Uber Violates Company Policy & Provides Poor Customer Service

       

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      In recent news, a popular transportation company, Uber, has lost some respect as head honcho of the company recommended spending nearly $1 million to find gossip on a journalist who spoke out against the company’s system. In addition, Uber has been in the light as drivers have been tracking customers’ rides, which violates the company’s oath of keeping locations private. Hence, there’s no doubt that customer service is falling below acceptability, so customer satisfaction is dropping quickly as well.

       In our Module 8 PowerPoint notes, Professor Albada defines deception as “knowingly transmitting messages that are meant to mislead another person by fostering false impressions, beliefs, or understandings or by actively concealing the truth.”

       Although Uber has remained a popular transportation company thus far, customer gratification is wavering as the company partakes in negative customer service behaviors. Through violating the company’s promise of privacy and security, the drivers are continuing to deceive the customers. This is a highly damaging act that will most likely break the customers’ trust and drive them away from Uber. According to the article, “there are calls to boycott the company on Twitter, and many have vowed to go to its smaller rival Lyft.”

       As the Module 8 notes stated, some common reasons for deception are to survive, to accomplish a goal, to protect an image, to avoid negative repercussions, to establish a relationship and to maintain a relationship. However, there’s no doubt that the reveal of Uber’s acts has harmed its chances to establish and maintain customer relationships. Also, the company’s image has now been tarnished, which will make it more difficult to avoid negative consequences.

       “You want to create a culture that creates positive reputational capital for the company, particularly if you are a startup," said Maclyn Clouse, University of Denver's Daniels College of Business.

       Due to Uber being such a large, upcoming company, it has managed to escape some of the direct repercussions. Through means of distortion, which is making something smaller or larger than it is, the company has been able to display its actions as less harmful than they actually are. Even so, Uber is walking a fine line in which it must regain comfortable footing with positive customer service as its support.  

- Megan 

"Does bad behavior really hurt business?." Daily Democrat. The Associated Press, 23 Nov. 2014. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.

Proximity in Customer Service Situations

       There are several different ranges of space that surround every person.  Each level of this space is defined by who and in what situations it is appropriate to enter them.  The furthest space is designated as public space - anyone can stand in this space without it being considered inappropriate.  The space that very closely surrounds a person is usually only allowed to be invaded by people who share a close relationship with them.  In customer service situations, what space is considered appropriate to reside in?  If one stands too far away from the customer, they may have to shout in order to assist them, which would be considered rude.  However, if one stands too close to the customer, it is an invasion of privacy and would also be considered rude. 

       Hence, it all depends on what position you are in as the employee and what your relationship is with the customer.  Working in a restaurant, I have been able to observe the way in which the servers interact with the customers.  The bartender has many regular customers with whom she has formed relationships.  When she interacts with customers, she stands close to them, sometimes leaning on the table or over the bar in order to listen to what they are saying.  She listens to their stories, nods, and smiles.  She has very positive feedback from her customers and many people only come in on the nights she is working simply because they have grown to like her.  She has the ability to make the customer feel important by standing close enough without invading their privacy, which has produced plausible reactions from the customers.  As a result, they always leave happy and come back regularly.  

       Not all customer service situations are appropriate for this kind of close interaction, however. It is important to judge each customer and each situation carefully to ensure that you give the appropriate amount of space between the customer and yourself.  In some situations, closeness can produce positive results.  Nonetheless, as an employee, you should generally keep a moderate distance so that you are close enough to talk to them and answer their questions, but not so close that you are invading their personal space. 

-Sabrina

Albada, Kelly. "Conversational Space." Module 4, Part 1 Powerpoint - Proxemics. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.

Olfactics: Chocolate Smell in Bookstores

Check out this video about a study conducted last year that found the smell of chocolate helps to make customers spend more time in bookstores.  The study, conducted by researchers at Hasselt University in Belgium found that people were over twice as likely to look at more than one book before purchasing when the store smelled like chocolate.  The chocolate smell also increased overall book sales and increased the sale of romance novels and food-related books by 40%.  They conducted the study over ten days, making the shop smell like chocolate for half of it’s operating hours.  The researchers observed the behavior of every 5^th person that entered the  bookstore which gave them a sample size of 201 study subjects.

Olfactics (smell) is a really crucial, yet often overlooked part of the nonverbal communication side of customer service.  The smell of both the environment and the employees of a business that customers come into contact with should be considered when assessing the overall customer experience and working on homing your nonverbal skills.  At its simplest level, everything and everyone should smell nice, but not overpowering.  If you wish to dive deeper into olfactics, you should consider what you want your customers to do.  Stay longer?  Relax?  Get excited?  Buy more romance novels?  Once you've decided what your goals are, you can begin to research what smell or combination of smells you should use.  I would suggest contacting a professor at a local university who specializes in nonverbal communication.  They should be able to help point you in the right direction.  Who knows…Maybe they’ll turn it into a cool research study!  Olfactics is a very powerful nonverbal cue.  If used correctly, I believe it can make a big difference and help increase sales and customer satisfaction.  

