Last week I received an email from my bank with an alert they had detected “irregular activity” on my debit card.  They directed me to my account online, and asked me to review the card’s usage.   Sure enough, there was a card transaction out in California (apparently a very late night or early breakfast at a Denny’s) while I was asleep in the East.   I contacted the bank per the instructions, they worked with me to confirm I had not used my card there, and issued me a temporary credit on the charge.

I did have to call another center to file a claim, but that call also was quick, efficient and respectful, and let me know that if this transaction was indeed unauthorized, I would be no liability.  A claim form did arrive in the mail two days later, followed by a quick letter that the bank’s investigation was complete and the credit was permanent.

My current debit card was cancelled upon my first call, and while I was slightly concerned a bout a “five to seven day” promised arrival of my new card, I was pleased it actually arrived in three. “Under promise and over deliver ” is a great formula for a good experience.

From a customer experience perspective, let’s look at what is  important about this case:

• Today’s consumer expects that the ongoing execution of day to day transactions will normally be defect free
• When they are not, what consumers are really looking for is how you respond:  with empathy, execution and follow through
• In a case where potential fraud, or a lost wallet or card situation, consumer emotion comes into play – and how you respond gets magnified
• In addition to demonstrating empathy, execution and follow through, you need to be able to :
  • detect and be proactive on behalf of the customer
  • provide assurance that the situation is in hand and will be resolved
  • The best way to garner the respect of the customer is to:
    •  anticipate  their emotion around a situation
    •  design call center language to mitigate that emotion and anxiety
    • Design and execute processes that work across the firm to get the customer back in business, resolve the case in a timely manner, and provide good two way communications

In my case, the fraud detection systems, electronic communications through email and the people, processes and systems of the fraud call center, claims handling and card issuance functions all worked seamlessly to provide a great experience.

And one last note:  When you perform well and provide a great experience for customers in highly emotive situations, the willingness for a customer to promote you positively to others is higher than if everything went defect free from the beginning.

My girlfriend asked, “that shovel is a Craftsman?  I think it has a lifetime guarantee. You should check it out.”  Indeed, my dad had bought a lot of tools from Sears over the years, but while I remember wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers from their Craftsman brand having the guarantee, it hadn’t dawned on me it would apply to garden tools too.

We drove to  the local Sears store and headed it, shovel parts in hand.  I had NO expectations or even any real hopes that they would replace the shovel.  In fact, after owning the product for thirty something years, I was probably more concerned the sales person would either have a laugh or think I was nuts to even ask.  I found the tools department, and approached the sales desk.  “Can I help you?” asked a twenty-something.  I was going to answer something to the effect that I had a shovel that was older than her that I had broken and would like to replace, but instead explained I had broken the shovel and wanted to see if they would honor the guarantee.  “Sure, we’ll replace it.  Let’s go pick out a new one.”, she replied.  To my amazement, we went and found a new shovel, proudly displaying the Craftsman brand and with some great features I didn’t know shovels even had – guess thirty years will evolve even a shovel!

As for my twenty-something Sears advocate, there was nary a “hmm, I’ll have to check”, nor a “how did YOU break it?”, nor “I’ll need to file a claim – you’ll need to fill out these forms”.  The answer was, is and always will be: “yes, we stand by our product, and we’re happy to have you be a satisfied customer.”

What was great about this experience:

• The PRODUCT guarantee was GENUINE – not just a punch line
• The BRAND guarantee was GENUINE – delivered with a smile by the front line
• The promise and the policy were rooted in a brand’s tradition – and forged to be unequivocal

Nordstrom has always been famous for its customer service, and there’s always been a potentially mythical but always powerful story about a store associate accepting a tire a customer returned to Nordstrom. And while Sears itself has had lots of ups and downs over the years, this Craftsman brand remains as steadfast as always.  The POWER of the brand experience is to be surprising by honoring the brand promise – and in the process, create a memorable experience and a powerful brand story to tell many others about.  I know where I will continue to buy tools for the trade and the yard.  Good work Sears!

http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/credit-unions-and-pnc-deliver-best-customer-experience-in-banking/

But these purchases and learning to use them gave me a few new chances to again experience Apple’s multi-channel sales and service.  And while they have done a LOT right for a long time, they still manage to come up with a wrinkle I think is worth talking about.

