Have you annoyed your customers?

[printingcom]

When would you rather you found out you've lost a customer? In a year's time when they've built a relationship with your competitor or as soon as you've upset them? There's no use delaying bad news. If you've annoyed them, best to find out sooner so you can put it right.

One of the best ways to get quick feedback is to run a feedback scheme. If it's something you know you should be doing but haven't got round to it yet, follow these 5 steps and have your scheme set up in no time.

1. What do you want to know? Sounds simple, but what do you want customers to rate you on? I'd suggest picking between 5 and 10 aspects of your product or service that you think are important.

2. How should they answer? It's usual to give people a few tick box options to choose from like "great" or "poor". Always have at least one question where they can write comments which they may not be able to fit into one of your questions.

3. Should I offer an incentive? Possibly. You may encourage people to fill your cards in if you offer a prize or discount. Think about whether once a month you give someone a free haircut or a free meal, picked out of the cards you've had returned.

4. How should it look? Keep it clean and simple - an A6 postcard size is usually big enough. We can help design a comment card to match your branding. We'd recommend using a recycled uncoated board - these are easy to write on and you have the added benefit of promoting that you're using recycled material.

5. Where to put the cards? If you run a cafe or restaurant, put cards on your tables. Run a hotel or guest house? Leave cards in your rooms. Manufacturer or distributor? Put cards in your boxes. Accountant or architect? Send cards with your invoices.

Good luck!

Peter

 

[Ashley_Price]

An excellent idea - and something APA tried two years ago. The result, no one answered!

We would send out a feedback form every time we completed a job, we even provided a stamped address envelope so they didn't have to pay. If we sent work back attached to an email we included an electronic version of the form. I would follow up a little while later with a phone call but got the usual response "Oh, we haven't got round to it yet."

Two years later I'm still waiting...

We now take a more proactive approach. If a client suddenly stops using us after a long period of hiring APA, then I give them a quick call or email to see if everything is okay. As I say to people "If you're not happy, we want to know. I would rather sort it out and we carry on working together than lose you."

I have, on one occasion, even told a client to rip up our invoice (it was for about £70, so not a huge amount) because they weren't happy with what we had done. They couldn't quite believe I had told them to do it and started back-pedalling (unnecessarily so, because they were right, we had been bad). Result? They used us for another two years (until they left the company) and we got just under £1000-worth of work from them.

Once we had a better relationship again I asked them "What if we hadn't told you to rip the invoice up, but still expected you to pay." He replied "We would have paid and then looked for another service!" Says it all...

 

[Minuteman Press]

Ashley,

What excellent practical advice. Practice versus theory.
You deserve to be successful as no doubt you are!

Peter

 

[printingcom]

That's really interesting Ashley. I applaud the sentiment there and you're absolutely right - "you never win an argument with a client".

We "practice what we preach" - we've been running a feedback scheme for over 10 years, with little cards going in every box that leaves our production hub. We've had quite different experience to you and have had thousands of cards returned over the years.

At the opposite end of the scale, we've tried longer questionnaires which have had a much poorer response rate. I think the key is to keep the cards short and to make the burden to complete them under a minute.

Peter

 

[Ashley_Price]

The best thing I can say with regards to customer/client satisfaction is become their "friends". Be friendly with them, treat them all individually. If they've been on holiday, just had a baby, etc., ask them about it. Get to know them. It gives you a much better working relationship than just treating everyone the same, and then if a client isn't happy about something they will - more often than not - come and tell you.

We did have one where the client stopped using us. I contacted them about two months later and got quite an abrupt reply about how they had been very unhappy with our service, etc.

I said to them that, if they had let me know at the time we could have sorted it out. What I couldn't understand was that they had been unhappy with our service for a period of time and yet had still kept using us and when we returned their transcripts (we usually return them as we complete each one) they would reply with "Great, thanks Ashley." So there was no indication that they were unhappy. When we submitted our invoice which was for over £2000 they paid up promptly and didn't raise any complaint! Then all of a sudden stopped using us.

So you will always get the odd strange one.

 

[INDIZINE]

Feedback forms are rarely completed. Even when confronted with a form at the end of an event or a service, people rarely give honest feedback. It's like this...

