life (over ip)

As much as I love the convenience of online shopping, information and service, there are certain services that must be provided by humans, whether in-person or remotely. And my question is: are the hours that these services are provided a matter of provider convenience, or intended to be convenient to consumers?

What’s got my back up about this is medical professionals. My two girls need a bunch of specialists, few, if any, of which, offer hours outside the school day. So, both kids are missing school on a regular basis because their medical conditions have to be addressed. Is that consumer-friendly, or is it a scarce resource pressing their advantage?

I have the same issues with my providers. There are no evening hours anymore, and not many weekend ones, except in emergencies. At the same time, there is pressure to not take time off from work; I’ve already gotten some comments of mild annoyance at all the testing a 50-year old needs. Judi’s frazzled enough with 2 jobs without having to shift her work hours to accommodate the shlepping to and from doctors and therapists.

Let’s go beyond doctors and dentists to the general problem of customer service. Are customer service lines open during your normal business hours, or during the company’s? If they are open during your normal hours, do you get the same quality of staff – or is the B team up to bat? Is follow-up done when it’s convenient to you, or the staff that’s working on your problem?

The good news is that there’s business to be had in adapting to your customers’ needs (you do it for your products – why not your service?). Be there when the consumer needs it, with solutions for the common issues, and tight response guidelines when you don’t have a ready solution. No more of this "we’ll respond to your email within 24 hours" – why not "we’ll respond back to you within an hour?" It’s not so hard to have a human being call back in an hour to say that they’ve been assigned to your case and to ask any clarifying questions – as well as "when would you like me to follow up with you next?" A customer with a problem first and foremost wants to know that the issue is being looked at and is progressing; all but the most heartless realize that all but the simplest problems take time to diagnose and remedy.

If you were on the receiving end, with an issue you wanted resolved, would you be so patient and understanding (other than trying to mollify the company rep so your case doesn’t get pushed to the bottom of the pile)?

Help your customer when they want it, where they want it, how they want it. Smile when you do it. You get bonus points if you also compensate them for their trouble (I’m still impressed that Starbucks gives you a coupon for a free drink if they screw up your order somehow).

Tags: customer service, convenience, medical, Starbucks, normal business hours, follow-up