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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

remarkable customer service

"I'm using the word remarkable literally—the goal is to provide customer service so good that people remark."
so says joel in a recent article on the topic of customer service. i guess i'm not ignorant of the theories and principles in customer service, as mostly covered in the 7 steps joel expounds in the article. having worked in various customer service roles for some time now, i am much more aware of the occasional good and often ordinary or sometimes bad customer service that i receive as a customer - but i can't say that i set out to provide remarkable customer service. maybe because i'm getting rather sick of my current role, and because the 8th step to providing customer service seems to be somewhat lacking in my workplace...

and maybe if customer service staff were given the freedom to provide customer service without the constraints of having their performance measured by average call handling times and the like. one colleague, when asked by a customer as to what it's like to work here, answered:
"I have two words for you: battery hens."
i thought it was funny. if only it didn't sometimes feel too true!

2 comments:

  1. LOL. Really, battery hens? Are the workstations that cramped? *chuckles*

    In all seriousness, "battery hens" is an apt description of my office - the kitchen can barely fit 3 people at any 1 time. I hope we will move out one day to a more modern & spacious office. Riparian Plaza would be nice....

    At a glance, an interesting article. Perhaps i will read it more carefully next time.

    Oh, & have a safe trip & have a great break - I'm sure u will.

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  2. actually it wasn't so much the space (we aren't that cramped), moreso that you (along with everyone else in that section of the office) sit there and do nothing else but answer phone calls all day... and that's pretty much the only thing you can do -- like a battery hen sits there all day with the sole purpose of laying eggs and eventually becoming finger licking goodness ;)

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