Customer Service: Where's it at/going

[Alan W]

In todays Houston Chronicle an article appeared about Blue Shield Blue Cross. They are no longer bonusing doctors for productivity. It will now be rewards for customer service. Golly. What happened? Well, first the insurance company said: You will be rewarded for volume. Then the service dropped. When medical care and service drops, patients complain. When patients complain, insurance companies back off. Remember that statement.

All of a sudden, the customer is speaking and being heard very loud. In another article, it was stated that the American Message Therepy Association has elevated from certification to licensing. Gee. It seems that the customer again has spoken. If certified message therapists make their clientelle happy, those who are certified suddenly take on a new level of status. And, now, message therepists are LICENSED to perform their services.
Here in the state of Texas, you can't wash someones hair without a license, but to make glasses and fit contacts, you can slide in over the border!

It seems that opticians are trailing in the seriousness race about certification. But, COT's and what not are getting some recognition. You're not certified? Not paid enough? Treated like a sales clerck? Or, is that all you are? Well, it's time to wake up. In fact, it's time for more than only you to wake up.

There's no excuse for not being certified. None at all. It's not for the raise. It's for survival. You need to be set apart from an ordinary frame stylist or you will cave in. And, if you are already certified, you need to demand recognition for and need to acquire additional skills. Or, you will be relegated to the ranks of converted jewelry counter sales people now called "Eyecare Professionals" as one chain calls it. Those people pass the ABO after 12 hours of preparation. What's next? Specialty certification. Clinical, cosmetic and manufacturing. Just you watch. Doesn't exist yet . . . demand it. Keep on going and force every organization you can belong to who will push for it.

There's more. Join The Opticians Association of America. There's the only voice you'll have in the legislature. Later, when the International Opticians Council opens its doors, you'll have a greater voice in the marketplace, where THE CUSTOMER IS. They'll work in concert.

Finally, get ready for a revolution in customer service recognition. Doctors are now about to be measured by the quality of their performance BY THE CUSTOMER, and so will we. Expect it, look forward to it, and be proactive about it . . . work with your organization to get recognition . . . for customer service. If your local or state association doesn't have a legitimate customer service training program, and that doesn't mean how to smile and take PD's 10 different ways, email me. Something needs to be done about it now.

The customer is king. And, don't even think twice about it. Every moment with your customer/patient is a Moment of Truth for yourself and your profession. It's time for change.

Let's get some comment in this thread. There's lots to talk about.

[stephanie]

Wow Alan those are some profound words. I have been saying what you have posted for a long time. In fact when I went to take the practical one of the administrators told me I needed to be a lawyer. Have seen so much in my short experience. Hope to God I never have to see it again. Funny how I took a test on "laws" that day and yet have witnessed first hand every law but maybe two broken. Hmmmm so why have them? What do I do report them? Tell them about it? It will not make people ethical but perhaps it will make them realize they need to be more careful who they be unethical around.

Steph

[Blake]

Even McDonald's is starting to take notice of the importance of customer service. I guess enough people got fed up with waiting a half hour in the drive thru while the teenagers working behind the counter dug deep into the inner recesses of their mind to figure out how much change to give the current customer (for the stores where the cash registers don't have pictures on the keys and automatically spit out the correct amount of change). If you get enough people ticked off, eventually even a large company will feel the effects.
When I read the article about BCBS, I got the impression they were trying to shake off the image of the accountant in the operating room telling the doctor which procedures to perform.

What would you say are the main factors that determine the level of customer satisfaction? If a customer is not educated about the difference between a certified/licensed optician and a clerk/frame stylist, will such credentials make a difference in the customer's eyes? Or will they simply return to the one with the more pleasant personality who seems to know what they're doing?

Blake

[Alan W]

Blake
You raised a totally critical point when you asked what the customer service factors (criteria) are. Opticianry has long felt that customer sevice was the technical aspect brought forward. That simply is NOT true. That's just the icing on the cake.

