In the previous entry, I talked about why it’s important to help customers feel comfortable giving your business feedback. If you don’t, you’ll never hear about little annoying Moments of Truth that alienate your customers, but which they’ll never tell you about.

They won’t tell you, because most of us don’t enjoy confrontation. Most of us also don’t want to appear picky or petty, so we grin and bear the little inconveniences or sources of friction that make our customer experience less than perfect.

Although they’re significant enough to diminish our experience, they’re small enough to seem picky or petty if we bring them up to the service person or their manager. For instance, think of how many times you’ve been inconvenienced and the service person doesn’t bother to apologize.

It’s rather awkward to say “You know, it would be nice if you apologized.” So instead, customers either go away annoyed or they make a sarcastic comment that doesn’t feel as vulnerable as saying as “You know, it would be nice if you apologized.”

Although it doesn’t feel as awkward or vulnerable, it leaves the customer service person thinking “What an obnoxious customer!” and with no clue about how his or her behavior triggered such an unpleasant response.

I promised in the last entry to give you two examples of businesses that lowered the threshold customers mentally have to cross before they decide they’ll speak up. By lowering the threshold, you don’t require customers to get to the “I’ve had enough and I’m not going to take it anymore!” point before they make a complaint. By lowering the threshold, you capture many of those little alienating Moments of Truth that you would never hear about otherwise, thus enabling you to remove the aspects of your service experience that prevent it from being a brand-building “Wow!” experience.

Business #1 – A restaurant in upstate New York. While on business several years ago, I stopped at this restaurant for dinner. On the front of the menu was the following (this is not verbatim, but a close approximation):

“We want you to be totally happy with your meal at the Blue Dolphin, whether you’re a local who might come back again and again, or a tourist traveling through. So… if there is anything that you’re not happy about, please let your server know and we’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

Now, think of how different this is from the typical restaurant experience. If the server even bothers to ask you if everything is alright, they’re usually saying it in a robotic manner – a la “Have a nice day.”

If you do have the nerve to say something like “Well, actually… my meal takes really bad” or some other criticism, they don’t usually thank you for sharing. Instead, you get a frown, a befuddled “Oh, I’m sorry…”, or a facial expression and voice tone that says “Why are you ruining my day by being so negative?” A couple of these experiences and you learn that the only correct response is “Fine” or “Great.”

Saying the truth isn’t worth the bother. Unless… you cross that threshold and the food is so horrible or the service so bad, you don’t care what the server or anyone else thinks. You’re going to speak your mind.

If this is the only time the restaurant gets feedback, they lose critical information that could help them upgrade the customer experience they deliver.

But at the Blue Dolphin, you realize your feedback is welcome. Thus, you’re more likely to give them input on even little things that could help them improve. Instead of feeling like you’re a bother or a whiner, you see yourself almost as a consultant providing a service. Don’t you think the Blue Dolphin gets a lot more useful information than most restaurants?

Business #2 – A Starbucks. I was waited on by a particularly surly barrista but wasn’t about to tell her that. Why would I want more of the same? However, on the way out, I noticed a chalk board saying “We want your feedback!” and the store manager’s business card.

So… instead of just walking out feeling irritated, I walked out feeling like my opinion mattered and that I would have a receptive audience. I called the manager and gave her the feedback. She was very appreciative, and let me know she was working on improving customer service (she was new to the store). Since returning, I’ve noticed a big difference, including with that barrista.

Now this isn’t rocket science, I know, but think of how few places do this. Think of how few establishments make it easy to give feedback or communicate that they sincerely want it.

When working with call center managers, I recommend that they coach their reps to ask customers for feedback as part of their conversation (unless they are swamped with calls). Questions like “Is there anything that we do that makes it less than easy to do business with us?” and “Are there any aspects of this process that you think we could improve on?” help you find out about little things that could be improved upon, and… wins you major customer loyalty “brownie points,” because you cared enough to ask.

So… what will you do to let customers know you welcome their feedback, and in fact, are hungry for it?

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