, pulling
back the curtain to reveal the magical world of true assistance.
When the customer is in a catch-22, the software design is
not customer-friendly, or the situation is rapidly becoming a “horror story”,
the best reps step in with a creative solution, a backdoor key, a “work around”
…a hack.
Customer service “hackers” just might be your most
undervalued resource.
What exactly is a hack? (And what is not a hack!)
A “hack” is a piece of advice, tip, hint, trick, reminder,
or extra step that helps the customer do
what they want to do—while still remaining on the right side of the law.
It’s generally not available to the general public and may
have been something the customer service rep has only learned over time, from
dealing with the same issues over and over.
For example, if your
business requires a credit card to be on file for paperless billing, but paper
billing has a charge associated with it…you’re going to get a lot of irate
customers demanding either:
a)
E-billing with no card on file
or
b)
Free
paper billing
(This is the actual set-up at a major company I worked with,
not just a dystopian nightmare, sadly).
How did the reps find a way to give the customer what they
wanted (no fees but no card on file
either) while giving the system what it wanted (card on file or fees)?
Customer Service Hack: Put a prepaid credit card with a very low balance
on file and stay on paperless billing. Then pay the bill however you
like—credit card online, check, Money Order.
No more worries about overdraft fees resulting
from “oopsie” charges to a debit/ credit card, no more rushing to the bank to
deposit money onto a little-used card, and no fees for a paper bill either!
So what is NOT a
hack?
A hack is NOT
cutting corners, breaking rules, bending the law, or lying—its essence is not
evil manipulation of the system, it’s navigating the system using your
experience while staying within the rules.
Why use hacks?
Training manuals
can’t cover everything
The state of training in most corporate call centers is…not
terrific. Manuals and activities are designed “by committee.” Global Heads usually set a course (often
following the latest training trends) that gets filtered and diluted as it
trickles down to the trainer level. And, by and large, training departments
move as a herd—innovative ideas often get crushed by the wheels of “This is how
we’ve always done it.”
By necessity, training manuals can’t cover all possible
situations (how to manage “grandfathered-in” accounts, keyboard shortcuts that
let you skip entering a zip code for nervous customers, etc), and all possible
work around-s. That’s where your hackers come in.
The source has street
cred with your staff
Most of us know that the stiff, overly- scripted role plays
you set up during training will be forgotten on Day 1 in the babble of ringing
phones, screaming customers, and howling floor managers—the real trainers
are the hackers already on the phones—experienced customer service agents
who’ve learned the little secrets that can make things so much easier.
Like bootleg cassette tapes passed from glove box to mailbox
to P.O. box, these tricks, tips, and hints are usually flying beneath the
company’s official radar—and that’s fine. People tend to believe word of mouth
much more than memos from on high anyway.
It makes the customer
feel like they’re getting special treatment
From everything I’ve seen on peer- to- peer forums, blogs,
and support websites, customers just love being “in the know.” If giving them a
little more information like “Stop by
your local [phone company and internet provider’s] office, the guys on the
ground level often know about upcoming installation plans.” gives the customer
a thrill with their daily dose of Vitamin IVR, why not try it?
It gives your
customer service reps the ability to do a great job
For almost everyone, feeling that they have the power to do
a great job is paramount for job satisfaction. Money, perks, job titles and the
like only go so far in attracting and retaining true talent. Getting paid big
bucks to say “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I can’t waive those fees”
over and over doesn’t feel good to most people. Hello, turnover for “personal
reasons-other.”
Your best reps take
pride in being Super Agents- able to solve any problem, and work with any
customer to find a workable solution. Give them the power to achieve this.
Happy reps makes happy operations departments, happy managers, and ultimately,
happy customers!
How do you find hacks and make
hackers?
Ask your Team Managers for the names of a few of the top
performing people, take them for coffee on their break, and butter them up.
Then ask them for a few tips they would give newbies that maybe got “left off”
the training manual. You can also run an informal, friendly Focus Group
Discussion, where you ask for the “top five” tips “off the books” or things
like that. Be sure to bring food!
Quietly use their
advice in your next training class “just in time”—when you get to the part of
training where the hack would be useful, introduce it and explain it—gently
stressing that this could really come in handy next time the trainees are
between a rock and an irate customer.
If you audit calls and coach, be sure to praise creative
solutions and hacks when you hear them: “I
really liked it when you gave your customer the1-800 number for that out- of -scope
equipment provider. It’s not required, but you really went above and beyond to
find a solution.”
You can also send out
email blasts or post on your SharePoint site “Work- Around of the Day” or “Best
Solution Award”—so that those agents already on the floor have a chance to
benefit from your treasures as well.
Then watch your NPS grow thanks to hackers!
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