The UPS Store Cannot Do Everyth-ing

When it comes to outstanding customer experiences, what retail stores stand out? While Nordstrom probably appears in most people’s top five list, there is one retail store that wishes it could be included.

With all the television advertising that the UPS Store does to promote its “-ing” capabilities, such as, copying, faxing, printing, packing, shipping, shredding, moving (supplies), notarizing, etc., what about simple CARING for customers in a polite manner?

Check out a 2018 press release released by the corporate office based in San Diego, California:

“The new “Beyond Shipping” campaign was inspired by a nationwide research effort that revealed small business owners know The UPS Store takes care of shipping, but were surprised to discover the extensive range of business services the locally owned and operated locations offer. Lighthearted and humorous, the fully integrated campaign features fast-paced commercials and videos showcasing the breadth of existing services available at The UPS Store as every “ing” a small business owner might need.”

However, read about my recent experience at a UPS Store in a suburb of Los Angeles, and I guarantee that you’ll cringe with me.

I walked into the store with a pre-packaged and labeled box to be returned to Amazon. While I did not have to wait in line, I chose to wait for the employee, who was assisting another customer, so that I could get a receipt showing that the box had been scanned into the UPS system, aka, received. This scanning receipt would serve as proof to Amazon that I had dropped off the package - and I would be entitled to my refund for the item being returned.

After waiting several minutes, the employee took the box from me and said, “I don’t give paper receipts. They just go into landfills anyway. Consider the box scanned.” Then he dropped the box on the counter behind him and engaged the next customer.

I asked when he would scan the box to show me that the box was, indeed, entered into the UPS system, and he rudely said, “I’ll get to it later.”

Wow!

What happens if my box gets lost? UPS cannot and will not guarantee my refund from Amazon if the box gets lost without being scanned.

And who appointed this particular UPS employee as National Environment Czar to determine that no one gets printed receipts? I know for a fact that EVERY OTHER UPS STORE PRINTS RECEIPTS UPON REQUEST, because I have requested and received them.

This experience got me thinking...I wonder if the UPS Store’s corporate office approves each franchise’s business practices, because this one definitely has no idea how to interact with customers nor how to align with the corporate brand’s advertising messages.

On a final note: the irony is not lost on me that if this particular employee is such an environment lover, he should not work in a store that deals with paper and packages!


Image credit: The UPS Store.

How Well Does Your Brand Know Your Customers?

Over the last decade, thanks to social media, I have had the privilege to meet a variety of amazing marketing, leadership, and customer experience/customer service experts. One of these experts is Jerry Angrave in England. We recently had a discussion about customer experiences and their impact on the overall brand experience. Highlights of our conversation follow Jerry's introduction.

Jerry Angrave is Customer and Passenger Experience Director of Empathyce, a UK-based Customer Experience (CX) consulting and coaching company. His background is in CX roles in the corporate world. As a consultant, he has helped organisations around the world culturally, strategically and operationally in sectors including aviation, financial services, SaaS companies, and utilities. He is also a mentor and trainer for professional development of those in CX roles. In 2020, he wrote his first book, the Customer Journey Mapping Playbook. Connect on Twitter @JerryAngrave and on his website: www.empathyce.com.

QUESTION: In one of your Blog posts, you explained four ways to secure buy-in for Customer Experience from skeptical stakeholders. Can you share your secrets?
JERRY ANGRAVE: We have to help them see how CX can support what they do and contribute to their objectives. Create a starting point they are familiar with: themselves. Ask them to talk about experiences, good or bad, they’ve had with companies in their own lives. Explore what happened, how they felt, what they did or will (not) do next time and reflect on how that impacts the business. The penny will drop, I assure you.

(Post referenced: https://empathyce.com/securing-buy-in-for-customer-experience/)

QUESTION: There’s currently a lot of buzz surrounding the concept of customer journey mapping. You wrote a book on the topic. Can you boil it down to a quick explanation?
JERRY ANGRAVE: Journey mapping is the practice of not just creating a visual representation of what it’s like to be a customer, but of then doing something with it. It’s about organising the thinking about a customer journey into stages and then for each stage, recording what are they doing, thinking, and feeling. At this point, it’s nothing to do with your process maps, they get overlaid later. But armed with a journey map, validated by customers, it becomes apparent where the biggest, easiest wins are for both customers and the business based on the pain points and where you are creating emotions that erode value.

