Roadblocking a new Customer

[Steve B]

Something happened to me today that I just couldn't believe. I was trying to hire a company to do some collections for me. I did a google search and found a company that had a decent website and seemed to offer what I wanted (they invested in a website with over 50 pages).

I called the number after 9am so I know they were open. I got a machine that told me if I knew my parties to extension to dial it now or, to hit #9 for an alphabetical directory. Since I didn't know anyone's extension and I didn't know the name of anyone in the company - I waited for a third option. Well, there wasn't one! The message just kept looping with no other choices. I chose to hit #9 and thought I'd just hit the "A" in hopes of at least getting a few choices of people. No such luck (invalid #). Yes, I literally had to know a last name of someone in order to get through to them.

Well, now I was on a mission just to "beat the roadblock". I called back and kept pounding #'s once I got in the alphabetical directly until I accidentally got a person to answer. She seemed a little put out that I was calling and didn't know who to ask for - but, after a brief explanation of what I was trying to do she transferred me to someone. He rudely answered the phone by barking out his last name only "WILSON". He must have been an owner because that name was used in their company name. I told him what I wanted and he went on to tell me that he couldn't work with me because my overdue accounts were too small (of course, I pointed out that his website said they had no minimum). I politely gave him my opinion of how they have made it impossible for a potential new customer to contact them - he pretended to be appreciative.

It must be nice to have so many customers that you want to hide from getting any new ones.

[cbscreative]

Must be a refugee from the banking industry who thinks that they are doing you a favor to let you do business with them.

[orion_joel]

Kind of sounds like little company syndrome, where they are just wanting to feel big. Hiding behind the ridiculous phone system, wanting people to think they are bigger then they actually are.

[KristineS]

It's so sad when companies get in their own way. It doesn't always matter whether the company is big or little, either.

UPS does something similar. If you call and want to talk to customer service they make you go through this ridiculous menu and enter a tracking number for your package. Once you've done that, the menu plays again. If you try to get to customer service, the recording basically says "o.k, but customer service can't tell you anything more than our recorded message did". What sort of help is that?

I think companies sometimes try to cut corners too much. Nothing replaces human interaction. If you want to talk to a human you should be able to do so.

[BillR]

Those phone systems are the devil. I hate them...and I often work with them integrating them with applications.

On a related note I also refuse to use the automated check out lanes at Home Depot. I just won't do it. I've resorted to telling the people that it's against my religion and they need to do it for me. Funny how no one ever calls me on THAT one...

[Steve B]

I'm the exact same way with the automated check out. The few times I tried them, it wouldn't work right. I either set off an alarm when I leave the store (I just keep walking - they'll have to tackle me if they think I've stolen something) or it freezes up because I didn't put something in the bagging area correctly. Now, I wait in the only line that has a real person. If that line ends up being too long I lay the stuff down that I was going to purchase on the nearest shelf and leave the store.

I keep hoping for our free market system to flush these loser ideas out of existence.

[cbscreative]

To me, the automated checkouts are mixed blessing. I do use them, but I also understand the frustration. They do usually serve to allieviate longer lines at the checkouts with real cashiers, and I suspect they help reduce labor costs. Even though I am used to them, I still find it frustrating on occasion because they do glitch, and sometimes they are downright stupid and slow. I tend to avoid the ones I am not sure about. A local grocery store I frequent has them, and I've become familiar with when to use them and when not to.

[Marcomguy]

Employees get so caught up in doing their jobs and their internal processes, they have no idea what people outside the company have to go through to do business with them. And if their processes put up roadblocks for the customer, well then it's the customer's fault for not altering their behavior to fit the processes.

[greenoak]

its so sad and dumb....
this kind of stuff sure roadblocks me....im impressed if a real person answers the phone..thats what i call good service...we always answer our phone....
..im dealing with a supplier right now where the phone message almost always is, im with another customer leave a message, all day long sometimes.........i figure they are so small they dont man an office or phone...plus its a lie actually......
and i guess im old fashioned but i dont like to leave phone messages....did they choose not to call me back or did the message get lost...and its convenient for me to talk when i call not necessarily later...
ups has the most barriers!! i got thru fast one time tho...by sending a complaint to the national office....but i had a pick up service in the mix that they probably didnt want to lose...
ann

[orion_joel]

The self serve checkout's are just starting to appear in Australia, and personally to date i have maybe used them 7 or 8 times, only once set off an alarm on the way out, but other then that everytime i have used them i have beat the person out that i would have been standing behind in the line. I find them to be good, on the other hand my parents have used them 3 times and had nothing but trouble with them, so it can be a totally different experience for different people.

[KristineS]

And if their processes put up roadblocks for the customer, well then it's the customer's fault for not altering their behavior to fit the processes.

That's the attitude that really annoys me. UPS has a phone system that is pretty much designed to annoy customers who call in, and you can tell it's also designed to try and eliminate a large part of the call traffic that would have gone to customer service.

I'm sure it was sold to them as something that would eliminate customers having to wait on hold, but what it really does is make it seem that UPS doesn't want to talk to their customers.

[BillR]

To summarize my feelings on this as a whole....if you own a business you should strive to make taking on new customers the EASIEST thing possible.

I always find it interesting when you are someplace money in hand (literally) and no one will take it. This happened to me recently at a small cafe in San Francisco - I was trying to get breakfast and I was literally standing in front of the register with my money out - employees behind the counter kept walking by me - they'd look at me and just keep walking.