I was in Chicago last month, and popped into the big Apple Store on Michigan Avenue.  It’s a  two story wonder, and I stopped by to get some help with my new iPhone.  I had wandered upstairs and was greeted by one of the blue shirted associates who kindly asked if I needed some help.  I was looking to setup iCloud and iTunes on the new phone, so she directed me downstairs to the main floor.  I was a bit puzzled as to exactly WHERE to go downstairs, but as I reached the bottom of the stairs, another blue shirt approached me.  “Bryan, I hear you’d like some help with your new phone?”  I was surprised she knew my name, and even more surprised she knew what help I needed!  I asked how she knew, and she pointed to her headset – her colleague upstairs had radioed ahead and had them on the lookout for me.   She cheerfully helped me over the next ten minutes, and made sure I was completely comfortable with what I had learned.  Very nice job of Floor Management.

Point Two has to do with Checkout Management.  I recently purchased an iPod online, and selected store pickup at the mall across the street.  I immediately received an email with my order and confirmation it was ready for pickup at the store.  Walking into the store a short time later, I was greeted at the front of the store.  I let them know I had a pickup to make – they found my order on their handheld iPhone, which is also equipped to scan and checkout.   In fact, this store used to have a checkout station, but no longer do as all store associates can process checkouts for customers anywhere on the floor .  Why use floor space on cash registers when you can use it for sales and product display or a Genius Bar?  Indeed.

Learnings of the Day: 

• Orchestrate the In Person Experience to get real expertise to your client in real time
• Surprise your clients by making mundane things like checkout (and standing in a queue) surprisingly easy.  It is one more critical interaction before they leave you – and can have a huge impact on how they feel about you when they do.

I had a recent demolition project, but was puzzled by how to get rid of the wood and shingles and other fruits of a few hours with the sledgehammer.  Clearly, even lots of large trash bags wouldn’t do the job, yet a dumpster seemed to be a big overkill. Did I need to rent a pickup to haul multiple loads to the dump if there was one nearby?  What to do?

A neighbor told me about a cool solution from Waste Management that turned out to be perfect.  They call it The Bagster.

Here’s the idea:

You buy a huge rectangular bag at your local Home Depot or Lowe’s.  Comes in a convenient small package, but unfolds to be 4′ by 8′ by 2.5 ‘ high.  It’s made of very tough, reinforced rip stop plastic canvas, with two bright yellow handles. They hold three cubic yards and 3300 pounds, so you are wondering why the handles are there, as no human will pick one of these up.

Your job is not to worry about that.  When you fill the Bagster, you go to www.bagster.com, create n, and let them know you are ready for pickup.  You let them know your location, where in the yard or on the driveway you have the Bagster, how many of them you have.  They price the pickup based on location, and give you a discount for Bagsters two through x.  You pay online, get a confirmation number for your order and you are good to go.  A day later I received an email saying my Bagsters had been scheduled for pickup.

So let’s review why this is a great experience.

1. WM analyzed a problem for the DIY ( smaller job contractor) and designed a solution
2. That solution provided easy access through a known distribution point
3. The concept was incredibly easy.
4. The fulfillment was self service, with frequent and effective communications throughout the process to let the client know where in the process they were.
5. The branding is super effective, fun and “three word” memorable:

BAGSTER:  BUY.  FILL.  GONE.

Check it out at http://www.thebagster.com/

Spread the word. This one is happily full of it

“Retailution” refers to the evolving consumer banking world – today’s consumer has brand expectations shaped not by its bank, but by service and brand presence delivered by any of the myriad experiences of consumers each day.

