Excerpt from Succeeding in Business
Are Our Processes & Procedures Really Satisfying Our Customers?
Have you heard someone say that customer satisfaction―keeping the customer happy―is their company's #1 priority? But is seems to me that some of the processes and procedures that have been created are in direct conflict with that stated goal. Let me give you a few examples:
Returning Calls In One Hour
The other day I called Tom. He wasn't in and his voice mail message said he makes it a point to return every call within one hour. So I left him a message. (It wasn't of high importance, but I had some things that I wanted to discuss with him).
He called me back within 59 minutes, but wasn't able to talk. He was between meetings and was running late, but felt obligated to return my call so that he could say it was returned within an hour. Unfortunately, the conversation was rushed and I was unable to get the information I needed. This necessitated additional calls and call backs.
As an alternative, he could have returned the call and then stated that he didn't have time to talk at that moment. We could then scheduled a mutually convenient time to talk later that day or within the near future. I think he's got his priorities wrong. It's more important to have meaningful conversations that to return phones calls within 60 minutes. No one is keeping score.