Customer service begins with a set of behaviors on the part of the server. Karl Albrecht, PhD did a study almost 20 years ago on that and came up with a series of behaviors that fit every customer service situation. And, he called them the 10 Moments of Truth. They have become to be known as 10 Commandments of good customer service. They will be available in a download in a few days and are a modification done in 1993 for Benson Optical Company, now out of retail, due to a corporate raider. . I have waited to do that because previously, 2 years ago, the response was absolute zero. Which was an indicator at the time that attitude was the first thing that needed adjusting and I wasn't here for that. Now its being forced on us . . and that's good.
The optical stuff . . . is a no brainer AND IS THE ACCEPTABLE MINIMUM we all should know and do . .. simple little dumb things like . . . when the patient comes in holding a lens in one hand and a frame in the other, don't just put a new AND CORRECT screw in, flare it so it won't come out again, AND FLARE EVERY OTHER SCREW AFTER TIGHTENING THE. Then tell the customer YOU CHECKED ALL THE SCREWS, FLARED THEM, so they won't come out again. And, while you are at it . . . STRAIGHTEN UP THE ENTIRE FRAME. Imagine the look on the patient/customers face when they put them back on. It is ALWAYS total surprise.
Why should you do this? Because it is your reponsibility to exceed the customers expectations 100% of the time as a professional and as an employee.

We should do this with a goal in mind . . . to quote one of the core values of Lenscrafters (Don't knock it. In the early days that's what they were all about.) . . . "Make your customers enthusiastically happy all of the time!".

This is less than ten per cent of what good customer service is all about. It needs to be shared and passed on to every store, office, and by every training venue we have in opticianry.

There is one other philosophy that absolutely must be imbedded in all our minds and that is we should perform our service not out of the joy of getting paid, and not out of the joy of doing our best as opticians, but out of the joy of serving. It puts a smile on the customer/patients face and on ours when we see it. And, that translates into building a business whether you are a doctor or a retailer.

Let your customer think he's being kissed good by and being sent off to life every day with your blessings . . . and that's one of the 10 Moments of Truth called "Be your customers agent!"

Aren't you sorry you asked?

Peace, Bro!

[Alan W]

I didn't answer your question completely and can't in the space and time here we have. Customer service is a one day course.
But . . .

Long before we become Certified Opticians . . .
a lot longer . . .
We need to be certified customer servants!

And, it's not a certification . . . it's an art!

[Loomy]

Hi Alan, this is a thread I've been waiting for..!
I read an article in the Harvard Business Review magazine about Customer Scenario. It says that you should sit down with your staff and come up with all the customer scenarios you could think of. Then answer them the best way possible.
Like "Why are your prices higher than the one down the street?" "No thanks, just looking?" "This is not what I asked for?" and so on. As you mentioned, how well you manage the Moment of Truth is crucial for the business.
A satisfied customer will buy, multiply and comes back.:)

From the book by Michael Leboeuf "How to win customer and keep them for life" which talks about rewarding their customers is very important. "How customers get treated is a direct reflection of how the management treat employees".
You should:1) Tell the employee, 2) Show the employee, and 3) Measure and reward them.
You should reward employees for excellent customer service.

The customer of the 20th century wants Price, Quality, and Speed. With such intense competition there are only three ways for a business to win and keep customers: service, service, service.
"A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all";)

[Alan W]

You speak the truth, little brother!
Michael LeBouff is one of my heros. He wrote the "Greatest Management Principle", from which the customer service spririt was derived, and "Imagineering", the principles of which I hope will be applied to the development of the International Opticians Council.
By the way, since you are quite international, you would do well to hang out with the IOC, when it reaches puberty!
We have spoken before and so you understand where I am coming from.
Carry on with your philosophy and you'll create a legendary company from the inside out. You will carve out a niche within your marketplace. We talked about service and some of the factors which might slow its progression towards strong presence in the marketplace. So, don't lose that focus . . . tighten it up.
I hope others reading this thread will read the books we are talking about. It will humble a lot of people who have been fighting the tides of real customer service.
We really need to spend some time over humus and falafel and some other great morsels of diversity awareness. You also really need to try out Texas barbeque. Just bring some PEPCID!
But, diversity awareness or not, even in KSA . . customer service is the key.
Peace, bro!

