One day while I was relaxing with my granddaughter watching popular cartoons I came across this cute video from Pixar. The horde of chirping birds were going about their life on a telephone wire when an unassuming, larger bird wanted to join the chirping horde. Of course, the little birds were indignant toward the larger bird and did not want him to interrupt their busy lives. To the little birds, the larger bird was nothing more than a nuisance. The larger bird forced its way on to the telephone line and made the chirping birds a bit uncomfortable; forcing them to devise a plot to force the larger bird off the line. Hanging on by its talons the larger bird gripped to stay on the line. However, the chirping birds continued to peck away at the larger bird until it finally released the line, fell to the ground, and launched all the chirping birds into the sky. While once a nuisance, the larger bird’s presence on the line became a necessity to the chirping birds to stay on the line.
At once I envisioned the chirping birds as being our customer support representatives, going about their busy lives with much to do…no time for any nuisances or distractions. The larger bird reminds me of a needy customer that interjects into the life of a busy operation. Instead of viewing the customer as a welcome necessity, problem customers are often seen as nothing more than a nuisance. Our CSR’s want the problem customers to go away instead of taking the opportunity to help them become part of the organization’s “horde”.
Our Customer Support teams need to have an attitude shift when it comes to our customers. All our customers are the most valuable asset in our businesses. The CSR’s ability to fix a problem could turn a problem customer into a lifetime account. It doesn’t take much to calculate the CLTV (Customer Life-time Value) of an individual and be impressed with the mere income one customer can generate. In addition, individuals are more apt to refer your business when you fix their problems. I would dare say that problem customers are actually a necessity to a flourishing business.
Customer Service Representatives: Next time you see that problem customer’s number come up on your phone system, take a breath and remember this is the opportunity to make a difference in the life of your customer and make a life-timer out of them and a referral voice with amazing potential.
Alpine Technology has been serving the Waste Industry for over 40 years with solutions created by and for haulers and municipalities across the globe. Their flagship solutions, Visual RAMS-Pro and Visual On-Route, have helped customers work more effectively, efficiently and profitably. For more information give us a call at 888.852.7267.