Today's Organisations - Weapons of Mass Irritation

Outbound calls , frequent SMSs to market the products, untrained callers all these are making recipient of calls irritable.

On the other hand when we call inbound call centers to solve our problems ; punching of innumerable buttons, repeating the problems to every agents, line disconnect, again repeating the process - huge irritation. 

When customers wish to approach any of the following issues, none can be handled without irritation ; 

1. Complaint Resolution
2. Goods Return
3. After Sales Service
4. Mis-Sell
5. Over-Sell
6. Over- Bill
7. Long Procedures 
8. Complicated Forms & Bills
9. Complex Features
10. Multiple & Unwanted Choices

Most of the activities rolled out by an organisation creates irritation. The main cause if lack of or no customer focus specially no end to end customer focus. No effort to step into the shoes of customer to design customer experience. No effort or mind for service design. No one in charge of end to end customer experience. 

Map the customer journey, design the service, take rigorous customer feedback , read social media reviews, put someone senior enough in charge of end to end customer experience. 

Convert your Customer Irritation quotient into Customer Happiness and you have won the customer for long, his repeat purchase, his higher pocket share, his referral contacts. 

If you are not making your customers HAPPY , you are IRRITATING them. 

Customer Experience & Social Impact

Customer Experience (CX) Focus , more than a business is in fact a social cause. Surprised? But its true. 

Focusing on better customer experience means making lives of customers easier , making them happy with what they buy/consume. Its at the end peace of mind for them.  It brings trust back in business. 

This cannot happen without focusing on employees engagement & happiness. 

This can save customers from misleading & misguiding advertisement & marketing gimmicks.  

With happier customers & happier employees , CX initiatives spread overall happiness in society. It shifts focus from only profit to profit through happiness. Companies focusing on CX are making money by keeping employees & customers happy. 

Today's corporations otherwise are cause of mass unhappiness with their ONLY share holder driven policies. Only PROFIT at the cost of customers & employees unhappiness , social & ethical erosion in values.  

From whatever angle you look at: CX focus is the only way for sustainable competitive advantage & social betterment. 

Today's Organisations - Horses on Steroids

Present models of ONLY ROI driven businesses are not sustainable.  CFO of Narayana Hrudayalaya today quoted in ET- CD, " kind of returns PE players are asking is not possible in healthcare industry." 

Yes healthcare industry is not only PROFIT driven but PEOPLE driven. Number of people impacted while making some profit to take care of future investments. Mere ROI focus is not sustainable nor desirable.

Why only healthcare ? Every industry today is in severe cut throat competition. Ethical conduct is replaced by END only matters,  Q on Q and ROI, ROCE kind of performance matrix. 

Balance Scorecard approach by some of the corporate is welcome step but how much it has helped in stress reduction and happiness enhancement is a  matter of research. 

These PEs and their insatiable appetite for ROI is deciding ROI benchmarks world over.  

Huge ROI will drive happiness for a few at the cost of unhappiness and stress for many. 

Today's organisations are like Horses on steroids in race course. 

Huge bonus and extravagant packages at the top level makes the organisation look like a race course. Bets on the houses are so huge that they have to run and run and win at all cost. 

Fortunately horses run only in race course but ROI hungry Shareholders & CEOs run all across the society. Examples of Ranbaxys and Satyams and many more unearthed are the products of such rush for crazy ROIs.   

Are you acting in CSR drama?

Before you spend single penny on so called CSR, please check your  happiness scorecard of  employees, customers and community you operate in , tax evasion  & other corrupt practices your company is  indulging in.  

SR of C starts from with-in and goes with-out after taking care of everyone within. Most companies neither  take care of  their employees plight and life nor sincere in paying their Govt levies and rampant indulgences in corruption for getting benefits.  

This kind of companies doing CSR is neither SR nor desired by the society.

Purpose of any CSR initiatives  is to bring happiness and cheers for the under privileged. Now this objectives can not be achieved by money generated out of unhappy & stressed employees, anti social business practices of tax evasion and corruption.  

First and foremost SR of any corporate is be socially awaken towards people , community and environment impacted by the enterprise. Abide by the laws of the land and then  and only then indulge in so called CSR.  