[bwheeler]

These topics constantly remind me to self evaluate and resolve to be better for the next customer. It is a habit that has paid off over the years. The question that has driven that concept is:

If I don't perform these good works for my customer, with the skill and knowlege accumulated over the years, who will?

It is my/our responsiblity to do these things if we are to be proud of our professions.

[mikev]

Alan,

Thank you for the excellent post. You are right
on message about professionalism and the need to
stride for superior customer service!

It's reassuring to know there are others who care
about this.

Looking forward to the download!

Let's take care of the people who put food on our
tables!

Thanks,

Mike ;)

[Darris Chambless]

Hello Alan and all,

Allan, you know I love you and everyone here (some of you several times a night :) but I can't help but point out a very simple, direct truth. What the Chronicle said, what you echoed and eveyone else has substantiated is how it has always been. So many in the industry simpley forgot about it. "The bottom line", "paradigm shifts", "external and internal customers", "team building excersizes" all became the focus of so many in positions of authority. Low and behold it only took about 20 years for them to figure out that the old tried and true ways are the only ones that work time and time again, hence the reason for calling "tried and true."

It always plants an interesting picture in my head when I think about these things. I see a bunch of suits sitting in a big board room talking. The conversation goes something like this:

Suit one-I think we need to really work on the idea of outsourceing.

Suit two-You know that's exactly what I was thinking.

Suit three-That's uncanny. I was thinking the same thing.

Suit one-What do you guys think of internal structuring via source management division?

Suit two-I could see it working.

Suit three-It sounds viable to me. When do we start?

Suit one-As soon as we can get the mission statement completed in triplicate and on my desk to sign.

Suit two-I can see the money pouring in now.

Suit three-This idea will be the greatest ever. We'll make millions.

Then I start laughing uncontrollably because in this scenario NOTHING was done nor will anything be done. It's called self agrandizing. Say a lot of big words, create buzz words and look important. When none of it works, blame somebody else because it must be their fault for not implimenting it to it's fullest extent. This in turn creates more problems because the people that actually do the work and know what's going on have been fired (or downsized) and the only people left are those that talk about outsourcing, paradigm shifts and source management division.

So do we go back to customer service as the mainstay of our business? Um...that never changed. The people in the industry changed and thought it would work. It didn't. So now we're here talking about the "new" idea of customer service and striving to meet that goal. Some of us have been doing it since day one and never stopped simply because the trends were going a different direction. When everything started going cheap and high volume, we went to high end and high quality, but we never forgot about customer service. Guess what? We're still here and growing everyday in an industry that is stacked against independants according to all the CEO's CFO's and statusticians. Hmmm. I wonder what we know that they don't? ;)

Take care and just wanted to give that view to peruse.

Take care,

Darris "Sometimes...Dead is bettah." C.

[JRS]

To add to Darris's dialog:

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. In the cage, hang a banana on a string and put a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the monkeys are sprayed with cold water.

Pretty soon, when any monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it. Now, turn off the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one.

The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one.

The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm.

Again, replace a third original monkey with a new one. The new one makes it to the stairs and is attacked as well. Two of the four monkeys that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing the fourth and fifth original monkeys, all the monkeys, which have been sprayed with cold water, have been replaced.

Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs. Why not?

Because that's the way it's always been around here.

And that's how company policy begins…

[optyx]

Wow!!! Customer service! What a radical concept!!

When you get right down to it we really have nothing else to offer. I know that if I can get product "X" so can thousands of others. If I have more knowledge than the one to my left, the one to my right has more than I do. If my prices are lower than Jills, Jacks are lower than mine.

