Customer Urgency: Does Your Team Truly Deliver on It? | #CX #Leadership
by Kate Nasser | Leave a comment »
Leaders, do your teams truly understand and deliver on customer urgency? If your answer is, “Yes, because we have priority schemes they follow,” you may be surprised to witness what actually happens in real time.
Customer Urgency: Do Your Teams Deliver on It? Image by Patti Morris via Flickr Attribution License.
Customer Urgency: Do Your Teams Truly Deliver on It?
Recent Event I Witnessed
I was standing in the prescription pickup line at the pharmacy. The customer ahead of me promptly gave her name and date of birth to the pharmacy clerk. She noted that they had called her to say her prescription was ready for pickup. The clerk looked at the computer screen and then bent down to look in the “assigned bin.” He stood up without a package. On a shelf atop the filled bins there were baskets of filled prescriptions that hadn’t been filed in assigned bins.
Do You Focus on Your Ease or Customer Urgency?
He started looking in those baskets for her prescription — or so the customer thought. Yet, as he looked in the baskets he took time to file each one to an assigned bin. This was taking time. Meanwhile she is still standing there in front of him waiting for her prescription. She then said, “Pardon me. Can you find mine?” He replied, “I am looking for it.” She replied, “You are also taking time to file each prescription you touch into an assigned bin. Why not quickly finger through each basket to find mine and then when we’re done, file all the others?” He replied, “It’s easier this way.” She then said, “Look, I have to be some place and the phone message said mine was ready.”
He did as she asked and didn’t find her prescription. He then went back and looked in the original bin he searched and found it! At that point, he then gave a quick “I’m sorry.”
The Customer’s Time Is Important
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The customer’s time matters. When they reach the front of the line, focus on them and their exact request. In the above situation, his response of it’s easier this way is totally inappropriate and ineffective.
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Let the customer know you see them. Especially in retail, address the customer when they get to the counter!
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Hear their urgency before they get angry. Most people who deal with customers prefer that customer don’t get upset and angry. You can prevent customer anger through visible focus and urgency.
Remember This Quote to Deliver on Customer Urgency
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” ~ Leonardo Da Vinci
From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™
Related Post:
Sustaining & Retaining Customers: Do Your Employees Think It’s Too Much Trouble?
©2024 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.
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