Granted, it might not have been their job to take orders - but they sure as heck should have been trained to say "I'll get someone to help you right away" and then follow through on it.

[Dan Furman]

That's the attitude that really annoys me. UPS has a phone system that is pretty much designed to annoy customers who call in, and you can tell it's also designed to try and eliminate a large part of the call traffic that would have gone to customer service.

I'm sure it was sold to them as something that would eliminate customers having to wait on hold, but what it really does is make it seem that UPS doesn't want to talk to their customers.

Well, as far as UPS goes, if they made it easy to reach them, they'd be flooded with millions of (largely unnecessary) "where's my package?" calls every day. So I can see roadblocking here a bit.

[KristineS]

Well, as far as UPS goes, if they made it easy to reach them, they'd be flooded with millions of (largely unnecessary) "where's my package?" calls every day. So I can see roadblocking here a bit.

I'm not sure I agree with you about that Dan. If you're calling to find out where your package is because it didn't arrive as it should have done, that's an important call to you. The job of UPS is to get the packages to where they are supposed to go. If they don't do that, you, as a customer, have a legitimate right to want to call and get information.

Now, if people are calling while the package is still in transit, that's a different story. If they just want to track package progress they can use the UPS web site and their tracking number. If, however, the package was misplaced or lost, I think a customer is fully justified in asking why that happened, and I don't think it's too much to ask that UPS make it easy to place that call.

[Ad-Vice_Man]

at the grocery store... Good.

at home depot. Maybe.. depending on what I'm buying.

at WAL-Mart... no the average walmart shopper is not astute enough to operate them .

[Remipub]

Speaking of Home Depot ... maybe it's just me, but whenever I go to a warehouse home improvement store the service is usually horrible. I hate to "ask" for help (kinda like asking for directions - I guess it's not in my genetic code :) ) but if I'm standing in an isle scanning the shelves for several seconds, obviously trying to find something in particular, you'd think a passing employee would stop a second and say "can I help you find something?" Too often I will see two employees shooting the bull about their weekend plans, completely oblivious to the fact that I need help. I even try to send subtle signals by looking toward them, then the shelf, picking something up and putting it back, then looking back at them - I know they see me, but they just continue with their important discussion. Yes, I'm stubborn - the prudent thing to do would be to inturrupt them and ask for help (which I have done only to get a look of "why are you bothering me?", but more often than not, if they don't take the initiative to help me and it's not something I can find on my own, I just leave and go purchase at a local Ace where the service is almost always exceptional.

[Remipub]

The issue with the answering phones is one I struggle with in my own business. We have a toll free number, but the per minute rate isn't cheap! I'm one who will take as much time as needed with a client to make sure all questions are answered, but on some of our products the profit margin is pretty low. I could easily eat up the profits on a business card order by spending a long time fielding a toll free call from a customer. To that end, we use the toll free number as a message system, then call back where there is no per minute toll charge. I know isn't ideal, but the alternative is to raise prices. It's a balancing act ... I want to be 100% accessible to clients, but at the same time I have to keep the costs in check.

[Ad-Vice_Man]

is the 800 number even necessary anymore... maybe I'm jaded becuase i use my cell phone to call everyone or in rare instances my one price VOIP home phone but I never give a call to a foreign exchange a second thought because i don't pay long distance charges.

[KristineS]

I think the need for an 800 number depends on your customers. A lot of our customers are late adopters for many types of technology. For them an 800 number is essential because they aren't using cell phones and VOIP. If you were working for a company that had a high tech customer base, an 800 number probably wouldn't be necessary.

I guess it comes down to knowing who your customers are and how they interact.

[Ad-Vice_Man]

ahh yes, the quintessential business skill. Knowing who your customers are.

[Paul Elliott]

The issue with the answering phones is one I struggle with in my own business. We have a toll free number, but the per minute rate isn't cheap! I'm one who will take as much time as needed with a client to make sure all questions are answered, but on some of our products the profit margin is pretty low. I could easily eat up the profits on a business card order by spending a long time fielding a toll free call from a customer. To that end, we use the toll free number as a message system, then call back where there is no per minute toll charge. I know isn't ideal, but the alternative is to raise prices. It's a balancing act ... I want to be 100% accessible to clients, but at the same time I have to keep the costs in check.

Try to get past the concept that each sale must produce a profit. I know it's a difficult transition, but think of each customer as a repeat customer and focus on the Lifetime Value of that person. IOW, if a person purchases from you once, how long will they continue to purchase and how much over that period of time. THAT's where the money is!

If you can tell me the LV of your customers, I can show you not only how much you can afford to spend to acquire a customer but how to increase your customers' LVs.

Paul

[Steve B]

And, to add to Paul's thought. Don't forget that a certain percentage of your customers will refer other people to you as well (so you will also have to add the LV of the referrals you may get).

[Paul Elliott]

And, to add to Paul's thought. Don't forget that a certain percentage of your customers will refer other people to you as well (so you will also have to add the LV of the referrals you may get).

Steve, the ideal situation is that every person with whom you've had contact--a customer or a not-yet-customer--turns into your best salesperson.

It's the principle of reciprocity or the something-for-nothing seesaw (See the "88" below.). When you give a person more than they were expecting, whether or not they purchased from you, that person feels a sense of need to reciprocate by promoting you and your products or services.

That's the pinnacle of marketing. It is a form of viral marketing in the offline world that produces the greatest average LV of a customer.

Paul