Consumer Passion

Zappos!: Powered by Service (and Twitter!)

I've become enamored with Zappos! lately, and I haven't even ordered a pair of shoes from them yet.  My business crush is partly due to their slogan Powered By Service ... partly to knowing that if I order one pair or six, I can return one pair or all six, and pay no shipping ... and it's also becasue I know if I need to talk to someone - to a real human - they have a toll-free, 24/7 customer service number proudly trumpeted on the Zappos.com homepage.  And they actually want to talk to you.  CEO Tony Hsieh tells blogger/author Sarah Lacy in a Tech Ticker video at SarahLacy.com that phone time with customers is "one of the best branding opportunities out there", and that he'd rather put resources into the customer experience than traditional marketing, because it breeds word of mouth and repeat purchasing.  Not rocket science, but not many are doing it, or doing it very well. 

Shocking stuff, this business about investing time and treasure in creating the best possible customer experience, which in turn creates Passionate Consumers that become evangelists for your brand - and most importantly - repeat customers who have pushed your 9 year old business past the billion dollar annual sales mark.  Repeat fans like this one  spotlighted on Zappos.com's customer testimonial page:

Zappos - you are UNBELIEVABLE!!!  I already thought you were the best, but this is cooler than cool.  Thank you so much.  I will not just recommend you to everyone I know, I will shout it from the rooftops!   Cheryl M. 

Zappos jumped on my rooftop radar screen when I began checking into brands that were utilizing Twitter.  Hsieh, in addition to his love for the old fashioned phone conversation, is a Twitter-holic and evangelist, using and promoting the micro-blogging site as a way to connect with consumers and employees on an intimate and transparent level.  He has more than 4500 people following him so far, and according to a Twitter page at Zappos.com, there are 325 Zappos employees using Twitter (they're ranked according to number of followers, with CEO Tony at the top of the follow chain). 

The video interview on Lacy's website took place during an 'open bar' that Zappos held at a San Fransisco location. Hsieh sent out a 'flash invite' to Zappos fans in the area via Twitter, and hundreds showed up.  The event, in addition to being an experiment, was an example of Hsieh embracing his core values (#1 Deliver WoW through service  #3 Create fun and a little weirdness). 

I bumped into him on Twitter when he sent me a brief Tweet after noticing a Zappos-related blurb I tossed into the Twittersphere.  One of the great things about Twitter is the ability to track conversations around your brand - around any search term actually - so Hsieh can monitor everything and anything tweeted about Zappos.  Anyway, I asked him if he'd be gracious enough to answer a short list of questions for a blog spotlight.  He agreed, and I though it appropriate to use Twitter instead of the more traditional e-mail route. So here are my five brief questions and his brief answers (per  Twitter's 140 character rule):

• (Q):  When did U realize that Twitter is a great way to connect w/ consumers & employees? 4560 followers, 325 employees Tweeting so far .... (Answer):  realized a year ago it was great to connect w/ my friends. idea for connecting w/ employees and customers came about 2 months ago
• (Q):  U actively promote Twitter on website & at presentations. Do U see it as the best social media channel to tap 'consumer passion'? .... (Answer):  i think there are a lot of different channels and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. telephone is great as well!
• (Q):  Name 1 or 2 businesses (other than Zappos!) that you think offer excellent customer service ...  (Answer):  in-n-out burger
• (Q):  Name 1 or 2 favorite people/blogs U follow. Seth Godin’s a fav of mine. He talks a lot about exceeding expectations ... (Answer):   i've read a lot of seth godin's books, but there aren't really any blogs that i read regularly... most of the interesting links i find out through twitter
• (Q):  I love Open Innovation. Have U considered a Consumer Idea/Suggestion Portal to connect w/ Zappos fanatics? ... (Answer):  already getting ideas from zappos fans via twitter and it's been working great! no formal portal planned though at this time    

Aside from his love for In-n-Out Burger and nod to the phone as a great way to connect with customers, it's obvious Hsieh is hook, line and sinkered on Twitter.  In the past two months, since he began to lead Zappos and its employee army into Twitterland, he's established Zappos as the undisputed brand leader on Twitter.  Jet Blue and Southwest and Apple and H&R Block and others are on Twitter too.  But I think Hsieh is blazing the brand trail that other businesses will follow. 

I checked out a slideshow presentation Hsieh used in a keynote at the Surf Summit (SIMA: Surf Industry Manufacturing Association) in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  The presentation was titled Building a Brand That Matters, and in addition to highlighing the explosive growth of Zappos, a committment to 'Wowing each and every customer', the value of repeat customes and word of mouth, free shipping both ways, 24/7 customer service and a 365 day return policy (you can return a pair of shoes a year from date of purchase, for any reason) ... Hsieh spent several minutes at the end of the talk - and apparently does this at the end of each keynote - promoting Twitter, and inviting people to follow him on it.

