-->
Are
you measuring and rewarding dumb stuff?
A
close colleague recently arranged to move some large furniture and being aware
of size constraints spent some time researching and contacting various ‘self
drive hire’ firms for a suitable vehicle. The best offer was confirmed
following a long discussion with sales folks in the Enterprise
call center which included comprehensive discussion of specific (height,
breadth, width) measures to ensure a good fit. Job done or so my colleague thought.
A
few days later they went to collect the vehicle. Armed with a tape measure to
double check the details they were shocked to discover the actual measurements
were between 15-20% less than the call center really trustworthy sales guy stated. Naturally the van hire
didn’t progress however the response of the depot was even more shocking. "Oh yes they do
that in the call center to make a sale.” Whoops.
That goes to a point about
paying people for achieving the wrong outcomes.
Reward people for doing dumb
stuff and they’ll get really smart at it.
Many times people would be duped and accept the sales persons assurances. It is often too late in the day to change (when you are stood out in the cold and snow) so customers would have to go with it. Not so my colleague who demanded a refund. The depot staff obliged however did say it would take several days to process.
Funny how you can accept $550 one minute and refuse to give it back the next?
What
about customer satisfaction?
Well if you measured my colleagues response at the
point of call center confirmation using Net Promoter Score it
would have been 9 out of 9 (A Promoter) plus a willingness to recommend to a
friend. After the depot visit 0 out of 9 and tweets to followers to avoid using
Enterprise. So let’s review the measures:
Organization
Measures in the call center:
· Duration of the call – optimum
· Call experience – excellent
· Customer Expectations – met and exceeded
Vehicle
depot:
· Reception services - excellent
· Processing of paperwork – optimum
· Staff interaction with customer – excellent
· Payment processing - optimum
· Vehicle to specifications – Not. Zero. Nil.
How
many of the 10 measures are actually aligned to achieving a Successful Customer
Outcome?
Perhaps
one. And yet Enterprise will award their people for achieving the other nine.
What sort of behavior does this create? Well whatever it certainly isn't geared to achieving Successful Customer Outcomes.
Trust Based Management
Much
of this experience comes down to trust. Four questions to ask yourself, your
organization, and even perhaps your customers.
1. Can you trust your people to do
the right thing by the customer?
2. Can you trust your fellow
employees – or are they prepared to lie and deceive for their own self
interest?
3. Do you award for Successful
Customer Outcomes (SCO’s)?
4. What measures could you put in
place to evolve more towards (3).
Final
thought:
Enterprise's kicker is "We'll pick you up" Perhaps it should
now be "We'll let you down"
