Customer Service Role Models vs.
Customer Service Fails
A National Role Model
We had the privilege of working with a national role model in customer service, Northeast Delta Dental (NEDD). They were recognized as one of the 2024 Baldrige Award recipients, and that was due in no small part to their best practices resulting in their superior performance in customer service. Here are some of their enviable results:
- Sustained Net Promoter Score (NPS) between 93 and 95 since 2016. Compare that to some of the highest NPS rankings by brands such as Warby Parker (of eyeglass fame) with an 80, Starbucks at 77, USAA at 75, and Amazon at 72.
- The accuracy rate of claims processes has been at 99.9% for the past five years, performance that exceeds industry expectations for procedural and financial accuracy of 95% and 99% respectively.
- Call response time (measured by the time – in seconds – it takes to reach a knowledgeable customer service representative) has improved from an average of 33 seconds in 2016 to 29 seconds in 2023.
- First contact resolution of issues has exceeded 95% for the past eight years.
Best practices include:
- Guarantee of Service Excellence™ (GOES™) states that a customer will be compensated if NEDD doesn’t fulfill a guarantee for customer service, quick claims, inappropriate billing, ID cards, and marketing contacts. Seven of the eight processes included in GOES™ have ben operating at the Six Sigma level (3.4 defects per million opportunities) for the past five years.
A Pathetic Customer Service Fail
This past week I experienced one of the most frustrating encounters ever with on-line florists while trying to order a bouquet in appreciation to send our graphic artist for her incredible support helping clients with quality award applications. It was a task that seemed so easy at first.
I had ordered before with the first florist I chose, and my experiences had been positive. However, this time, they sent an email to let me know they were not honoring the promised delivery date (pushed out by 4 days!). This was followed with another email telling me that the bouquet design was not available and offering me multiple choices at “no upcharge.” No wonder; their alternatives were nothing like I had selected and were not satisfactory. I contacted them and got passed around to several different representatives until I was finally able to cancel my order with a full refund promised.
The second florist showed up at the top of my search list. That seemed like a good sign until it later was shown to be the result of some skilled Search Engine Optimization. Had I dug deeper, I would have seen many complaints (over 1100) posted to the Better Business Bureau and a terrible one-star rating on a review site.
Another clue should have been the $24.95 “Service Fee” on top of the Delivery Fee and taxes that showed up only as I was getting ready to place the order. However, they also guaranteed delivery the next day, and the bouquet seemed to be as nice as what I had originally ordered. So, I paid the high price to get a timely delivery of a pretty product.
And then the games began. On the delivery date, I received an email telling me that it was also postponed for 3 days. It included a customer service number, which I called. I was then treated to an automated response informing me that their number had changed and that I should call a different number. No offer to transfer. No mention that the email hadn’t been updated with the correct number. I tried unsuccessfully multiple times to reach a live representative to no avail. In complete frustration, I posted my experience on social media and, after a few hours, received a DM asking for the details, which I provided.
It gets worse. I received a text message telling me that the bouquet I had ordered was not going to be available in the foreseeable future. I replied with a rather pithy (yeth, sometimes I lisp) reply mocking their exorbitant Service Fee that obviously was no guarantee of good customer service. I also asked for some token of service recovery. I was grudgingly offered a 50% refund of said Service Fee.
At that point, adding insult to injury, I received this reply, “Our service fee is designed to ensure that your order receives the care and attention it deserves. We realize that some companies may choose to conceal their service fees within the overall cost of the flowers, adding a separate delivery charge on top of that. At XXXX, we want to be transparent by keeping these fees separate, so you can clearly see what you are paying for at the final stage of checkout. We appreciate your understanding and patience in this matter.”
My parting shot was, “Your service fee did NOT result in ensuring that my order received the care and attention it deserved. Not one single transaction was made to ensure that I could have the product delivered what was promised on time or what I had ordered. I have filed a report with the Better Business Bureau and have posted a review on YYYY (social media site). You brought this on yourselves with the worst customer service I have experienced in a very long time.”
Compare and Contrast
Northeast Delta Dental genuinely cares about its customers and its employees. As a result, their culture is built around the principles of excellent, timely customer service. They invest in education and systems to enable their employees to deliver on that promise. They are easy to do business with. They proactively offer customer service resolutions to retain customers, regain their loyalty, and rebuild their trust. And their customer retention and financial results speak to their success.
Both on-line florists are clearly betting on their volume of business offsetting the customer defectors. They only operate defensively when called out for their failures. And they are betting on dissatisfied customers giving up in frustration and not holding them accountable.
Have You Tested Your Own Customer Service Systems and Processes?
The most valuable feedback you can get from your customers is actionable feedback. One of the best practices from organizations known for high standards of customer service is for senior leaders to listen in on calls made to their support centers; they monitor social media sites for negative reviews and investigate the issues; and they empower their employees to “make it right” when a customer has been disappointed. Are you doing any of these?
Want to learn more about Northeast Delta Dental?