Banks can’t sit on the laurels of the past – those days are far gone, and regaining trust and confidence remains a primary objective.

This year’s conference still had elements of how the branch experience is a high impact interaction point.  But more so, the incredible growth of the mobile channel and how it is incorporated into a multiple channel setting is key. Get it wrong, and you are regulated to the heap of undifferentiated brands  at best  not mentioned, and at worst mentioned in social media channels.

Be aggressive in leveraging customer interactions across multiple channels – the tipping point from web or pc to smartphone has been smashed.  It’s a tidal wave, and ripe for new applications, leveraging of data and analytics.

This is not just a passing fad – this is how people will not only communicate but interact with banks, retailers, travel and medical firms, as well as run many of the critical elements of everyday life.  Get mobile – get going.

Some good fast facts on mobile, with a focus on retail banking:

Adoption of Mobile Banking is now at 12%, up 34% YOY

These are desirable customers – demonstrating a higher average household income, with higher investable assets

• 80% of these mobile banking users have smartphones
• They do more research – on web as well as talking to others
• The question is no longer about when mobile will change everything – it already has

So what are the implications and opportunities?

• Bankers need to shift from thinking of this as “alternative delivery”  – this is Banking Anywhere, Anytime
• Those who can demonstrate a seamless experience, especially across channels, can differentiate and win
• Plan and execute incremental improvements ongoing for mobile and it will drive your business – between Q2 2010 and  Q3 2011, more than double the respondents say the mobile experience drives the choice of who they will bank with – by far the largest driver

I’ve been intrigued lately with how QR codes might enhance the marketing and sales experience for the user.  A cool firm called Red Laser has some great ideas that extend and enrich what customers might do. 

A first example is around price shopping – let’s say you find a product that’s interesting – where can I find it at the best price and either nearby or on the web?  Red Laser can show you:

Second, let’s say you are vigilant about what you eat – what can you learn about a food product and potential content or allergen issues?  Red Laser can give you the next level of information, giving you more confidence about what you buy and what you eat.  That develops brand loyalty and directly leads to greater sales.

These are just a couple of examples of how information can enhance the marketing of products and the purchase behavior and experience.  Good stuff – check out Red Laser at: http://redlaser.com/#features

Hasbro President and CEO Brian Goldner was on with Maria B, and there were a few things that stood out to me:

Brian gets the concept of how important the customer experience is.  He must have talked six times in five minutes about the imperative of creating “immersive experiences” to fit how consumers want to experience the brand.

Think about it  – tying great storytelling through film to games and toys as a way to extend the richness of the bran experience, and to have consumers interact with the brand in sense based ways: sight, sounds, and touch.

This model with Transformers has grown from $34M in 2000, to $600M expected from Transformers relate sales and revenue this year, which is about 15% of total sales.  Wow. This is done as well with licensing, which ha grown from 32 partners in 2007 to 325 partners now.  An impressive way to grow both channels and an ecosystem where everybody wins.

And it fuels growth in the growth markets.  Hasbro’s business is headed from 60/40 US /Int’l this year.  This play transforms in many languages!  Sorry.

Mr. Potato Head, the first toy advertised on TV in 1952, is proud.  Immersive experiences fuel the bottom line at Hasbro.

Adobe is impressive in their commitment to this pace.  Their recent software acquisitions of Day Software and Omniture give them real depth in solutions for the digital experience, and position them extremely well for helping firms put both intelligence and responsiveness into their delivered experience.  They’ve built a new platform for Customer Experience Management, and I think are showing great leadership in this space.

Lastly, I got to spend a few minutes with Bruce on a new initiative he has launched for customer experience professionals – CXPA – the Customer eXperience Professionals Association.   He’s been recruiting corporate sponsors, as well as developing CXPA to be both a resource as well as a way to bring together business people who are advancing the art and science of customer experience.  Kudos to Bruce and to Jeanne Bliss, the co-founders of this interesting and exciting venture.

Check it out at http://www.CXPA.org