-Sam

People Spend More Time in a Bookstore That Smells Like Chocolate. Dir. geobeats. 23 July 2013. YouTube. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.

Doucé, L., Poels, K., Janssens, W., & De Backer, C. (2013). Smelling the books: The effect of chocolate scent on purchase-related behavior in a bookstore. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 36, 65–69. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.07.006

The Customer Is Always Right

       Bad customer service is displayed in this video clip from the TV show "Kitchen Nightmares".

       The first issue is Chef Gordon's tone when he first approaches the unhappy customer.  He talks down to the woman, and his tone of voice and the way he phrases his question immediately inform us that he finds her opinion to be incorrect. When it comes to communicating in customer service situations, it is important to make sure that the way you talk to your customers shows that you care about their concerns. The customer is already upset, so approaching them with the tone of voice shown in this video would not be helpful. Chef Gordon's tone of voice and word choice continue to display bad customer service throughout the video.

       The second issue with Chef Gordon's customer service communication is that his body language is very rigid and unwelcoming. He stands over the woman with his hands on his hips and looks down at her while he is speaking to her. In addition, his stance clearly displays that he is angry with the customer and is not interested in helping her. His body language basically screams "I am above you, and you have no right to feel the way that you do." Body language can speak loudly in customer service situations. It would have calmed the tense situation if Chef Gordon had more open body language that signified he cared about the customer's concerns.

       I'm fairly certain that the woman in the clip did not come back to eat at that restaurant ever again.  Companies stress their staff providing good customer service because they want the customers to leave having had a good experience so that they will be more likely to return. It is important to always be helpful, respectful and kind when dealing with customers in order to ensure that their experience is pleasant. It doesn't always work, and some customers will still leave unhappy, but they will DEFINITELY leave unhappy if you handle their issue in the same way that Chef Gordon did in this video.

-Sabrina Schultz

Gordon Argues with Awkward Customer. Dir. Kitchen Nightmares. Perf. Gordon Ramsay. 2 Oct. 2009. YouTube. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.

Happy Associate = Happy Customer

       For today’s post, I would like to share a positive customer service communication experience.  A few days ago, I walked into a grocery store to buy the ingredients for the meal I was going to make for dinner that night. The recipe called for some odd items that I had trouble finding, so I asked one of the cashiers for help. The first sign that this cashier had excellent customer service communication skills was that he kept eye contact as I was asking for help and smiled as he told me he could show me where to find the items. Next, rather than using vague, verbal directions (as many do), he actually walked me directly to the aisle where I could find my items. After that, he made eye contact and smiled again while asking me if I needed help with anything else.

      It seems simple, but his nonverbal communication during the entire interaction was actually what made me consider his customer service skills to be above par.  His confident smile and knowledge about the location of items in the store gave me the impression that he enjoyed his job and helping customers. Now, the question is did this guy actually like his job or was he just putting on a happy face in order to keep his job? It could be either. However, as we learned in the Module 7, Part 1 slides of our class, sometimes putting on a happy face can change/influence your emotions to follow along! So next time you are at work and you’re just not feeling it that day, try forcing yourself to smile and happily help your customers. According to the Facial Feedback, this action may actually make you feel as enthusiastic as you are trying to appear.

-Sabrina Schultz

This information was taken from our communications class website (Module 7, Part 1, slide 10) written by Dr. Albada.

Albada, Kelly. "Facial Feedback Hypothesis." Module 7, Part I Powerpoint -- Eye Behavior . Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University, 2014. 10. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

Tell the Customers What to Think About You! | Label Planting

       In this brief video, communication expert, author, and motivational speaker Dan O’Connor introduces the concept of label planting. Label planting is the use of a few carefully chosen words that customer service and business people can insert into their conversations with customers. Those words are then associated with the customer service rep and the company they represent in the minds of their customers.

     With label planting, customer service professionals can create an image of themselves and their organization by simply telling customers what to think about them. Label planting allows verbal cues from a customer service representative to translate into nonverbal feelings and thoughts in a customer by association.  

       Check out this video to learn how YOU TO can use label planting to help create the image you want of yourself and your organization.

-Sam Freeze

Customer Service Training Video: Label Planting | Communication Skills Training. Dir. Dan O'Connor. Power Diversity, LLC., YouTube. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.

