Expecting Satisfaction
I learned something pretty useful as the result of a recent air travel issue with my daughter flying home at break from The U. She was unhappy with me at the length of time her connection was going to take in Atlanta. Then a flight change notice can to my inbox making the connection even worse, so I called to see what might be possible to improve things. Well, it turns out that airline policy allows for a certain degree of changes to occur (even to unchangeable tickets) if they cause issues due to a flight change. In this case, I was able to switch the segments to a much more favorable connection through Baltimore at no charge even though this was a more expensive option at the time of the booking.
It would have been awfully useful to know this sooner. I have encountered hundreds of itinerary changes over the years that I have never taken advantage of previously. Since that episode with my daughter’s flight I have been able to make a few ugly flight connections quite more tolerable (including the arrangement of a few non-stops here and there). How come nobody told me this before? I would feel much less animosity toward the airline industry if I had been able to pull these strings starting long before.
So, let’s use this situation to dig into the customer service function a bit. Much of the focus within the customer service center has traditionally been on the tasks performed by the CSR managing cases as they come in – how to effectively capture, assign, track and close them with resolution as fast as possible. More recently a greater focus has been given to the capabilities around managing entitlement. Many organizations had been casual or even lax in their enforcement of the provision of the correct level of service with the correct customer. Process improvements along with more sophisticated CRM software have enabled CSR’s to reduce the amount of free service given away. This may seem unpleasant as a customer, but it is much better for the bottom line.
If these two customer service capabilities are being managed well, the next area of focus should probably be given to Expectation Management, especially when the objectives include improving the customer experience.
Expectation Management is all about pretty much exactly what the name implies – setting and guiding the expectations of the customer throughout the customer lifecycle. This is also one of the more complex practices within customer service as it tends to involve, in some capacity, not only all capabilities within customer service, but also touches sales and marketing as well.
Expectation Management finds its origins within the commercial business strategy and the customer segmentation model that drives the service tier structure. Depending on their segment a customer should expect a certain level of service commensurate with their tier. You get better service in first class than in the cattle cabin and your expectations should be aligned with that. This location in the hierarchy impacts the degree to which the CSR can fulfill a service request. A quick check at your status and the gate agent knows how to work within the rules set for your class. But, Expectation Management goes beyond just the delivery of entitled service, it helps the customer be prepared and aligned with that level – the customer can be conditioned what to expect.
The best customer Expectation Management begins at the point of product or service awareness, either through branding and or campaign messaging. Expectations about service literally begin before the purchase, but they can be further influenced at the time of signing on the dotted line. I remember buying a sofa sectional specifically because of the store providing a lifetime stain removal. When I actually pulled out the credit card to consummate the deal, I was given a bunch of additional information and advice regarding how to and how not to get the stain removed. This proved useful later when the inevitable red wine decorated the furniture following a party. I am glad I knew what to really expect.
When it comes time for the actual service event, it is pretty late in the cycle for addressing an incorrectly reached expectation. This is a situation that will typically erode satisfaction and commensurate loyalty. If someone purchases software with the assumption that a live human being will help them on the other end of a phone line should the application fail to perform, they are likely to be dissatisfied should they be driven only to FAQ’s on the website for assistance. This is the reason why so much software packaging now includes explicit messaging regarding support right on the front of the box.
Incorrectly set expectations can also hurt customer satisfaction whey they are set too low. Just as the airline example at the beginning of this post, if an individual has a service need that they don’t understand can be addressed by a CSR, they may harbor ill feelings toward the product vendor or even though it could have been corrected.
Yes, the CSR does have some room to make incidents reached through incorrect expectations better. They can offer a one-time exception or they can offer some modest compensatory token to help recover some good will. More and more, CSR’s are given the ability to up-sell the customer to a higher tier of service, thereby immediately raising entitlement and satisfaction. This works especially well if the individual does not recognize they have purchased their way into the cellar. It works especially poorly when it appears like a bait and switch. Freeware falls into this latter category quite frequently. Training around proper messaging and timing is key for this to work successfully.
One final element of proper Expectation Management, which extends beyond the service incident, is the use of feedback mechanisms that monitor the customer experience through follow up assessment. Typically this is conducted with a brief request to the customer to rate their experience via an unobtrusive e-mail or a drop-in-the-mail-card. This can serve two key objectives. First, if the incident was positive it helps reinforce the expectation of future positive experience, which then drives up satisfaction and loyalty. Second, if the expectation was not met due to an incorrectly set expectation, it can provide a channel for remediation that may be otherwise lost, perpetuating dissatisfaction and eroding loyalty.
Without question, Expectation Management has a lot of moving parts and is interwoven into all aspects of the customer service function as well as throughout the customer lifecycle. It is hard to get it right, but there are means for optimizing satisfaction through correct processes and attention to the intelligence provided through well managed customer data. My only wish is that the airlines would get better at this aspect of customer service.