(Post referenced: https://empathyce.com/book-on-customer-journey-mapping/)

QUESTION: There is a direct correlation between the customer experience and the employee experience. Can you elaborate based on a post on your Blog whereby you wrote that customer journey mapping leads to employee engagement?
JERRY ANGRAVE: The act of having a journey mapping workshop brings people together in a way that rarely happens. They will be from right across the business, different functions who are often in conflict with each other and third parties who may not share quite the same values. But the common thread here is how they all collectively have an impact on the customer. They learn about their own business, the roles each person has, and are given permission to step back from the functional day-job to think about the customer. Done effectively, that ignites an excitement and belief abut the benefits of focusing on customers and the pride that will come and with it, therefore, deeper employee engagement.

(Post referenced: https://empathyce.com/using-journey-mapping-understand-measure-employee-engagement/)

QUESTION: Since March 2020, which brands have stood out by providing excellent customer service during the covid pandemic?
JERRY ANGRAVE: It’s tricky to call out any specific brand because so many have stepped up, refocused their business around people and done the right thing, whatever that may be for them. For others, it’s not been their best moment. So the ones that stand out are those who didn’t just keep doing what they were doing but recognised the position their customers were in and were brave enough to throw the operational manual out the window and, in some cases reinvent themselves. People will remember those companies who helped them through this as well as those who stayed wedded to their policies and procedures come what may. It’s not just the big corporations, the corner shop, the local gym, and café have all learned as they go and done some amazing things.

QUESTION: Have you had any exceptional customer experiences during the covid era?               JERRY ANGRAVE: I’d say early on when it wasn’t quite clear what was happening, yet a booking we had with AirBnB was changed and then refunded without question. The expectation was that it would be like dealing with one of the airlines who’ve not covered themselves in glory but it couldn’t have been easier. We felt they trusted us, it worked as they promised, and as a result, I have no doubt we’ll use them again.

QUESTION: Bill Gates has a famous quote, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” What does that quote mean to you?
JERRY ANGRAVE: At one level, it’s obvious, but at another, it’s about being brave, being bold enough to take time to empathise with those who are most frustrated by what you do. It holds the leadership team to account...if they are not prepared to speak directly to an unhappy customer, then the future of that company will be limited.

 
My gratitude to Jerry for appearing on my Blog and sharing his inspiring international insights about customer experience marketing.

Image Credit: Image by Patrick Tomasso via Unsplash app.


In first question, Jerry's post, Securing buy-in for Customer Experience, listed four ways. Here they are:
1. Get them to tell their own stories
2. Spend time getting to know them
3. Talk to other peers and colleagues as well as senior stakeholders
4. Make the business case, even informally

To learn more about the benefits of customer journey mapping, read this post:
https://www.garyfox.co/benefits-customer-journey-mapping/

For an interesting commentary, read this post:
Journey/Experience Mapping Isn't Just for Customers
https://www.brcommunity.com/articles.php?id=b878

Does Your Brand Communicate with Customers?

Like many of us during the covid pandemic, I shop more online than in the pre-covid days. This translates to purchases made via websites that in the pre-covid era, I would have visited stores in person to make my purchases.

One recent item consisted of three dozen colorful plastic hangers. While this item was not a necessity, it added some smiles when hanging clothes during the challenging covid era.

I chose some teal, purple, red, and yellow hangers on a retailer's website, and completed the online purchase. A few weeks later, in a timely manner, the teal, purple, and red hangers arrived on my doorstep. They were just as advertised, and immediately, they "met" some clothes and were placed in my closet.

But something was wrong. I noticed that the yellow hangers were missing. Soon after the box's arrival, I received an email indicating that the yellow hangers were not available from any nearby stores, but they would arrive shortly.

I don't know about you, but "shortly" means "soon" to me, certainly, within a week or two. Otherwise, the store should have sent another email and either provided a delivery update or asked if I wished to cancel my order.

Two months later, and still no yellow hangers. I only purchased five yellow hangers for a total less than two dollars. But where is the update from the retailer? I have sent a couple of emails asking for an update, and I have received no response to any of my communications.

I understand that we are living in a different world, but if a brand offers to sell products, and those products are not available, and the brand accepts payment, then it owes its customers an explanation or a refund. 

You can probably guess the name of the brand I'm talking about.

What would your brand do in this scenario?