If they are happy with the service or goods they paid you for then there is nothing to say. You did what they paid you for. Nothing more, nothing less. They don't owe you five minutes of their time and why should they?

If you disappointed them, they owe you nothing, so why should they bother? You didnt take steps to prevent disappointing them so what use is it telling you after the event? Why be dilligent now? Again, they owe you nothing and they just want to draw a line under it.... and never use you again. They will tell a few people.

If you messed up big time - no fear, they will ring or write and tell you...and everyone else they know!

Only if you performed something 'life-saving' will they want to thank you and do a feedback form or write and tell you, or thank you. But still, only a small few will do this, but those few will praise you for a long time to come and become your loyal customers.

You have to give in order to receive so make it clear what you are giving your customers that is over and above their expectations, for example;

"would you like to receive 3 monthly follow-up calls or emails (free) to see how you're getting on with that new PC I built for you, just in case you get stuck and need helping out?"

They might not ever need to call you but they know you are there if they need you. It costs a few calls or emails and you get to build the relationship and sustain it. So who do you think they will turn to when they need an upgrade or some new software, or want to recommend a friend, etc?

You shouldnt be waiting until afterwards, to find out if they were unhappy and why. That is the wrong time to issue a feedback form.

You should be asking your customers at various stages throughout the service/sale if they are happy/satisfied with your service. They are definately more likely to say something at the point you can fix the problem. That makes sense to the customer so they will take the opportunity to feedback then.

Obviously some things are beyond control, but again its up to you to have quality control from start to finish, so change or stop what doesnt work or what lets you and your customers down.

 

[printingcom]

Thanks Indizine...

You're absolutely right - feedback cards aren't a substitute for getting to know your clients and speaking to them throughout the sales process. However, I still think they have their place. I think it's vitally important to make it as easy as possible for customers to tell you what they think.

I guess people are different. There may be many reasons why they wouldn't want to give honest feedback to the person serving them - maybe through fear of confrontation, or the server's general apathy. They might feel that filling out an anonymous card which goes to the owner / manager might actually be of use.

Oh and, if you are setting up a feedback scheme, don't expect that you'll simply be getting loads more complaints than you do now. 99% of the thousands returned to us are entirely positive. We ask our customers to refer a friend or colleague at the same time... but that's a story for another day.

Peter

 

[Fuzzy]

Peter, I used to send out questionnaires every 3 months with a Free Prize Draw entry and used to get about 80% returned. Great feedback and ideas on how we could move forward. (different business then now though). Think it's a good idea, but does depend on what type of business you are in for it to work.

 

[Chippie]

If you disappointed them, they owe you nothing, so why should they bother? You didnt take steps to prevent disappointing them so what use is it telling you after the event? Why be dilligent now? Again, they owe you nothing and they just want to draw a line under it.... and never use you again. They will tell a few people.

If I go to a restaurant and am happy with the service I tip well. If I am not happy then I certainly wouldn't tip, but I would always let them know why I wasn't happy. It wouldn't necessarily stop me going there again. For example if the food was excellent but a member of staff was inattentive why would I not want to offer them another chance? We can all have an off day can't we.

You shouldnt be waiting until afterwards, to find out if they were unhappy and why. That is the wrong time to issue a feedback form.

This isn't always possible. For example if I took my car to have bodywork repiars carried out, the first time I would have a chance to see it is after the job is complete. Yes the car should be spot on when I do see it but again, in an environment which has many variables and is not an exact science, things can occasionally go wrong. It doesn't mean to say that the company are negligent or incompetent. At least I don't think so!

Whilst I agree with your sentiments regarding Quality control and ongoing quality checks throughout all work processes I also feel that people in business do not generally annoy customers or let them down intentionally and I think it is only reasonable to give them an opportunity to redeem themselves and put things right. Maybe it's just me???

 

[INDIZINE]

The whole point of asking throughout the process is to encourage them to tell you if something is wrong. Not ask if everything is alright! Thats where feedback gets the wrong results.

If you just say things like "is everyhting okay?" or "are you happy with our sevice?" People will just agree with your question. You're asking a leading question already. What's the point? They think.