Big Businesses Reveal Their Customer Service Tricks

       Customer satisfaction isn’t always easily achieved, but it can be if you are able to approach the act of service in the right way. “Customer satisfaction is a fundamental metric for marketers looking to determine everything from whether or not their companies are meeting customers’ basic needs to whether or not their companies will experience high levels of customer churn.”
In order to help us all reach this business success, Top-ranked customer service companies have each given their own advice as to how they make it work.


Charles Schwab 

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       This online brokerage firm works with people who are often having monetary troubles or a great deal of financial concern. Hence, customer service is critical during a time in which the client appears most vulnerable. Schwab states that his two biggest tips are:

1.     Fix problems fast

“Anytime a client gives us feedback, we’re committed to following up, letting them know they’re heard and taking action to correct the situation,” said Schwab.

2.     Surveys

Schwab and company surveys the customers every month in order to evaluate their satisfaction and likelihood that they will recommend their service to others. This gives the customers a voice and helps the employees assess their performance.

FOXNews.com

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       “People don’t look at one thing and leave; they come to us and stay,” said Jeff Misenti, vice president and general manager of Fox News Digital. So how do they do it? Here’s how:

1.     Get the customers involved:

“When we look at what we do online, we try to do extensions for engaging that audience further,” said Misenti. The beauty of an online outlet is that customers can still feel serviced even if they aren’t face-to-face with an employee.

2.     Bring people together:

Fox has created a collaborative chat forum so that clients can communicate with news personnel and feel more connected.

3.     Make sure customers get what they want:

“We listen to what people are saying and we’re following the topics that people care about the most. ... Whether people agree or disagree [with Fox’s opinionated content], we get an audience that constantly wants to engage and that is a great advantage for us,” Misenti said.  

Southwest Airlines Co.

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       Have you ever wondered why so many people choose Southwest Airlines for travel? It’s because they make their customers happy. “Price is the ultimate driver of anything ... [but] you’re ultimately going to choose the company that you feel is going to take care of you,” said Fred Taylor, senior manager of proactive customer service. 

1.     Hire the right employees:

Southwest searches to hire individuals who constantly put others first. Taylor believes in people who do nice things for others because it’s in their blood.

2.     Be flexible:

“We don’t promise the moon, but we don’t black-and- white everything so we can’t be flexible with our customers. We have a very human approach to blending it all together.”  

3.     Communicate:

Keep track of external situations, such as the weather, in order to properly handle internal situations. Communicating in a timely and professional manner keeps customers pleased. 

United Parcel Service of America Inc. (UPS)

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       “Shipping to more than 220 countries with 8,000 customer support staff answering 300,000 phone calls and approximately 15,000 customer e-mails per day, United Parcel Service of America Inc. (UPS) gives customer service high priority— especially in a down economy.” Want the inside scoop on their tips and tricks? Check it out:

1.     Give customers a voice:

UPS believes in gathering customer feedback and applying it accordingly. Using social media mediums, such as Twitter, UPS has positively impacted their customers through online responses and helpful replies.

2.     Always be consistent:

Maintaining the company’s positive image is crucial in delivery service but also in the retail stores. Using the same customer service protocols everywhere is what keeps customers well informed and pleased.

3.     Get management involved:

UPS management receives customer service updates daily, and executives visit the sites weekly. They coordinate their funds with customer experience in order to insure their “brand promise.” 

- Megan  

Birkner, Christine. "Top-Ranked Companies Talk Customer Service 101." Marketing News 45.13 (2011): 24-27. Business Source Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.

Management: Building Rapport With Associates

     When working  as a manger in customer service, it is important to build rapport with your associates. Associates want to know that they matter and are appreciated.  If the associates are unhappy or are not able to respect the people for whom they are working, their performances will suffer.

     In this clip, it is clear that the manager is uninterested in what his associate has to say. He just keeps talking in the same overbearing, bored tone. All the while, his associate tries to express his concerns about moving his desk.

     Their nonverbal cues say so much more about this interaction, however. The associate remains tense throughout the entire interaction: he is hunched in his chair, his shoulders are tensed, and his eyes are huge. His manager, however, is in a superior position, leaning over him the whole time. His eyes are also half-lidded while he is talking. This creates the impression that he does not care what his associate has to say.

     This kind of interaction should be avoided. Part of a manager's job is to let their associates know that they care. When conflict arises, they need to be able to take their associates' needs into consideration and find solutions that benefit both parties. According to this week's slides on nonverbal communication and influence, there are a few things they can do to improve their associate relations.