So, I have to give good service. Maybe I won't charge for a twenty cent screw, maybe I'll take the new glasses to the lady in the assisted living center so her son doesn't have to miss work to bring her to my shop. These things are cheap. A smile, of course, is free.

And lets not forget respect for the customer. As someone famous once said, "As you would have men do unto you; do you also unto them."

[Alan W]

What in tarnation are you talking about?
What's with the suits?
And, what's with the monkeys?
You'll have to excuse me. I take customer service very seriously.

Issue #1: The Scope of Customer Service, Part 1

When you have a moment, folks, hop in your car and head down the street. Pick a business to study. And, for a few minutes, pretend you are a mystery shopper extremely well trained to observe everything that can influence the customers perception of a good place to be at. You are NOT visiting an optical shop. Pick something else for this exercise. Here is a possible scenario to stimulate your awareness of customer service from "the curb."

You are about to turn your car into the parking lot.
Your car hits the crevice between the road and the egress (entry drive), it's a bang. You know the bumper hit the concrete.
You have a brand new car.
Is that a warm fuzzie or is it a hostile customer greeting?
First impression is __________________________.
Next, you are about to look for a parking slot. two cars pulling out of slots, one doesn't see you behind him. Bang.
Nasty looks (or more).
Your next impression is ________________________.
You discover that the parking slots were painted too close to the egress . . . and they are painted in the wrong direction.
Congestion.
Your next impression is ________________________.
OK You get past that. But you have an impression.
You park your car. Open the door. You step on a bottle cap with only one foot out the door, and your foot rotates in an awkward manner. Your balance is compromised.
The impression is _____________________________.
You are now walking up to the store.
You look at the big glass windows. Soot and dirt has collected on the sills. There is mud caused by somebody not wiping up the water after squeegy cleaning the windows.
Your impression is _____________________________.
You look through the windows and see a five place display and two of the places are empty.
The signs under the two empty places say . . . 50% off!
Your impression is _____________________________.
You now walk into the store.
You are five feet into the store and are standing there trying to figure out which way to turn. A sales clerk is 15 feet away on the phone behind the cash wrap. Does not look up and does not say a word.
Your impression is _____________________________.
Total elapsed time since entering the property, 2.5 minutes.

What do you think about the first 2.5 minutes of your visit to the store?

Please post your responses by Thursday 07/19/01. We'll go on from there. Please, no suits and no monkeys. Anyone who wants to treat this like an informal business course on the Optiboard is welcome to join me. When we are done, you will see that customer service can impact a business in more ways than you want it to. And, you may have no choice. It's real and its happening. And, yes, we will talk optical. But, we all too often don't see our optical businesses the way others do. The perception starts early on and it IS reality. And, yes, it can be a turn off to someone, and you think maybe . . . where you work?

[Darris Chambless]

Dear Alan,

for someone who seems to regurgitate this type of rhetoric on a fairly regular basis, you seem to have missed the point bigtime. So I will simplify it. It won't be pretty though so I hope you can forgive me. No monkeys. No suits.

Customer service for some of us (and unfortunately very few of us) is and always has been the most important factor in our business. I don't need The Chronicle, you or anyone else to rain this "new found" knowledge down on me as they and you could have garnered this information from me in the first place. The way your talking is as though until now, no one knew any of this. That's pretty condescending in my opinion.

So you're serious about customer service? Then why did it take this long for you to get it? :(

These party game excercises that you seem to want people to participate in are the quintacential "lazy newager" corporate psychobabble. Business is MUCH simpler than that. It works like this:

Treat the customer the way you want to be treated.
Give the customer what they want.
Do not let the customer dictate your business policy to you. (The customer is NOT always right)
Stick to your policies.
Tell the truth.
Charge realistically based on your needs inorder to keep the doors open.

That's as simple as I can make it.

To often we let outside influences dictate how we will revamp our practices and policy. That's what got us into trouble in the first place. We wanted to be like Super Savers down the street, Wal Mart Vision centers, etc. because they had so many customers and were busy all the time. Only one problem. You don't have the money to be able to live on 3% profit with one store. That's reality.