You need instead to say things like "have you found any problems with that widget I delivered yesterday, does it work okay?" or "do you like the way we cook our eggs or do you think we should give them another 5 minutes?"

Open up the dialogue for debate. Again, what do you think the cutomer is now more likely to say if you gave them a chance to critique you rather than agree with your question? You're also bringing them into the decision-making process and help with a solution. Most people enjoy helping out so if you ahve a problem, bring the customer on board.

Take a look at the website reviews. The OP asks open questions, points out what they think needs changing but isnt sure and asks you guys to confirm their suspicions. They ask you to be honest.... so people are.

Look at how much constructive feedback comes back and how well its taken on board. Then the OP comes back and announces the changes according to your feedback and asks you to review one more time. Could you imagine what it would be like if instead, it was a forum poll scenario, with 10 questions where you are forced to choose certain answers?

 

[INDIZINE]

Chippie, I am talking about the majority in general. And this post is about getting feedback and so not losing customers and things you can do. People can choose what they wish.

 

[printingcom]

Hi Indizine

I don't disagree with anything you're saying. And we all know that open questions are better than closed (although I think one of your examples was a 'double closed' )

All I'm saying is that feedback cards have their place. Maybe not in a one-to-one consultative led relationship like yours, where you're interacting with the client throughout the process and can detect how they're feeling or thinking.

Forums are great and website reviews are great. Web 2. Woohoo. But not every customer will a) know these exist, b) want to make their comments public, c) bother to login and answer. Some will. Some won't. All I'm saying is, we should make is as easy as possible for customers to let us know how we've done. Give them as many avenues, routes, methods, ways and means of telling us. That's all...

 

[INDIZINE]

oh yes absolutely thers a placee for everything, and the follow up feedback forms are equally served as a marketing tool, however it would do better where its possible, and for most it really is possible if you make it so, to check yourself that the service is being followed through and also check with the customer or inform them of progress.

Even the car garage example chippie gave, ok client cant see said car until after its fixed, but what is to stop the car garage owner having a list of quality checks in place that they can tick off and mid-way, sends email to customer assuring them all has been checked and at that point all is looking to spec? Sure the client cant see it but is thus reassured someone there is taking ownership and reassuring the customer. Therefore when a feedbakc form is presented at the end of the service, the fact you kept them uptodate would bring good feedback and ultimately work to keeping that customer.

Not everything we suggest or advise here works for all the people all of the time, we know that, and so you have to take those sugestions and jiggle them about until you get something that works for you and your business which gives those same results where the client is informed throughout the client journey ...and just as importantly for the purpose of this thread, so are you.

 

[business123]

We have started handing out feedback cards to our customers but rather fill out on the card and go to the hassle of returning the card we've put a URL on the card for the customer to respond via a 30 second survey. We have multiple branches so each URL is unique to the branch i.e. w w w . x x x x x . com/1234

So far we have had feedback responses from about 15% of the cards we've handed out. We have an money-off incentive for completing the survey, which leads to repeat business.

We have a 'rate us out of ten' question which if the customer rates us with 8 or more they receive an email asking them to refer their friends and/or colleagues which a special offer, which leads to referral business.

Also, we are building up a nice email database of our customers so we can send out a monthly marketing email with offers etc, hopefully keeping our customers loyal to us.

Hope this helps.

 

[Chippie]

Even the car garage example chippie gave, ok client cant see said car until after its fixed, but what is to stop the car garage owner having a list of quality checks in place that they can tick off and mid-way, sends email to customer assuring them all has been checked and at that point all is looking to spec? Sure the client cant see it but is thus reassured someone there is taking ownership and reassuring the customer. Therefore when a feedbakc form is presented at the end of the service, the fact you kept them uptodate would bring good feedback and ultimately work to keeping that customer

