Reopening also means gaining public trust

 

Everyday life four months ago was extremely different than July 2020. While we are not ordered to stay at home, it is suggested. Gatherings are still limited. Events like birthdays, weddings, and funerals are small private gatherings. Store shelves are, for the most part, stocked but there are still some items in which the shelf remains empty. 

 

Businesses small and large have had to adapt and overcome. Before everything shut down businesses quickly set up cleaning stations, Plexiglas shields, and tape on the floor. The temporary adjustments were hurried responses to keep employees and customers safe and stay open. Then everything stopped.

 

During closures, most businesses had time to adjust to coming restrictions regarding reopening. Temporary became permanent. “Behind the scenes” part of getting the economy going again were the efforts to create and install shields at customer interface points. Painter’s tape on the floors became printed stickers. Permanent signs explaining restrictions and warnings were manufactured. Face shields. And of course masks. The leaving home check of keys, wallet, phone has added mask. Which is also now apart of the employee uniform.

Masks

When COVID-19 began gaining momentum and entered into the pandemic phase the public and businesses went slowly. No one wanted to believe that restrictions and precautions were permanent. As the economy reopened it was realized that to stay open, and in some cases avoid fines business had to change. Temporary fixes had to become permanent. We now see permanent installations of shields, directional arrows to navigate, markings identifying where to stand, and in/out only doors. And of course masks.

 

Of all the changes we have seen from the pandemic the mask has been the most ubiquitous. Face coverings are our everyday life. They have sparked controversy. Started arguments about the improper or lack of wearing. They are now a point of fashion to be complimented. Masks are popping up in the impulse buy area at the checkout register and even vending machines. Masks have also become our non-verbal permission to enter and an invitation to leave. No mask – No service signs are posted in many storefronts. Businesses don’t want to turn people away, but they also don’t want to face the ever present risk of being shut down either.

Public trust

When stay at home orders were lifted and businesses began to reopen customers were leery about returning. Although we couldn’t wait to get out of our homes, we had to feel safe. The COVID virus was and still is a threatening menace. A big part of gaining a customer's trust is making them feel safe in your establishment.  To get ahead of competitors businesses had to try to be the first to explain the steps taken to keep customers safe. Not only what was being done to sanitize, but how, and how often. This has to be more than just words. Science has proven that we process visual data better than text or the spoken word. In fact, 90% of what we process is visual.  Customers have to SEE the action of cleaning and sanitizing in order to validate what is being advertised.  

 

Being in the grocery store and seeing an employee cleaning the carts or walking around, during business hours, cleaning door handles and contact surfaces goes a long way in convincing customers that the business is serious about their well being. On a recent went to a UPS store for their notary and overnight services this was evident. Of course, they had queue markers on the floor and Plexiglas at the registers, which would be expected. What was impressive was seeing an employee wiping down a public computer station with disinfectant after each use by a customer. Seeing the employee clean the keyboard and work area after a single use reinforces that business’ commitment in the eyes of the customer.

 

Demonstrating sound sanitation practices to the public will get them back and keep them coming back. With instant reviews being posted on multiple platforms, businesses not practicing safe procedures will spread quickly. At this point in time that is a quick way to lose customers and get shut down. Again.

 

Another good move to show how serious the company is taking health is transparency and decisive action. We’ve already seen businesses reopen only to be shut down again after a government agency finds a violation or an infected employee. Better to take the action yourself. Small businesses, especially bars and restaurants, have set this example. Setting up their own testing policies and discovering possibly infected employees, they have immediately shut down, publicized what happened, and the actions they are taking to rectify the issue. It hurts to close your doors but keeping the public trust is more important now than ever.

 

In addition to changes in sanitation and ensuring there are safe practices in place, there are other changes as well. How we conduct business has changed and will probably have long-term effects. Offices cleared, sending employees to work from home. After a few weeks, with no solution to the virus in sight, corporations announced that they would not be returning employees, adopting permanent work from home policies. Businesses have learned to adapt to stay in business. What we thought couldn’t be done or never thought of trying is successful.  

 

We are looking for a return to “normal” when we are living what our normal now is. 

Communication is Key

Customer communication can solve many problems

Readers of this blog know that one of my customer service pet peeves is communication. Many headaches can be avoided by keeping customers informed. Even if it’s bad news, getting “in front” of the problem will result in better customer interaction and build trust in your business.

Communication with a company in which I’d completed business caused both irritation and satisfaction. Thompson Creek Window Company had installed windows. Touch-up work was necessary after the job was completed. Although scheduled for a month later the process was smooth and painless. There had been quoted a two-hour arrival window in a confirmation email. On the appointed day, the scheduled timeframe passed. I called to check. The two-hour window surprised the customer service rep as their policy is usually four, but at this point, that wasn’t the issue. When was the tech arriving? The representative made a call and I was told that the tech had been delayed due to a problem at another site. I would be the last call of the day and the tech would call a half-hour before arriving.

The end of the [business] day came and no call-no repair tech. Well, sometimes they arrive after hours to finish the scheduled jobs. That didn’t happen. Day wasted. The first thing the next morning I’m on the phone to work it out.

The customer service representative was empathetic and apologetic. Good start. She said she would “investigate” and get back to me. I put investigate in quotes because I found that an interesting choice of words. Regardless, it made me (the customer) feel that she took the matter seriously and would actually get answers.  (Read I’m in your way, to see how simple words can change a customer’s experience)

It took a couple hours but the customer service rep did get back to me. And she had really investigated what had happened.  She explained the company’s internal communication process and policies. She then explained where the failure occurred. In my case, the repair tech had been delayed beyond the appointment time and emailed the service coordinator. However, that email was after hours and the coordinator was out of the office the next day. 

She offered the explanation not as an excuse but as factual reporting. I thanked her for the explanation and for being so thorough. She said that she tries to respond to customers the way she would like to be treated. While I understood their process, I explained that a call directly to the customer at the time of the missed appointment would have helped; it would have been more welcome than no communication. The customer service rep sincerely took my suggestion. She then scheduled my repair for the first available date, which was within three business days.

Not offering excuses and providing a thorough answer definitely deescalated my situation. I’m sure some customers would have been more irate and would not have accepted the answer, but hey, the appointment had already come and gone, what could the representative have done at that point. Except for provide-Customer Service.

Another positive experience that started out as an inconvenience occurred at a Chick-Fil-A. I had placed an order using the mobile app for pickup. The order went through and the payment processed.  When I arrived at the restaurant, it was closed for remodeling. Now what. Luckily, I’m in an area that pretty much has two of everything in a short drive. I hop over to the next nearest restaurant ready to tell my story. Once inside I ask for the manager. A sentence into my dilemma and she asks to see my mobile order to confirm. Without further explanation from me, she processed my order. I complimented the manager for being on top of the issue and her reply was, “Thanks, but we’re really not on ‘top of it’ if the app is still accepting orders”. She immediately got on the phone and I could overhear her speaking to someone about the problem. 

Both of these examples exemplify how communication is essential to customer service. My experiences started out poorly due to a lack of communication but both ended positively. In both instances, the problem was identified, what was suppose to happen explained, and the problem fixed with little effort on the part of the customer. 

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