The Most Expensive Complaint Call Is the Second One
During our customer service workshops, we do an exercise we call the Moment of Misery™ Grid. The short version is that participants are asked to write down all the complaints they hear and how often they hear them. We then list them in order, with the most common complaints at the top.
It always surprises me when someone says, “We hear this all the time.” I then ask, “Why?” If you hear it all the time, why haven’t you done something about it?
The next part of the exercise is to discuss ways to eliminate or at least mitigate the problems.
Before we go further, I recognize that some organizations already have this dialed in. This exercise seems obvious, but many are surprised by the responses. They know there are problems, but they can’t always tell you how often they happen, or what they cost the organization.
So, let’s take this concept to the next level. Instead of how often we hear about the same problems, consider this question:
How often do we find ourselves fixing the same problem two times (or more) for a customer?
It’s one thing to have many customers calling and complaining about the same problem. If you can eliminate the problem, consider how much time, effort, and funds could be put toward more productive opportunities.
But when a customer has to call you twice (or more) for the same issue, this unnecessary call wastes time and energy for both the company and the customer. How often does this happen? Just as many companies have a goal and a metric for first call resolution, there should also be metrics for the number of calls and the amount of time required to resolve the same issue. You’re looking to measure at least four issues:
- How often do we fail to resolve the customer’s issue the first time?
- How many times do customers contact us after the initial contact for the same problem?
- How long did it take to finally resolve the customer’s issue (one day, one week, etc.)?
- What’s the average time it takes to finally resolve the problem versus how long it would take if it was solved on the first call?
That last one may be the most important metric. This will tell you how much time and money were spent because you couldn’t resolve the problem on the first call.
The point is that, just as you look to eliminate problems overall, you should also look for ways to eliminate the second (or third, or fourth …) call for the same problem. If customers are calling you twice for the same issue, the problem isn’t the customer. It’s the system … so fix it! Every repeat call that is eliminated pays dividends in the form of time, money, and customer goodwill. And that’s what a great customer service experience looks like: fixing problems once, not apologizing for them twice!