Ignore Unhappy Customers at Your Own Peril

I read a Gartner Research article* recently that began, "Many marketing leaders today are responsible for customer experience and customer retention in addition to traditional marketing activities oriented to awareness, consideration, and acquisition. As a result, they're not only asking what makes customers buy products in the first place, but also why customers leave."

This quote has stuck with me since I recently had the third and final customer experience at a major home improvement retail chain (you would recognize the name instantly), and as a result, I have left this particular retailer for good. The sad thing is, no one at that retail chain - not senior leadership, not the marketing team, and not the customer service department - cares that it lost a repeat long-term customer. Here's what happened.

Last December, I purchased a new refrigerator/freezer, washing machine, and dryer. When these three items were delivered to my home, the freezer was missing two shelves, which, if the only problem, would have been a minor matter. I returned to the local store and requested two replacement shelves. A salesperson took two shelves from the floor model and gave them to me. Strike One.

The next day, I smelled something odd in my laundry room. Apparently, there was a gas leak as a result of the incorrect installation of the dryer, so I had to call Southern California Gas. The installer had not put a seal between the valve and the hose, so the So Cal Gas repairman had to visit my home and install one immediately. Strike Two.

This summer, I returned to the home improvement store to purchase a gazebo for my backyard. When the 750-pound box was delivered, the deliveryman used a forklift to attempt to put the large box in my garage, but he scraped my driveway with the forklift. Had he said there could have been damage to the driveway from the forklift, I would have instructed him to place the large box in front of my house, but I did not get the chance. Now, because I want to repair the driveway as soon as possible, I have to hire a contractor to visit my home and repair the driveway. Strike Three.

I looked up the email address for Customer Service on the retailer's website and sent a detailed email. Within a day, I received a response that said, "(Store name) will be happy to help you." The email continued by saying that I needed to speak to the store manager where I purchased the items. I was told that I could not speak to anyone in the corporate customer service department. Strike Four.

A week after my email, I spoke with the local store manager on the phone. He again stated that he wanted to make things right, but when I explained that I resolved both the missing shelves issue and the gas leak issue back in December, and the only remaining issue was the damaged driveway, he said that he would have to file a claim with the delivery company. He explained that the store hired a company to deliver items, so the store was not responsible for any issues resulting from the delivery company. Strike Five.

I said that I did not want to wait for a claim to be filed, an investigator to visit my house to personally assess the damage, and then wait for a decision if a repair would be approved. Guess what happened? The manager hung up the phone on me. Strike Six. If you're a baseball fan, you know that there are too many strikes in this story.

On their own, these instances were disappointing. But taken together, they represent a lack of understanding of customer service and even worse, a total disregard for customers. At any point during my interactions - email, phone, in-person visits - anyone who represented this retail store could have taken ownership for my series of bad experiences and attempted to make things right.

They could have offered:
*A $250 gift certificate
*A free BBQ since it's summertime
*A $250 gift certificate to be used in the garden center

I am reminded of Bill Gates' timeless quote about the value of unhappy customers, and even if nothing had been offered to me, I would have remained a customer if someone from the store had simply acknowledged my concerns and agreed that changes had to be made so that these actions were not repeated for other customers.

Since no one did anything, I have no choice. I'm no longer a customer of this home improvement store - but will now only go to the competitor (whose name you'd also immediately recognize). What would you have done if you had been in my shoes?


*Here's the article that inspired this post:
"Why Customers Leave - and What to Do" by Frances Russell of Gartner Research
https://blogs.gartner.com/frances-russell/2019/07/09/why-customers-leave-and-what-to-do

Image Credit: Quote from Bill Gates.

How Inviting Are Your Brand's Surveys?

Most brands conduct market research and send surveys to customers, fans, and other stakeholders on a regular basis. There is a simple reason why. We all want a pulse on our products and services. Are we hitting the right target audiences? Do they like what we offer? Do they want to make either minor or major changes? Do they want us to introduce sub-brands? There is something, though, that most brands forget when they distribute survey requests: How do you inform someone that they don't qualify after you already asked?

In today's online and social world, most survey requests are distributed by email or text and contain a link to the actual survey. This is because it's very easy to create a survey using a free or competitively priced online tool, such as, SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, SurveyPlanet, etc.

The initial request may even offer something of value to the recipient which makes taking the survey attractive. There may be a guarantee of something of value, or in most cases, there is the possibility of winning a gift card, an Apple product, etc.