I think that for a reputable bodyshop who gives the industry standard 2 or 3 year guarantee with the work, this would be total overkill. All such companies would have QC checks embedded in the work process anyway and cutting these out would lead to warranty claims down the road. I don't see what the e-mail would achieve (other than to give them a warm fuzzy feeling!) since the claims are not verifiable by the customer one way or the other. If I handed my car over for repair I would not expect to be called or e-mailed through the job to be told "everything is ok", I would expect that to be the case anyway. I would like to have confidence in the company's competence to that extent at least. Maybe I am too trusting. Besides if I adopted that approach in my business I would need to employ someone just to fulfill that role and with a customer complaint rate of less than half a percent, such a move wouldn't really be financially justifiable. In fact, the extra salary would need to be costed into all work and would ultimately mean the customer paying more for the service with no added value. Every cost has to be accounted for somehow after all. So, whilst I still agree with a lot of what you advocate, it's not going to fit all scenarios in my opinion.

Situations where it can work are, for example, estate agents, solicitors etc, where passing on information is key. For example, we were in the process of buying a property a year ago to upgrade it and rent out. It was a real bargain as the owners were in deep financial trouble. We had our offer accepted and proceeded to organise searches and survey etc. A month later when we called the estate agent for an update they told us that the house had been repossessed 2 weeks earlier and that the mortgagor was now putting it into auction!! This not only wasted our time and money but made me very angry to the extent that for the only time in my life I was moved to write to both our local newspapers with the story. The estate agents in question weren't very happy but avoiding the situation was totally within their control and they chose to do nothing.

 

[INDIZINE]

We have a 'rate us out of ten' question which if the customer rates us with 8 or more they receive an email asking them to refer their friends and/or colleagues which a special offer, which leads to referral business.

Hey, good idea! What about those that give 7 or less? What do they get?

 

[Chippie]

We have started handing out feedback cards to our customers but rather fill out on the card and go to the hassle of returning the card we've put a URL on the card for the customer to respond via a 30 second survey. We have multiple branches so each URL is unique to the branch i.e. www.XXXXXXX.com/1234

Did you try clicking onto the link you just posted?????? It's a bit naughty!!

 

[INDIZINE]

My daughters car went into a car garage near us, and we got progress emails at each step. I thought this was great as we werent left wondering what and when. Just a nice little touch that makes a difference.

I know you keep saying not all scenarios, but thats what I have said too, each to their own, has to find their way of getting those feedback results.

Anyway, you would be surprised what a warm fuzzy feeling does to the purse

 

[INDIZINE]

well spotted chippie! now thats what I call taking care of your customers!!

 

[business123]

Did you try clicking onto the link you just posted?????? It's a bit naughty!!

Whoops, sorry about that, changed it now!

 

[business123]

We have a 'rate us out of ten' question which if the customer rates us with 8 or more they receive an email asking them to refer their friends and/or colleagues which a special offer, which leads to referral business.

Hey, good idea! What about those that give 7 or less? What do they get?

Those that give between 4 - 7 are classed as 'passive', those that rate 1 - 3 are detractors and would normally get a follow up email from a manager to resolve their problem with the company, though so far I think the lowest rating has been 7!

 

[Chippie]

Whoops, sorry about that, changed it now!

Spoil sport.

 

[Write My Site]

I like the ratings idea but there's no such thing as 'passive'. If one of my customers gave me 4 out of 10 I'd want to know where the other 6 points had gone! Always ask for feedback.

Those that give between 4 - 7 are classed as 'passive', those that rate 1 - 3 are detractors and would normally get a follow up email from a manager to resolve their problem with the company, though so far I think the lowest rating has been 7!

 

[business123]

I like the ratings idea but there's no such thing as 'passive'. If one of my customers gave me 4 out of 10 I'd want to know where the other 6 points had gone! Always ask for feedback.

There's a box underneath the rating question asking for comments why they had rated X/10.

Actually looking at the rating system, it's 1 - 6 which are detractors, 7 & 8 are passive, 9 & 10 are promoters - taken from http://www.netpromoter.com/calculate/nps.php

 

[DavidRyves]

An ex-boss of mine always used to say that an unhappy client should be viewed as a sales opportunity - he said that by putting whatever was wrong right beyond the client's wildest expectations you should be able to sell them something new ... guess that's why he's grown a £100m market cap business ...

 

[Ashley_Price]

Have you annoyed your customers?

No, but I play merry hell with my suppliers!!