The story is always the same whenever a new survey is released about customer service.  Banks, Tech, Utilities, Airlines, Media,  consistently top the list for complaints and customer dissatisfaction.  We see it in dozens of published surveys – and in our own annual search for the best service providers. The big question is, why? 

The puzzling part is that most of these companies spend a lot of time and money in training and development (with the exception of tech and massive media companies that care little about customer service) — so what is causing this seemingly chronic problem?  There are three primary reasons:

1.  They’re Big, Customers are Small

From the minute you reach their automated phone system or AI chatbot, you know you’re a minuscule minnow in an ocean of unimportant customers. You’re one of a zillion ticket numbers in a database that is never visited by anyone of any seniority in a company.  If – and it’s a big if these days – you finally navigate the excruciating process to get through to an agent – you instantly realize that they lack knowledge, empowerment or caring.  Your personal needs and situation are unimportant.  They have Rules and Processes, and if you want the privilege of being one of their customers, you have to fit neatly into a box.

We are trapped

Customers often talk about a profound sense of helplessness and absence of control.  Yes, we can vote with our feet and move someplace else (except for Utilities, where you can’t even do that), but we know that the next company won’t be much better.  We feel, for all intents and purposes – trapped.

We have developed an instinctive distrust of large organizations

There are some companies that actively work to overcome the negative customer perceptions created by their bigness. But the challenge they face is significant. Customers have developed an instinctive distrust of large organizations, and they are natural targets for people who like to find fault.  How many times have we heard people mocking companies such as McDonalds and Wal-Mart? Despite the fact that they remain two of the most successful organizations on the planet, people seem to love to hate them.  For many people, Big = Bad.

2.  They’re Public Companies

Shareholders care about profits

Creating a sustainable customer service culture takes time, investment and patience.  The payoff is there, and can be huge.  There are countless studies and case histories to support this.  But these three things are almost impossible to achieve in an environment that is driven by quarterly financial reports.  Shareholders look for one thing – profits.  Long-term, even medium-term planning, can be CEO killers.

ROI that a kindergartner can understand

They also look for linear ROI — none of this subtle stuff. It’s easier to justify an AI chatbot, for example, at a cost of pennies per interaction, than it is on teams of live, skilled agents that can cost many times that.  Hard, immediate-gratification numbers are easy to grasp than a bigger picture with a nuanced, sustainable and more profitable journey.

The value of live agents – more first-call resolution, reduced conflict, higher customer loyalty, higher customer retention, more positive word-of-mouth – is profound, but almost impossible to quantify in a straight line. 

3.  Customer Experience is a Line Item – Not a Philosophy

Organizations that have a genuine customer focus have it embedded in their corporate DNA.  From the CEO down, customer experience is treated as an objective – a core means by which they turn a profit.  Most companies don’t – despite what it might say on their mission statement.

Not convinced? Take a look at the KPIs for people in most leadership positions.  Think you’ll find items related to customer satisfaction? Not likely. They are more likely weighted toward productivity and efficiency. All too often, we hear HR managers talking about initiatives not being championed by the very leaders they are designed to assist.

It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way

It doesn’t have to be this way. There do exist large companies who have overcome these obstacles to customer engagement and satisfaction.  There are the classic examples like Disney, Southwest Airlines, and Four Seasons. The advantage they had, of course, is that customer experience was part of their DNA from their very start.  They didn’t have to undo pre-existing beliefs and create new ones.

But imagine what would happen if, for example, a Telecom company actually made the transformation.  Imagine if people started to talk about them in the same breath as Disney. Where do you suppose that company would be sitting in their hyper-competitive market.  You’ve got it – right at the top.

This is what it would take

What will it take for a company to rise to the top in customers’ minds? For an organization to actually transform themselves, they will need four things:

a) A CEO absolutely passionate about cx, supported by shareholders

b) A CX-focused transformation of policies, processes, people, and practices

c) Customer experience accepted as the primary focus of all leaders

d) Time and Patience