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Sometimes, It’s Right in Front of Your Nose…
Author: Bill Cusick
September 24, 2004
In talking with clients and associates about customer communication horror stories lately, there’s a common theme that pops up. And it’s not some high profile glossy mistake in a communication that’s seen by thousands in a day - though that certainly happens.
More often, it goes like this: An insurance company churns out system-generated correspondence, like bills and renewal letters, for years. Because everything happens more or less automatically, nobody “in-house” has a need or desire to look at the paper getting spit into the envelopes and sealed. The letters continue to go out, by the thousands, month after month, and the world turns, and circumstances change, and yet the letters continue.
And then…finally, somebody in Corporate Relations, or Marketing, or Customer Communications gets a call. It seems the president of the insurance company received his auto insurance renewal in the mail, and wants to know why his letter is still “signed” by his insurance agent, who has been dead for a year and a half. Or, she wants to know why we’re still talking about our outstanding claims service, when Consumer Reports has ranked our company last for the last two years.
It happens every day - online, through the mail, and in publications and collateral. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how to begin the process of fixing this stuff. You begin by admitting there might be a problem, and then somebody gets his hands dirty and actually takes a look.
Web-Based Banking? It’s a Virtual No-Brainer
Author: Bill Cusick
September 9, 2004
I have several accounts at my current bank - personal checking and savings, commercial checking, money market, credit line, blah, blah. And, while I still enjoy strolling into the lobby (it’s only a block from my office) to deposit a nice, juicy check, the reality of my experience now is 10% personal interactions, and 90% website.
Whether I’m checking balances, transfering funds, making electronic payments, etc. it’s happening in the virtual world. And I’m not alone. Over 20% of us now use e-pay-type services with our banks, and 34% of banks offer the service, with more on the way. What I find fascinating is - given that this has become part of the baseline customer service we are growing to expect - how many banks are not yet providing web-based banking. Also, of those who are, there is the same problem that so often crops up in other aspects of customer service: doing it poorly can be more damaging than not doing it at all.