I think this is a brilliant strategy.  Hsieh is marching into Twitterland, employee and customer armies in tow, planting flags along the way.  Other businesses will follow.  And they'll discover what Hsieh knows today - six months from now - that you can build a huge and fanatical consumer channel that's built around permission marketing and conversational branding.  Suggestion to other businesses:  spend some time at Zappos.com.  Discover the quirky culture, the fun blogs, pictures and videos ... the obsessive desire to serve the customer ... and the unmistakable presence of Twitter everywhere.  And if you haven't put a social media strategy (that's customer centric) in place, you should start today. 

Your Telecom Provider Feels Your Pain

Interesting article in the Washington Post today, "An Outbreak of Caring" (subtitle:  Stung By Complaints, Telecoms Stress Customer Service).  It spotlights Tom Maguire, Verizon's new Customer Care 'Czar', hired last November to tackle the ever present irritant that everyone who lives and breathes in this great country experiences:  crappy telecom customer service.

The article leads with a blurb about Maguire being "one tough customer" himself:

When served chicken tacos without the chicken recently, he first complained to his waitress, then went online to the restaurant's Web site to fill out a survey with scathing remarks about his experience.  That accept-no-excuses attitude serves Maguire well when dealing with his own customers.  The straight-talking Long Island native knows how enraging poor service can be.  He understands that perfect service is difficult to achieve.  And he grasps how important it is that companies hear about it when they fall short.

OK, so he feels our pain, and has a no-excuses attitude, following up on his in-person complaints with a visit to offending business's websites.  Good for him.  But how does he feel about automated voice prompts?  And call center reps in India who you have to ask to repeat themselves several times?   Does he ever have to navigate the customer service maze telecom consumers endure? 

The article points to service bundling as part of the problem.  It saves consumers a little money (I'm a Verizon bundler), but complicates the heck out of billing, and heaven forbid you have an issue or question with more than one service at a time, because each separate service has a separate customer service team, which means you'll be transferred from person to person - across continents - adding time and frustration to an already frustrating situation. 

According to the article, Maguire oversees 131 call centers from Laurel, Maryland to Bangalore, India,  (I'd love to know how many are in India) some 46,000 employees handling customer service issues.  In addition, there's an elite 'escalation team' of 90 that engages customers that've either blown a gasket or figured out how to get through to top executives via phone or e-mail.   No doubt the Consumerist blog is responsible for many of the tips on bypassing automated prompts and foreign call centers.

I'm not writing this to rip on Verizon.  The whole industry is built on a philosphy that strives to eliminate customer service costs, as opposed to elevate customer service itself.  Creating Passionate Consumers seems like the furthest thing from telecom minds.  But the Post article says execs like Maguire are trying to change things.  Maguire has created a "tiered system" at Verizon, where his call centers act like "medical triage" to handle normal issues.  Complaints from Triple Play customers (Fios TV, Internet and phone ... big bucks consumers) go to a team of "personal account handlers in Florida".  Ahh ... Florida, where I assume the reps can speak English clearly.  So the average customer is sent to Bangalore, while the Fios customer gets someone in Ft Lauderdale.  Customers frothing at the mouth get sent to the escalation team, because as Maguire says ... "what you don't want them to do is leave or write up a blog or something."  Translation:  please don't rip us on the Consumerist (or perhaps Consumer Passion ... if only my readership were as large). 

If only the consumer was priority number one with telecoms, then those wonderful and innovative smart phones (iPhones, Nokia N95s, Blackberry Pearls) would be attached to service providers that are equally committed to to the task of creating Passionate Consumers.  I hope Mr. Maguire is committed to just that. 

Creating Passionate Consumers: Amazon.com

The New York Times' Joe Nocera shares a fabulous personal story (Put Buyers First? What a Concept) about customer service.  Nocera purchased a Playstation ($500) on Amazon.com as a Christmas present, discovering a few days before the big holiday that it hadn't arrived yet.  After discovering it had been delivered to a neighbor, who signed for it, Nocera guessed the expensive and popular electronic game had been stolen from the hallway where the neighbor left it.  So contacted Amazon to plea his case, knowing they had done nothing wrong, and here's what took place:

I got on the phone with an Amazon customer service representative, and explained what had happened:  the PlayStation had been shipped, delivered and signed for. It just didn’t wind up in my hands. Would Amazon send me a replacement?  In my heart of hearts, I knew I didn’t have a leg to stand on.  I was pleading for mercy.