The offer of something of value may entice a recipient to spend the time taking the survey, but the likelihood of completing the survey depends on the number of questions, the level of detail, and the amount of time necessary. The likelihood of having a survey of five or fewer questions completed is much higher than a survey of 20 questions and multiple screens.

Anyhow, most brands don't spend the time to consider what happens when a possible survey taker does not qualify to take the survey. This recipient of the "ask" email or text receives the ask and responds with a click to the actual survey. He/she is then asked to answer one qualifier. That question could be "What is your occupation?" or "What is your age?" or "Where do you live?"

If the recipient does not answer the qualifier question correctly, then he/she does not fit into the demographic group that is desired for the survey. So, what happens at this point? Most brands may have a screen that says, "Thank you, but you're not part of the demographic we want to answer our survey." Or, even worse, since the initial ask may have indicated, "Your Opinion Matters," apparently that is not the truth - and your brand may lose a customer or annoy the stakeholder.

This situation presents an amazing opportunity for the brand to talk directly to a customer, fan, or stakeholder BECAUSE YOU ALREADY HAVE SOMEONE'S ATTENTION:
1. The brand could introduce a new product or service
2. The brand could share a testimonial
3. The brand could share an interview with the President/CEO
4. The brand launch a new loyalty program
5. The brand could promote a partnership with a community nonprofit

So, remember, surveys should be considered another element of your overall customer experience, and important touchpoint in your customer journey. What did your brand do with its last survey? Chime in and share.

Image Credit: Touchpoints Research.

Does Your Brand Walk in Your Customer's Shoes?

Call me a little old-fashioned because I may be one of the last remaining people on the planet who still use a printer, and specifically, a color printer. The reason is simple: sometimes, I encounter documents that I want to keep or re-read at a later date. But to do that, I need a printer. For those of you who may be concerned, I support the environment and always use recycled paper. Recently, I had an in-store experience at office superstore Staples that was not worthy of clicking the brand’s “easy button.”

I wanted to purchase new ink cartridges for my printer, and I needed four: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Unfortunately, the store only had the individual cartridges for my printer. Normally, the four cartridges come in one single package at a lower price than each individual cartridge. Each cartridge costs about $20 for a total of $80. But when the four cartridges are sold as a set, the cost is somewhere between $60 to $70. So, there was a difference of $10 to $20, that I was now going to have to pay.

At the check-out counter, I explained the price difference to the salesperson and mentioned that there were no sets on display. So, I asked if Staples could match the price of the set and charge me the lower price – instead of charging me the total of four individual cartridges.

The salesperson adamantly shook his head and told me that my request could not be honored. He did not even attempt to find a manager or ask any other employees. He made the decision immediately.

So, since I had items to print and didn’t really have time to waste, my hands were tied. I purchased the four individual ink cartridges and left the store, but as I walked to my car, I wondered about the amount of customer service training provided at this particular Staples store. Was the Staples mantra of every customer interaction being easy, or a click of the Staples “easy button,” merely words? Do the stores only carry limited products to force customers to spend more? Would the salesperson have treated members of Staples’ leadership team the same way if they had been customers and secret shoppers? And finally, did the salesperson realize that he was providing a lousy customer experience?

Had I been the salesperson and not been able to match the lower price item, I would have responded in one of the following ways:

• “I’m really sorry that we don’t have the set you want to purchase in stock. How about if I order it online for you and expedite shipping to you at no cost?”
• “I’m so sorry that we don’t have the exact item you want in our store. I’d like to make your next visit a better one, so here’s a ten-dollar gift card with no expiration date.”
• “I’m so sorry, but I’m unable to price match. But here’s a free ream of paper for you.”

If you had been the salesperson, what would you have done to avoid alienating me – and making sure I go to Office Depot the next time I need ink cartridges or any other office supplies?

Finally, a reminder from Shep Hyken (@Hyken on Twitter), “When I refer to amazing customer service, I’m not suggesting that every interaction you and your company has with a customer has to be an “over the top” experience. The key is that they are always at least a little better than average. (Always is not easy). ”


Image Credit: Jenn David Design (www.jenndavid.com).

Why Do Customer Experiences Have to Be So Different?

Just like you, I interact with a variety of brands on a daily basis. From the moment I wake up to a radio alarm, there’s my preferred radio station. Then, there’s the waffle and orange juice I choose for breakfast. There are the news sites I read on my smartphone and tablet and the TV news channels I watch. And there are the two virtual assistants I speak to in order to learn the outside temperature. And there are the clothing items I choose and the shampoo, soap, and toothpaste I use. With only an hour of my day gone, that’s at least 20 brands before I start my work day. I cannot imagine how many brands I will interact with before the end of the day!