Take care,

Darris C.

PS. This is how we've managed to survive in an industry that is very unfriendly to independant opticians. It's not a new concept by any stretch of the imagination and Yes, you are preaching to the choir.

[Alan W]

Please be sure you understand where I am commng from.
A, The Wizard of Eyes Optical Company was mine in Encino California. Catered to the elite and demanded a very high order of customer service.
B, This attitude you've got about my attitude is dead wrong. I have a degree which includes educational technology and training and got paid damned well to take the work I knew from personal experience at the Wizard and carry it forward. It's not my fault some "suits" wanted to pay me for it. If I had to make a choice between satisfying some folks from Procter and Gamble and satisfying you . . . I'll take P & G any day! They pay better.
C, I am not preaching to the choir, but am trying to stimulate or generate a resurgence with my own colleagues. Anyone who has something to say that will make opticianry better . . . go for it.
D, You obviously have done exceedingly well at customer service. You have good ideas. Share them. And stop making yourself look foolish by insulting me. The Golden Rule is fine. Try practicing it on me. How about sharing what you know about it in specifics that might make a young new optician just that much better.
E, If you think I am directing what I have said about customer service towards you, you are wrong. You have been there, done that, and know all. Now, share what you know with others and stop worrying about "regurgitat[ing] this type of rhetoric " from me.
F, Customer Service is nothing new to me. And, as I stated in my first posting, I tried to share some stuff a couple years ago that I learned from others. But got an attitude in return. Things just don't seem to change much in this profession.
G, If anyone thinks I am talking down to them . . . I'm sorry. It's these progressives. They're too low and everything I do comes out that way!
H, I continue to have a lot of respect for you and really think you mean well. I am sure all those folks who are reading this posting right now see what's going on. But, right now when you are so mean, what you mean, comes out so mean, I can't figure out what you mean. Know what I mean . . . jelly bean?

I wish Steve would start a customer service forum. That way, only that which could enhance careers would be discussed.

[Texas Ranger]

Alan, I really apreciate your expertise, as I do Darris's, though we all see the elephant from a different corner of the room, sometimes. When I took accounting back a few decades, there were a couple of interesting things that impressed me. One was the concept(reality) of purchase discounts, or having major vendors financially reward me for paying my bill on time; great idea; you'd be shocked by how much money it cost you if you pay at net 30, or later. the other concept was that when a business is sold, a financial value can be placed on "goodwill". Now, that's really just how well your firm is regarded in the community, basically, do you have repeat and referral business, and how do you get that? well, you can start with an attitude of gratitude...apreciate your clientele, and tell them that, every chance you get!, Strive to do excellant workmanship, sell only the products that you would sell your mother in law and have to hear about (good or bad) for all your coming days. If you recommend something, stand behind it, make it right. keep up to date on the state of the art in frame and lens designs. develop the know-how to use various lens designs to solve real pt. problems, develop the skills necessary to keep folk's glasses properly adjusted, and don't fit them in products that can't be adjusted properly, on them. never lie to folks, they might not like to hear the truth, but they know when they're hearing something else. respect what you do as a service to people, but also understand that you do this for a living, so be sure you get paid fairly for what you do. it's never wrong to do whatever it takes to maintain and build "goodwill". strive for win-win results, and you and those you deal with will all be winners. somewhere in this is what I consider"customer service". thanks for your insight Alan and Darris.

[Alan W]

Really great points that have a very lasting effect on a patients perception and satisfaction. They need to be copy, pasted, and printed. I will pass them on to my people.

Thank you

[Darris Chambless]

My dearest Alan,

Um, wrong again bubba. I wasn't trying to be "mean" and everything I've said was based on generalities, but you didn't understand what I was saying so I put it closer to home. You evidently got it the second time around. As I prefaced my second response "I hope you can forgive me."