I shudder to think how this entreaty would have gone over at, say, Apple, where customer service is an oxymoron. But the Amazon customer service guy didn’t blink. After assuring himself that I had never actually touched or seen the PlayStation, he had a replacement on the way before the day was out.  It arrived on Christmas Eve.  Amazon didn’t even charge me for the shipping.  My son was very happy.  So, of course, was I.

Then Nocera ponders Amazon's performance in the stock market, how it gained about 140% in 2007.  Analysts have their opinions as to why Amazon was and is so successful.  And Nocera has his:

But I couldn’t help wondering if maybe there wasn’t something else at play here, something Wall Street never seems to take very seriously.  Maybe, just maybe, taking care of customers is something worth doing when you are trying to create a lasting company.  Maybe, in fact, it’s the best way to build a real business — even if it comes at the expense of short-term results.

It is almost impossible to read or see an interview with Mr. Bezos (Founder/CEO Jeff Bezos) in which he doesn’t, at some point, begin to wax on about what he likes to call “the customer experience.”

Nocera nails it.  Amazon was under no obligation to send him another Playstation.  Most businesses would balk at the thought of stepping in and doing a remarkable thing.  Because they are stuck in a short term mindset, constantly worrying about every dime and nickle they might spend doing remarkable things.  And by having this mindset, they are never going to be reamarkable in the mind of consumers.  Author/speaker Seth Godin also nails it in a Jan. 3 post about word of mouth marketing:

It's very easy to overpromise.  Tempting to shade the truth a little bit, deliver a little bit less to save a few bucks. Who will notice?  The consumer notices.

If you need to overpromise to make the sale, don't bother.  It's not worth it.  The best way to generate word of mouth is simple: overdeliver.

Amazon consistently overdelivers.  I remember the first time I purchased something from them.  I bought two CDs for my wife for her birthday, and of course I was running out of time, as I procrastinated, and was concerned they wouldn't arrive on time.  I chose a 'gift wrap' option, so they'd be ready to go when they arrived.  And I'm not the greatest gift wrapper.  Well, they arrived right on time, in two sharp looking gift boxes. And of course the price was attractive, as it always is on Amazon. 

Lots of great products.  Low prices.  Easy to navigate web store.  Affordable shipping.  Great customer service.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  And when the opportunity arises to make Christmas, or any other day, really special - to save the day for someone - step in and do the remarkable thing.  Sounds like a good business plan to me. 

The Complete Customer Experience

I was thinking about customer service today, and as it happens quite often, my thoughts were drawn to  the topic because I was in the middle of not having a great customer experience.  Sometimes it happens when I'm having a terrific experience.  Sometimes.  Rarely. 

This morning, I stopped by a coffee shop, part of a big chain.  I was the only one in line, and upon arriving at the counter, I heard a bell go off near the pots of brewed coffee.  After a "how are you/fine thanks" exchange with the cashier, I said with hopeful tone, "does the bell mean a fresh pot just finished brewing?"  She said no, it actually means it's time to brew a new pot, and depending on how I looked at it, it could be a good thing.  If I was willing to wait five minutes, I'd get a free cup of fresh coffee (their holiday blend, which I really wanted).  I told her I'd be happy to wait, and appreciated the complimentary cup.  I wasn't in a rush, so I grabbed a local magazine and took a window seat.

At this stage, things were great.  Speed is not the number one issue for me.  Having an end-to-end, great customer experience is.  Speed is one element, but there are many more, all connected by communication.  In this case, the young lady did exactly what she should have done, was pleasant, and started to turn a disappointment into a pleasant surprise.

Things turned south when people streamed in and suddenly the line was ten deep.  Employees sprang  into action, doing their best to crank out drink requests (half caf full whip blah blah).  After about ten to fifteen minutes, I wandered up to the end of the line.  I figured the cashier would interrupt what she was doing, pour a cup, thank me for waiting, and complete the positive experience she initiated.  But she was fixed nervously on that line ... person number two, three, and so on.  What about arrival number one, me?   

