Don’t Make your Customers Jump Through Hoops

We call BS on the common business practice of requiring a customer to jump through hoops in order to resolve an issue.

Like most customer service representatives, you probably receive numerous customer questions or concerns through a variety of communication channels. For example, you might receive a telephone call from a customer about a billing question; you might receive an email from a customer about a recent experience; or, you might receive a social media notification from a customer about a complaint.

In most cases, you can probably resolve the issue; in other cases, though, you might not, which may necessitate either you or the customer having to communicate with someone else in order to resolve the problem. This scenario is especially common in larger businesses that segment their customer service operations into separate divisions, departments, or units.

And this is where many businesses — too many, in fact — commit a common customer service sin by requiring the customer to “jump through hoops” to resolve a problem — a problem that your business, not the customer, might have created.

Here are several examples of how businesses require customers to “jump through hoops,” a practice we refer to as a “customer service hoopfest”:

• “You’ll need to call back tomorrow.”

• “I can’t answer any billing questions, so you need to call so-and-so at this number. If so-and-so isn’t in, be sure to leave a message.”

• “Thanks for emailing us the screenshot of the error message. Because this type of error is beyond our level of expertise, you’ll need to email it to Level 2 support at this email address. Thanks for contacting our award-winning support team. Have a great day! [smily emoticon omitted]”

Despite the obvious differences among the foregoing responses, they nevertheless share a tragic trait: each response burdens the customer with an additional requirement — such as having to call back the next day, having to phone another representative, or having to email another department — in order to resolve the problem.

And that’s inexcusable. Yes, inexcusable.

When a customer contacts a business about a problem, the business, not the customer, “owns” the issue until it is resolved. By requiring a customer to expend additional time and energy to resolve a problem — again, a problem that the business itself may have created — a business improperly delegates the duty to resolve the problem to the customer instead of to itself. In other words, the duty to resolve a customer issue is non-delegable: the duty belongs exclusively to the business.

Seriously, why would any business desire a customer to “call back” or “call someone else,” knowing that the customer will likely spend another 15 minutes on hold before having to re-explain the same problem to someone else?

Instead of telling the customer to “call back” or “call someone else,” obtain the customer’s contact information and forward that information to someone else who can contact the customer to resolve the issue. Yes, it’s really that simple, and there’s no excuse why any business of any size can’t do this.

In fact, here’s a process you can use if, for whatever reason, you are unable to resolve a particular customer issue. We refer to it as the “5C Rule.” Not surprisingly, it doesn’t require a customer to “jump through hoops.”

• Collect: Collect all relevant information from the customer, including the customer’s name and contact information, together with any other useful information, such as invoice numbers, error messages, or prior emails.

• Communicate: Explain to the customer that you will be forwarding all of the information to another representative, whom you should identify, and advise the customer when he or she should receive a response.

• Convey: Convey the customer’s information, including a detailed description of the issue, to the other representative, and advise the other representative that the customer is expecting to receive a response.

• Confirm: Confirm that the other representative received the customer’s information and that he or she will be contacting the customer to resolve the issue.

• Close the Loop: Follow through with the other representative to confirm that he or she contacted the customer and resolved the problem. Additionally, follow through with the customer to ensure that he or she is satisfied with the resolution.

If this sounds like extra work on the part of your business, it is! Remember: A business, not a customer, “owns” the duty to resolve an issue. Customer service, if done right, is a difficult job; if done wrong, customer service is an easy job.

This week, take a moment to review your process regarding the resolution of customer issues that span multiple divisions, departments, or units. By implementing the 5C Rule, your business will not only provide a less frustrating customer service experience, but will also differentiate itself from other businesses that require customers to “jump through hoops.” Simply put, when customers contact your business, they desire solutions, not hoops.

Have a “customerific” week!

Mark