We do not want a situation where in a thief robs people and donate to temple and by that means justify robbing.   

Don't indulge in corruption, pay your taxes right, keep your people happy, keep your customers happy, keep your community happy and pollution free and if then if something is left  including desire then look for CSR opportunities not before. All CSR initiatives must be judged on this count only. 

Only Sales , no after Sales , forget RETURN or Refund

Zappos.com return policy is exciting - 365 days return & free both ways shipping. Neither shipping charges within the US nor shipping charges on goods u return. 

Customer HAPPINESS is the FINAL agenda not getting money from customer any how & then let the customer go to hell, we will not listen.

Justdial.com , brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. Their sales people sales the plan for 1 year and indicate that in case intermittent termination just write to us and we will do the needful. (Mis-sell to fulfill their targets)

However actual picture is quite different. They will hardly respond to your complaints, neither they cancel or stop EMIs if the customer is not happy. They want to complete the contract period any how irrespective of customer happiness or satisfaction. 

Wording they use: "However, as per the contract signed by you, we will not be able to hamper the tenure of the contract before the stated contract period; however we will always provide services to you for enhancing your business profoundly. Hence we will be unable to discontinue the ECS."

 

{ I visited the net to find customer stories with Just Dial and found the link http://www.consumercomplaints.in/bycompany/just-dial-a30775.html }

They are ready to whatever but not refund of money of discontinue of ECS. Pity. Hope Mr. Amitabh Bachchan or rather some customer champions could have been used to change the company culture instead of promoting uncultured (i.e. no customer centric) brand.

I fail to understand why companies want to earn at the cost of customer unhappiness?? When a person  becomes a customer , there are certain expectations. No one will waste his or companies' time to buy and then return or discontinue without a reason. Unfortunately most companies became less interested in customer once the goods and services are sold and even least interested when customer have a complaint or want refund on return of goods.

Companies invest huge amount on brand ambassadors but hardly any time or investments on actual brand experience creation or culture change.   

However SOCIAL MEDIA will change this mindset of the companies. Companies MUST learn this  proactively or else brand value is at stake (Huge and Quick).

My Design of Customer Happiness Circle

Its Win Win for all the Stake holders. Have any company ever done assessment of Stress Generated from their Corporate Activities?? We have surveys of Carbon Emission , but What abt Human Stress Emission? Today's Corporations are Stress Emission Machines. 

Corporate Must Shift their Model of Success from Share Holders to Customers. Measuring Happiness should be the Agenda at the year end.  

Who will take the lead? Zappos.com is the one I know. Share here if u know some one else.

Pain Around Us - Why HAPPINESS is Critical for Entrepreneurs to Focus on??

Pain Around Us

1) Daily Commuting for Work

2) Prolonged Financial and Career Goals

3) Family Unrest (Spouse /Children and Parents)

4) Health Issues

5) Heavy Debt Burden

6) Children Education/ Career and Marriage

7) Heavy Traffic

8) For Entrepreneurs - Customer Acquisition and Cashflow Gaps

9) Inability to Fulfill Other Long Term Dreams 

10) Unwanted and Boring Job Profile
11) Long Q in the Malls
12) Huge Credit Card Dues & Interest Charges
13) Call Center Culture , where one holds the phone & listen more than talk/convey
14) No getting Commuting Vehicle easily in the Eve
15) U may add yours also

Can U make Out : Why HAPPINESS is a major driver to offer talk of the town product & services ??  Why Zappos.com, a US based shoe retailer is focused on Customer HAPPINESS? Is there any connection between Shoe Selling and Making Customer HAPPY?? 

How by providing your Offerings which can add and bring HAPPINESS in the life of your customer can make them not only HAPPY in his otherwise painful life but will also make them talk about their experience with your BRAND.

At the cost of short term share holders interest , invest in long term CUSTOMER HAPPINESS.  (Both will gain in the long run)

Apply yourself HARD and check HOW and WHERE element of HAPPINESS can be added in your customer experience path i.e. customer touch points with your BRAND.

Unless thoughtfully DESIGNED, it will  not happen automatically.