Premium Service

I saw last week’s question and answer and wanted to make an observation. We had a review on a major account and we also had a top score but the client seems to have got even more demanding and I am worried that we will not maintain our score next time as the team are taking a bit of battering from a barrage of unusual requests.

I was talking to my team about this only this last week. Customer service has thresholds like learning a language. Whereas the uninitiated think there is an ultimate pinnacle to learning a language - where you think you will be a 100% fluent at the “end”, it is just like climbing an infinite mountain range. You reach a summit thinking that is the top then a new one comes into view. You become conversant in contemporary Italian but then you realise you don’t know a whole tranche of words to allow you to order your new kitchen.

Likewise, great customer service sets an even higher expectation. I noticed this when I was fortunate enough to stay at the new Soho House in Berlin. Wow, what a great place – they have spent a lot of time and effort to make those staying with them feel very at home. They have made sure it is a great customer experience. Every bathroom cosmetic possible, individually styled rooms, staff ready to act on every request. So then it makes you start asking for the unusual. And more pertinently, when something that you think would be a basic hygiene factor (in my case, light enough in the bathroom to have a decent shave – not the mood lighting which thwarted me), you get a bit petulant. This is what happens when you, as the service provider, raise the stakes or are acknowledged as a provider of a premium service; your customers or clients expect more and/or want more.

So my advice would be to involve the client post-review, get a sense of what you should be focussing on and understand whether these requests will keep on coming. If so, you should make her/him aware of the practicalities of delivering them while delivering “business as usual” activity. They may not be consciously doing this but at least a conversation will help them understand what trade-offs need to be considered.

Keep Keeping On

We have just had an independent agency assessment commissioned by the client and we got an amazingly good score. We have worked really hard to get this. What do we do next to keep things so positive?

First of all, congratulations. It is a phenomenal achievement in these times. I don’t know how long you have had the account but considering you are as only good as your recent history, this is very good.

Something very important is to make sure all the team and agency are aware of the results. You should be openly celebrating such success so people understand how the account leads and/or management are appreciative of such results. It may sound obvious but in these busy times it is often put aside to get on with more pressing matters. Party and enjoy the moment.

Thinking of how to continue the momentum:

1) Share the detailed results with the wider team so they know what they have achieved and - focusing on the future - in order for them to grasp what is working and what needs to be improved. I think this should be done face to face so various aspects can be debated.

2) Talk to the other agencies who have been assessed so you know where you stand in the ranking and what they have to concentrate on. OK they may not tell you everything but there may be some common ground where you can combine forces and help each other and the client.

3) Be very clear what is working and what needs to be worked on. Put together an account plan which picks up on these areas and make sure that management sign up to it as there could be some resource or cost factors which you will need approval on.

4) If there have been a number of clients inputting into the assessment, make sure you thank them for their assessment (it doesn’t cost anything but it makes them feel part of the success).

5) Make sure you merchandise this with other contacts in the business who you do not work with. It could have a positive effect.

6) Don’t rest on your laurels – it is a very fickle, competitive marketplace. Put quarterly checks in place for monitoring the progress. And make sure you keep keeping on with the good work.

The man who mistook his client for an iPhone

We have taken on board a new client and have added in some quite innovative ways of working to our service delivery including using a project management extranet, hotdesking at the clients’ premises and a very collaborative method of developing work. Yet they don’t seem that happy – are clients just getting more demanding and we will never satisfy them?

Yes they are getting more demanding but it may be not be anything to do with you and your agency. Everyone is under the cosh at the moment so business performance may be influencing things. Having just moved from their previous agency, they may have been on the rebound and now realise not everything can be solved by making a new appointment.

Without knowing the details of the relationship I can only surmise what the reasons are but, as you mentioned the innovative ways of working, it reminded me of an experience I am going through at the moment. Having just bought the iPhone 3Gs, I am struggling with somebody’s – not sure whether it lies at the door of Apple or O2 – implementation of innovation and basic functionality. As a mini computer which fits into my pocket, replaces my iPod and allows me to design a new pair of training shoes and subsequently order them online (see below), it is a thing of mesmerising technology and seductive beauty. As a basic phone from which you expect good reception, no dropped calls etc , it sucks.




But if I think about it, before buying I focussed on the new innovative things which I thought would make my life of a higher quality. I did not give reception and dropped calls a second thought. Though when I complained to a friend who had previously told me he had been having problems –he just said “Yeah – welcome to my world” – so I probably had not even wanted to acknowledge it. These are just hygiene factors in today’s world, I thought. I realise now – as I wait 5 minutes for the signal to come back – how wrong I was.

So translating this to your situation you should ask yourself whether the introduction of your new ways has impacted on the basic delivery of what they were expecting. For example, does your working at the client’s office mean that you are not spending enough time at the agency making sure the internal teams are briefed and on track. Has your team getting up to speed with the new client organisation impinged on delivering top quality output straightaway? Also in this age where open source collaboration, beta versions and Agile-type methodologies are now being adapted for other work contexts, was the client aware that operating with your “very collaborative method of developing work” may mean compromises and trade-offs in certain areas? In other words – back to the basics of expectation management – did they know the risks as well as the benefits of signing up to the new way of working?

Probably it is best to assess things now rather than wait for a more formal performance survey. Just a quick email to your client contacts asking what’s working and not working will give you a good understanding and show your main client that you are committed to high standards of service delivery. Then you can see what is the real cause of their disquiet.