I have no doubt you are an intelligent man and a fine optician, but ideologies won't do it. To give you input, well I'll tell you what has always been told to me. "I can teach all the processes and in's and out's, but I can't teach you to care. That's learned on your own." It's either done in an environment conducive to it or not. You're asking the question, how does one get back to customer service in the industry? There's no way to teach it. If a persons personnality is abrasive to you and you put them out on the floor, what do you think will happen? He'll **** people off and lose sales. How do you teach him? You give him the environment and have him observe until he gets it, BUT he may never get it and have to move on.

Food for thought, I've never asked that you satisfy me over anyone else. In fact I ususally refrain from throwing anything into the mix when you're on a tangent because you are so passionate about certain things. Because you have this passion everything is taken as a direct hit to you, by you. You know I have a lot of respect for you and your knowledge, but haven't you ever wondered why it is that you see me respond to you so seldom? It's for this very same reason. You get too worked up to take anything into consideration other than your own ideas.

Well, at the risk of severing our friendship, I'll sign off and refrain from posting to you once again. I hope all works out well for you.

Take care,

Darris C.

[Alan W]

Thanks for your opinion.

Your contribution expands the diversity of opinion we all seek.
Those seeking your advice have found it, and I really appreciate your noticing my passion. Others would like to express theirs and it would be a shame to have that suppressed because the author was targeted instead of the subject.

In quoting or presenting your argument going back to the Houston Chronicle I note that you are arguing the point with me over the revelation. It's not a revelation. But, there has been a shift in the attitude of the insurance cmpany, not me. You will also find similar statements and opinions in Harvard Business Review. Whatever we do, please lets not attack them, even though they are the most known "tailor" of "suits"! Perhaps a healthy letter to the Houston Chronicle might be more appropriate. I cited the article, didn't write it. Glad I did. Don't shoot the messenger.

And, you are quite right about how a person learns. In fact, although you have a sense of hatred for "suits" . . . this one came from a "suit." It goes like this . . .

Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly . . . until its done well. Almost the way you say it. You must have the soul of a suit!

Customer service is practiced until it earns its provider a good reputation. Wouldn't you agree? So, while caring may be something you say can't be learned, it appears that there are several providers of good customer service who achieve great joy from doing it well.

Could we move on now?

[LaurieC]

Gentleman (and any lady's who might care to jump in the fray)

This thread, while appearing to begin so well intentioned, could put me off Optiboard for the rest of my career! When I was young, my mother used to speak to not hanging my dirty laundry out for all to see. At the risk of sounding as a know it all and condescending as some are shooting at each other, is there not a point at which we should argue in private? While we talk of grandious ideas, such as the IOC and customer service, shouldn't our professional behavior reflect what we seek to achieve? Alan, I have known you for 13 years. I love and respect you and please remember you aked me to peruse this post and give an opinion. Darris, I don't know you but respect you in absentia from your postings. In "Just conversation" forum there is a recent posting about wedding anniversaries and long marriages. Professional relationships are a marriage of sorts as well. Optiboard can and should be a place to agree to disagree. This helps a marriage and other relationships prosper. But, has a line been crossed here? I don't know but while as I will still utilize Optiboard as a valuable tool, I'm not certain I want to share my beliefs and opinions if this could be the results. This kind of personal attacks make me sad. Signed: I am opinionated, tempermental and stubborn but respect my peers none the less..... Laurie

[LaurieC]

[QUOTE]What would you say are the main factors that determine the level of customer satisfaction? From Blake

How 'bout this: "Mr., MRS. Ms. Customer, etc. Are you happy with your eyewear, is there anything else I can do for you?" Very simple and any level of expertise and education can ask it and likewise any level of customer can respond to it. No rhetoric necessary. Do we ask them this or do we overcomplicate the issue?

[Steve Machol]

Laurie,

I couldn't agree more. I'm not quite sure how this turned into a fight.

Personal insults are not acceptable. I think it's time to close this thread and move on.