Success vs. Customer Support

"The need for Customer Support predominately exists because of Company failures."
~ Jason Saetrum

SOLUTION

• When ever a product, document, or tool is checked for understanding and quality a company should not just use an expert QC employee. They should have a team of four:    1) the Expert (Subject Matter Expert), 2) the Extreme Novice, 3) someone on the Front-line, and 4) the all important "Mis-matcher." DO NOT REVEAL OR ADVERTISE WHO PLAYS WHICH ROLE IN THE TEAM.

 The "EXPERTS" (SMEs) come in the most "sizes and shapes." From the manager's best buddy, to the most arrogant, the most tenured, engineers, the quality control rep, etc, etc. You will want to pick the person who is the most committed to the product. They may be the ones who tend to be the most defensive about the product because they take change and feedback as a reflection on them and that they may have a "defect." Things usually have to be their idea - they want you to bring them a problem and let them solve it. They thrive in an atmosphere of autonomy, the "biggest, baddest" tools, sincere gratitude and acknowledgment, and a listening ear (bribing with caffeine and Krispy Kreme donuts goes a long way too.)

• You may run into issues with the Expert belittling your other team members for not knowing the "obvious" and shooting them down for their ideas (FYI - this is one of the reasons that your product / service is not as good as it could be). On the flip-side, the Expert is one of the key reasons that your product is as good as it is.

 The "EXTREME NOVICE" is someone who will generally be quiet because they feel inferior to the other team members. It is important to try and give them first attention - preferably before the team meetings. Remember to always write down their feedback, it validates their experience and observations. These team members represent the majority of your customers. With your experience, their feedback will commonly appear inconsequential and tiring, but they are your customer. They are driving the calls, complaints, company opinions, emails, letters, AND the good words about your company to their friends.

• Note: as time goes by, your Novice may become "too educated" and can be moved to a different position in the company. Expect to rotate through Novices. This will keep your touch with the consumer fresh and user-friendly.

The "FRONT-LINE" individual is the customer-facing person who interacts with / touches the customer everyday. Whether it be the customer service rep on the phone, a sales person from a retailer, or etc. This is the person where the "rubber meets the road." They are the "face" of the company. Every interaction that they have with a customer they want to resolve their concern / issue. They tend to be the most creative - they are only limited by the company's policies and the engineers' designs. These are the folks who get the most frustrated because they don't feel like they are listened to.

• You find that you have the highest turnover with this group. You spend the most money on their training - then because they turn over so quickly - the money spent on training becomes too expensive and the management looks for ways to cut training costs and speed up the training because they're running low on these employees. In this day and age, the "Information Age," Human Capital becomes the most important resource. Embrace It!

A word on the "MIS-MATCHER" - this is an employee that is bright, but is commonly "flagged" as someone who is negative, goes out of their way to be heard, can be somewhat offensive, has a problem with authority, etc. You get the point.

Even Microsoft understands - re: the "Crabby Office Lady" (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/FX101679371033.aspx)

• The key here is to not let them know that this is their position in the team. They need to be asked or assigned to this team because you value their insight. Don't overplay it, or it comes across as a setup - which it is not. They are invaluable because they will give you a completely different perspective on things that you won't get any other way. You may have a team of experts, but they operate on the same principles and their insight will be limited to their experiences - but the world is made up of many people who operate on different principles and experiences. It will be your "Mis-matcher" that will push the envelope (and yes, everyone's patience) and bring the opposite view. Experts will only take you so far. You want all types of customers, and you want to make them pleased with your products and services.

• Note: your patience will be tried, the "Mis-matcher" will most likely have to be reigned in at times and they may withdraw for a bit, but their desire to be heard will bring them out of it. You may have others complain, or even want them fired because they "don't fit in." As the leader you will have to keep these things close to your vest and lead / facilitate the team to solutions.

Leading and facilitating teams is an art and can be the difference between your company's evolution or dissolution. I will discuss this more later.

~ Jason Saetrum