     Practicing nonverbal immediacy is the first step to becoming a good manager. This concept can include smiling, open body position, and eye gaze; it will let the associates know that their manager is interested in what they have to say. In slide 7, nonverbal immediacy has been noted to help managers motivate their employees. Their voices also make a difference in the way they are perceived. If they speak in a decisive manner and change up their tones, they are seen in a more positive light. Lastly, when gesturing during conflict resolution, they should keep their palms up to indicate that they are willing to cooperate with their associates.

     Following these suggestions would definitely improve workplace interactions. It would also relieve some of the stress a manager has to deal with because his/her associates would be more inclined to work with them instead of against them. Remember, a positive work environment is a productive one.

- Katie Hartley

Office Space. Dir. Mike Judge. 19 Feb. 1999. YouTube. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVD3KPUnKHk>.

Albada, Kelly. "Nonverbal Communication and Interpersonal Influence Powerpoint." NCSU COMM 322 Class. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University, 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

   

   

Good/Bad Customer Service

    

      
     For this week's post, I interviewed Kim Hartley, my mom, about a real life customer service experience that went wrong. She and my dad were going through the final processes of buying a car when they ran into problems. Their entire experience had been good up to this point. The sales associates were very nice and helpful, but what happened next shocked them both.

     They were talking with the financial manager who was trying to force them into purchasing additional items that they did not want. They told him numerous times they did not want the items, but he continued to pressure them into purchasing the items. What ensued was them going to an outside financial source, which turned out to be better for them in the long run.

     The next day, my mom called the manager of the dealership and explained how they had been treated the day before. She told him that they were going to go to an outside financial source and would be back to sign the paperwork. She also explained to him that she did not want to have to deal with the same guy whom they had dealt with the day before. He assured her that the paperwork would be ready and there would be no further problems.

     When she went to sign the papers, the manager himself came out to apologize to her in person. He handled the situation with a high level of professionalism that impressed her. Because of the way he handled the situation, they both felt satisfied with their purchase.

This situation illustrates both sides of customer service. The way a customer feels about the service they receive all depends on the associate. That is why it is so important for an associate to do what they can to help their customers.

-Katie Hartley

Waitress 101: Nonverbal Do's & Dont's

 

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       Regardless of what anyone tells you, waiting tables is hard. It doesn't always take the brightest person to do the job, but trust me when I say not everyone can be a good waitress. Sure, there are the parts of being a waiter/waitress that everyone can see - writing down orders, running drinks, bringing checks, etc. Don't be fooled, however, because there's a whole part to this job that often goes unnoticed. 

       What is it? Controlling your nonverbal communication! 

       As with many other jobs, dealing with the public is hard. From personal experience, being a waitress really knows how to test your limits. Patience really is a virtue when you're spending hours waiting on people who you don't even know, but to whom you owe your undivided attention. When the going gets tough, it's tempting to throw your hands up in the air or give a little eye-roll to the customer who just asked that oh-so-ridiculous question. 

       But you can't! Kinesics are more convincing of one's true feelings than verbal communication. If you respond to that oh-so-ridiculous question with "of course, no problem", but give a smirk or have an unconvincing tone, the customer may think you're being sarcastic. Even if you don't really mean what you're saying, they will know what you really are thinking unless you control your facial expressions, voice, and gestures. 

 

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       In addition, it's important to make the customer feel welcome. The restaurant environment can get extremely hectic, but the customer doesn't need to feel the effects of what's happening in the kitchen. The cooks messed up your order, the managers are screaming for servers to come run the food that's up in the window, and oops- you just spilled your drink - but no one needs to feel that pressure except for the staff.  So how do you do it? 

You smile. 

You control the pitch in your voice. 

You maintain a relaxed pace of speech. 

You make eye contact with the customers. 

You nod your head yes. (The customer is always right, you know) 

You give off positive emblems - a thumbs up, per say 

You don't bite your finger nails. 

You don't speak too quickly. 

You don't act antsy or impatient. 

You don't look at other tables while speaking to another. 

You don't have the look of concern. 

       So let's say it's not busy. Well, guess what - you still need to be aware of your nonverbals. Researchers have found that people who are engaging in a positive, enjoyable conversation are mimicking each other's actions. We're not talking about Simeon Says actions. We're talking about crossing and uncrossing legs, leaning forward and backward, and other similar gesture sequences. Matching behaviors often cause people to rate a conversation in a more positive light. We all know that better conversation = better tips. Cha-Ching. 

       Engage in the conversation and be happy! Remember that vision accounts for approximately 80% of sensory perception. People are watching you, and your actions matter. There are nearly 700,000 physical signs that can be produced by humans, so make sure you choose the right ones no matter what you're doing.

Albada, Kelly. "Module 6 Part I - Gestures Powerpoint." NCSU COMM 322 Class. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University, 2014. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.