So, with this large brand number in mind, why do customer experiences have to be so different? Two recent customer experiences stand out because they were so different.

I visited a store that sells boxes – you would immediately recognize the national brand name because it is known as a moving equipment and storage rental company. Once I had selected the boxes I wished to purchase, I saw a sign that read: “$6.99 for one box, but as low as $4.99 with a 10 percent discount.” When I questioned the salesperson as to how many boxes I had to purchase to pay the lower price, she told me that I had to buy 10 boxes. So, I placed 10 boxes on the counter expecting to pay the $4.99 price.

Once I saw my total, I was surprised. The total for the 10 boxes was $69.99 with a single discount of $6.99. When I asked for clarification, the salesperson explained that only one box could get a discount and she did not know how to actually charge $4.99.

Wait a minute! If the signage above the boxes read “$6.99 for one box, but as low as $4.99 with a 10 percent discount,” where was the discount? In addition, how can a cashier complete transactions if he or she cannot implement discounts that are advertised less than ten feet from where they are standing? As you can imagine, I only bought five of the boxes.

Contrast that experience with this one. I was at a national pet store and saw a cat scratching post that was the right height for my two cats. However, the protective wrap around the post was open and might have slightly damaged the post – it would be impossible to tell until I got it home and completely unwrapped it. So, at the check-out counter, I showed the cashier about the wrapping and asked if I could get a discount. She didn't bat an eyelash and immediately offered a 20 percent discount while simultaneously asking, “Will that be good enough?”

These experiences reminded me of Bill Quiseng’s (@BillQuiseng on Twitter) quote:

“Businesses need to understand and educate their employees that there is a difference between taking care of a customer and caring for the customer. For example, taking care of a hotel guest is checking him quickly, giving him a key to a room that is clean and problem-free. Caring for a guest is recognizing that the guest was obviously under the weather and sending up a cup of chicken soup with a note, “Hope you are feeling better soon.” Taking care of a customer is a transaction. Genuinely caring for a customer generates an emotional connection. And emotionally engaged customers are much more loyal than merely satisfied ones.”

These two experiences left me with some important questions:
* Why are some employees empowered to create memorable and positive customer experiences for their brands and others are not?
* What causes leadership teams to train their employees to care about their customers?
* How can brands endure if they don’t create a customer-focused culture?

How would your brand have handled these different customer experiences? 

Two Opposite Sides of the Customer Experience Spectrum

Recently, I had two different and, as a result, unforgettable customer experiences. The reason is, they represent the complete opposite sides of the customer experience spectrum. To quote customer service expert Bill Quiseng, "Customer service is all about what you do for a customer. But customer experience is all about how the customer feels about your company." Details of the experiences follow - and please note, neither company was Amazon.

I found an online shoe company that specialized in comfortable shoes for airline personnel - since they are on their feet while they do their jobs. This company had a nice-looking boot that I was interested in purchasing, however, the online reviews indicated that a larger size might be necessary. I called the toll-free number provided on the website. The woman who answered said she had no knowledge about the shoes because she worked in the travel agency associated with the shoe company. Wait a minute, I called the number that the website provided if there were questions about the shoes. While I was scratching my head, the lady gave me an email address for further inquiries. Even more odd, the email address had nothing to do with the shoe company, i.e., the part of the email address after the @ was for a travel agency. How many touchpoints was I, the customer, supposed to have before I found the correct person who had knowledge about the shoes that the company sold?

On the opposite side of the customer experience spectrum, I was again online looking through an eCommerce site where I am a repeat customer. While I have purchased several items from this site in the past, I did not purchase anything on this particular visit. I left the site and didn't think about any of the items I had seen until I received an email from the company about an hour later.

The subject line read: "Oops, forget something?" And the email read as follows:
We noticed something caught your eye. There's still time to add it to your cart.

What a difference! The first company did not care about me as a customer, while the second company clearly valued me, had noticed I had visited its website, and wanted my business.

Here are some key take-aways from my two experiences: How does your brand show that you value your customers? Do you communicate with your customers regularly so that they feel valued? And above all, are your employees educated on company details outside of their area of expertise so that they are able to answer basic customer questions? If not, it's definitely time for some re-training.