Arnold Beekes

More than 85% of Western economies are service economies. Isn’t it therefore strange that many organizations have a separate Customer Service department? Does this mean that only that department provides service to the customer? Does it mean that other departments are not caring about customers? There is no doubt that you have to put the customer at the core of all your service activities. Service Design can help you with that process. If you do that, then for example the finance department also provides customer service when they answer questions related to an invoice. And your sales folks are also representative for the service, which you (can) provide to those customers. Essentially EVERYONE is providing Customer Service. This should be both a mindset and an activity of all departments. If you follow this logic than the (current) Customer Service department has to be renamed. How about giving them a name which relates to their actual activities, like Telephone Support, or On-...

This weekend I did participate in the Rotterdam ‘Global Service Jam’. This is the intention of the Jam: ….., people interested in service and customer experience will meet all over   the globe. In a spirit of experimentation, co-operation and friendly competition, teams will have 48 hours to develop brand new services inspired by a shared theme. It was great and fun to do and also very interesting to meet people from all over the world (Colombia, Australia, Mexico, Germany). What are the key lea r nings?          -        It is possible to design cool new services in 48+ hours. Key is to have dedicated focus. -        The team should be really diverse, i.e. have people with different education, experience, interests, culture and age. -        Have the meeting in a ‘neutral’ environment, i.e. in a place where the daily operations are not interferin...

Ego prevents idea generation Last week I did hear a couple of stories from frustrated employees. They were frustrated because their managers didn’t listen to their input. As a matter of fact they didn’t listen to the input from any of the employees. Why? Because they have the habit of only listening to themselves, to their own ego. They are convinced that their own ideas are always better. In that case, the employees feel that there is no respect for them and they stop bringing up new ideas. This is killing for both the individual and for the organizations. So, if you want more ideas and more innovation, start listening (with an open mind) to your people! Control prohibits trust Managers with big egos have the tendency to exert a lot of control. As they only trust themselves, they want to know about everything that their direct reports are doing. They want to monitor all their activities at close range. The result is that the employees don’t feel trusted and that they will onl...

There is a lot being written about social media, either from a customer’s perspective or from a Corporation’s perspective. I would say that a ProPer (Professional as well as Personal) use of social media benefits both. As a customer I had a negative experience of selling my shares, via the web as well as via a call line. It was nearly impossible to talk to a human being, as I reported in my last post. I did mention this experience on my Twitter feed. What was great is that their Communications Manager responded quickly to that tweet and offered her help. This is nice. All other support channels failed, so I was really happy that I got in touch with a person who was willing to help and who was in a position to follow up. So, this fantastic medium (in this case Twitter) enabled me to be in direct contact with an executive. Previously (when then was no social media) this would have been impossible. I did explain my issue and mentioned my previous blogpost. She was very open and wil...

Many companies think that automation is the holy grail of all their efforts. The more automation, the better. In that case, you really do miss the point. Why? Because service business is first and foremost people business. Your customers are people of flesh and blood and want to be treated as such. The same applies to your employees, they are also humans! So, the golden rule (treat someone else in the same way you would like to be treated) should be the cornerstone of your business. Now, you can say, what a big deal, that is what I have known for   a long time. But there is a difference between ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’. Last week I tried to sell my shares via a specialized company. First, I did go to their website. After some searching it became clear that I needed an activation code to sell my shares. That is fine, but the activation code will be send to me (in The Netherlands) by postal mail from the US. Clearly that doesn’t help me, it is far too slow (mails take approx 3 week...

When you are responsible for the service business in your organization, these are the factors to take very seriously this year. SERVICE BUSINESS = PEOPLE BUSINESS Instead of focusing on the weaknesses of your employees and managers, focus on their strenghts and passion. This is much more challenging and helps people to take responsilbility and show commitement. Employee Egagement is not a luxury, but a necessity. Listen and actively engage your people in all your plans and activities. Have a clear purpose and make sure that you provide meaning in all that you do. Develop an entrepreneurial mindset in everyone. Execution alone is no longer enough. SOCIAL MEDIA This is not a fad, but a fact of life. Therefor make sure that you are present in the space where your customers are ‘residing’. Focus on building communities and real relationships. CULTURE OF INNOVATION Foster and build such a culture that change and innovation are the norm. Also here the entrpreneurial mindset is crucial...

There are a lot of articles written about customer service. And most of those articles are not very positive about its performance. It even does have a hashtag on Twitter (#custserv). But who is customer service? It is a name of a department or even a collection of departments. In those departments work people, yes PEOPLE! Very hardworking people who try to satisfy the customer, solve problems and give other information. It could be sales support, the bid team, receptionists, support engineers, call center employees, logistics, administration and many different other tasks/departments. I did mention that they try to satisfy the customer. Why ‘try’? That is because they are most of the time located between a rock and a hard place. They are the bridge between the customers’ needs and the internal organization. Their task is rather challenging when the internal org is not supportive, not up to date, when the processes don’t work or when the systems are outdated or not reliable. Desp...