Finally, after waiting in line again for about five minutes, another worker took care of me.  I wasn't upset, and appreciated the free coffee (unti l tasted it).  But it got me wondering about employee training and initiative.  So I wanted to jot down a few things that would make experiences like todays an end-to-end success:

1. Communication and Engagement are key:  The cashier got it right at first by replacing a minor  disappointment (empty pot) with a worth-the-wait offer (free cup in five minutes).  Potential negatives are great opportunities to transform normal consumers into Passionate Consumers.  Be up front with people, be not afraid, and deploy a pleasant, take-charge attitude.
2. Long Lines are good! (it's weird I feel I have to say that):  Panic typically sets in during a lunch rush or other customer swarm.  Everyone gets tense, and quickly loses sight of the goal:  a complete (top notch) customer experience.  It's not just how fast you get things done, it's how you do things when you're doing them fast.  Do them with flair, and keep an upbeat conversation going with customers and fellow workers.  And when that line gets long, someone grab a goodie tray, get out from behind the counter, walk down the line and offer free treats to everyone - kicking off customer service before customers place their order.  Oh, and please don't forget the people that you asked to wait just a few minutes, who are waiting ... and waiting ... 
3. Complete the Sale:  The cashier's mistake was forgetting to finish what she started, blowing an opportunity to 'complete the sale'.  Businesses are selling more than just a cup of coffee or some other product or service.  They're selling themselves.  We're all waiting to be convinced that we should take our precious time and money and spend them at various businesses.   

One positive customer experience after another is how Passionate Consumers are created.  Some will hear about a business via an ad or marketing campaign, so first impressions are incredibly important.  But so are second, and third, and so on.  Because if you create a Passionate Consumer, he/she will  spread the word.  And once Consumer Passion is spreading, and your business is growing, make sure to stop and listen to your customers.  Give them every opportunity to tell you what's right and wrong about your business, and offer ways to improve it.  Innovation never stops, and can come from anwhere, anytime, and anyone. 

Want To Infuriate Customers? Do This

A customer calls you ... a prized consumer ... one who has chosen to 'bundle' four services together (Landline, Cell, DSL, Direct TV) in an effort to streamline and save some money.  This customer spends on average $200 per month with you, or $2400 per year ... each year. 

This customer has some billing questions, and after answering them to his satisfaction, you tell the customer that with his permission, you can check his account to see if there are any updates, upgrades or savings available.  This sounds reasonable, so the customer agrees.

You then tell the customer that he can double the speed of his DSL and save several dollars per month on his Direct TV deal by simply updating/upgrading the plan.  At which point, this wise customer who knows nothing is for free, asks "what's the catch?" And you say there is no catch.  By upgrading, the customer is told, several discounts kick in that actually save money.  All you ask in return is for permission to send 'information' in an e-mail about two broadband services ... one involving security, the other online gaming.  "Just information?" the customer asks.  "Just information" you say with fingers crossed behind your back.  Fine, says the customer.  Upgrade me, save me money, and send me information. 

A short time later, you send the valued customer two e-mails asking him to 'activate' the new Broadband Essentials and Extras services he's ordered.  But wait a minute the customer says to himself, I did not 'order' anything.  So the customer clicks on a link provided in the e-mail that takes him to a page where he can 'activate' the new services (totalling about $22 per month), or refuse to acknowledge the agreement, which would then, according to your instructions, 'cancel' the services that the person, who did not place an order, has been told he ordered.

And when the valued customer, who is now furious, tries to cancel the items, you take him to another page where he's asked "Are you sure you want to cancel these services?".  And the only option you give him is 'click back to reconsider'.  No option for "Yes, I want to cancel the services that I never ordered in the first place". 

After several fruitless attempts to cancel online, followed by attempts to contact a customer service rep online ... the now blood-boiling customer, the one who spends $200 each and every month with you, calls a toll free number to get help.  You greet him (first in Spanish) with a never ending series of robot voice questions to get at the root of the valued customer's problem.  After the customer yells dozens of times into the phone, various things, like "LIVE OPERATOR", "MORONS", "LIVE HELP PLEASE" ... and some things that should not be repeated, you tell the customer in a recorded voice that you will get a live representative to help him. 

This is where you begin piping in loud, distorted 'on hold' music, similar to fingernails dragged across a chalkboard, magnified a thousand times, and tell the valued customer that due to the high volume of calls, the wait will be at least ten minutes.  And after about fifteen minutes of excruciating music, you finally connect the valued customer with a living, breathing person with a name. 

Her name is Tamesha, and she's professional, polite, even apologetic.  The customer knows it's not her fault, tells her so, and proceeds to unload all pent up frustration ... hoping that the call is being  recorded, or that Tamesha will forward some of this frustration to 'higher ups' in your company.  You of course know that this valued customer, whom you've successfully managed to tie in a bundled service knot that will be very difficult to undo ... now that you've cancelled the orders that he never ordered ... will likely let the steam blow off ... and continue to do business with you, because changing service providers is a massive undertaking, and could present other problems, since other businesses in the same business are pretty much the same as you. 

"Thanks for choosing Verizon" is the last thing the valued customer hears, as he ends the call on his Verizon cell phone, and goes to his laptop to write in his blog, via his Verizon broadband connection.