Where should I start this morning? I travelled recently and, as often happens with a crazy rush trip through another country, my mind is abuzz with ideas based on my recent experiences. Travelling is a great way to broaden one’s mind and exposure. I was not going too far this time; a quick nip across our southern border for a blitz training course.
There were things that worked and there were things that failed miserably. I was, as most people are, thoroughly delighted with those that worked. When something goes well we often do not give a second thought to the system behind it. I booked practically everything online; flights, accommodation, vehicle hire. It all worked seamlessly. Checking in was this beautiful 5 minute experience that already had all my details integrated into the system. Somewhere along the line someone had thought ‘what do people want to do when they get to a hotel/airport?’ The answer is clearly not ‘spend hours checking in’. So they have designed their system to make it as painless as possible. Which part of your business do clients hate the most and how can you make it easier to navigate? Which part do they love the most and how can you make not just this part, but the process of getting to it as wonderful as possible?
Two great tips here on making it work. Firstly someone else may have already solved your problem. There may be an app or more complex piece of software that meets your need. Second is really listening to and study your clients. It could be as simple as having the staff record everything that people ever come in looking for but cannot find. I love the late night hours option for shopping at petrol stations...I just do not like what they have on their shelves. There are probably a fairly small number of things that someone rushing home at 10pm kicks themselves for forgetting to buy. Not only that, the quality of good probably varies from area to area. Do some research on what people really look for from you and you may end up attracting more clients.
What did not work this trip? Shopping for trousers! I have no idea why obtaining a pair of premade longs is always such a big deal in my life. Shirt shopping is never an issue. Finding socks is a breeze. The moment that I need a pair of jeans or chinos the wheels just seem to come off the store. It is not like I am an extreme size, in fact if anything I am pretty average in my waistline. A large department store seemed like the best option so in I went. There were the two colours and size I wanted. I got excited; perhaps this was the moment of perfect trouser shopping I had been looking for all my life. Turned out it was premature. One pair fitted great. The next one, despite telling me it was the same size, would not make it over my hips. According to the store clerk this had something to do with manufacturers and cuts being different (as a large multi chain department store I’m pretty sure they have the leverage to push back on suppliers and demand that standard sizing is just that). So now I had to look for a larger size, there wasn’t one on the shelves. Different store clerk offered to check in their system to see if they have one. Sadly the system was wrong and when she ran into the back to grab the promised pair she could not find one. I got told simply ‘there aren’t any’. And she vanished. No other solution. No offers to check another branch, or to see if there is anything similar that would meet my needs in store. Once in a while IT systems fail. This one was dismal. For whatever reason there was no notification system to reorder stock at critical levels (a process which can be automated). It is more likely, given the shabby quality of service I received, that it was an ID-10-T error. At some point a human will have to deal with your client. That human can be your best or worst asset at that point.
Sadly too many organisations, in their race to cut costs, are hiring the cheapest, most generic people that they can lay their hands on to serve as their front line. While they would like the best their hiring process and salary structure means that often they fall far short of that. Then when the system fails they buy a new and better upgrade of the software but leave the same person running it. Pick your people carefully, train them well, equip them with well crafted systems, have them become your voice and let them tell your story the way you want it told.
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