Keeping the Customer Satisfied

It's the same old story, yeah
Everywhere I go,
I get slandered, libeled,
I hear words I never heard in the Bible
And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine
Two steps away from the county line
Just trying to keep my customers satisfied,
Satisfied.

Simon and Garfunkel

Keeping the Customer Satisfied a follow up on customer service

I had not planned to do another “customer service” blog post but sometimes you cannot help it when stuff falls into your lap.

First how about “United” for customer service huh?  The video and reaction to the incident have certainly highlighted what not to do to customers.  I want to make a couple of points some you might know and some you may not about (yes I poked around the internet for this info.).:

1.      That Passenger was NOT BUMPED for “overbooking” he was bumped to give seats to four United Employees.  That is ILLEGAL per FAA rules.   If it was an overbooking situation United had the absolute right to haul his ass off the plane (as a legalistic guy I understand that you agree to all that to fly).  They were granted that right by an act of Congress.  However even if it was an overbooking United cannot legally just to offer a voucher either.  I believe it must be cash or equivalent (and not limited to $800 yes there is a formula and this passenger was likely entitled to well over $800 Max they offered.).  Heck an $800 dollar voucher is not really worth $800.

2.       It is interesting that the story was framed that way (as an over booked issue) initially.  It made it sound like United had some “right” to drag him off the plane.  They did not (as I mention in item 1) and I hope he and his lawyer really hit a payday.   The guy was literally mugged by United, they stole his ticket gave the ticket to an employee and then enlisted the Government to enforce the mugging.
     While most of us have conceded authority to the airlines for our personal freedom, this is really bad, worse than just the video. We see it as a necessity after 9/11.  However, like my comments on healthcare.  As soon as you have a “government/industry partnership, you get Government/Industry coercion.  Then this often gets way out of control.

3.       My son Eric experienced Government/Industry coercion first hand while technically no longer on active duty as a Marine but re-entering civilian life.  He and Blair were flying to South Carolina for three days to visit Blair’s Parents and Barbara and I for a Master’s weekend.  Blair’s mother has had tickets for years.  The day they were to arrive Blair called in tears.  She and Eric were bumped from a US Air Flight (I have not flown on US Air or its successor since) because Eric was “uncooperative”.  

Paranoid their luggage would not make the trip if checked they had only carry-on.  Eric boarded early (service ID) and to make sure Blair’s Carry-on would get to SC he took both of their carry on pieces.  Blair said whatever you do “do not let this get checked”.  Never say that to a Marine.

 He boarded and the attendant said he could not put 2 carryon bags in the overhead.  He tried to explain one was his wife’s who would be boarding in a few minutes.  She was unbending.  Eric made the mistake of telling her not to remove the bag.  Anyway a “discussion” started and the stewardess instructed him how things were different after 9/11, to which Eric lectured her about 9/11 and his life in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Big mistake Eric!

They got a refund but never made the Master’s.  Barbara and I did get to spend 2 days at the Master’s with Blair’s parents instead of just 1 including Sunday.   Charles Schwartzel won it that Sunday in an enjoyable thriller finish!

Anyway while I understand that overbooking makes airline travel cheaper and more efficient having the government and industry decide “together” caps on compensation  etc. is ridiculous.  A free market solution would solve the problem quickly.  You do not cap compensation.  Simply make it an auction.  That would force United to arrive at the most efficient use of resources.  How much was it worth to get those employees to Louisville.  Heck was it worth 12,000 bucks for a private charter or 6,000 in traveler’s compensation? 

The United Airlines incident shows what making customers compliant via coercion does, now for a few minutes I want to discuss how to make customers “happily” compliant, and do their work for them to boot!

For the last 2 years I have been “wowing” my mother by depositing checks into my bank (including a few of hers).  She still cannot believe how when I get a check, I take out my phone, and deposit a check.  I like it even more when within seconds an email comes back saying that check was  verified and deposited. Instant positive feedback and away you go. I laugh and kid my mom that my job’s all done and it makes her smile.  I try to explain how it works to her but not sure it gets through.   I cannot wait for the things my kids and grandkids amaze me with when I (hopefully) reach 91!

When you think about saving your time going to the bank, and the bank in turn having me do what used to be the banks job, it is brilliant.  A real customer service win-win except for the unemployed teller I guess.  

But let me go a step further on this off-load work, positive feedback model.

Getting a mortgage at age 64 has been an enlightening experience.  Not too much different from a re-finance I did in 2013.  You get questions about unusually large deposits (I really had very few of those!), sources of income, and then you have to explain to some young whippersnapper that a 50% joint survivor annuity pension means they pay me until I die and then my editor gets one half of that amount until she dies.  I could go on but to sum it up the process is like a financial colonoscopy.

The difference between that 2013 refinance and applying for this mortgage is like night and day from a customer perspective.  In 2013 with Morgan Stanley home loans we used a telephone and email.  Each question was a new out of the blue inquiry.  I would get a call and the nice young man (I still remember his name “Jimmie”) would ask a personal financial question like an inquisitor:

“Mr. Roberts we need to know funding source of that deposit back on January 15^th 2012”.

This went on for about 3 weeks and each time Morgan Stanley would call you out of the blue and ask a personal question and then you had to respond in writing.  You never knew when you were done. 

The process this time involved the same type of questions but here is what is so different from just 4 years ago.  “Quicken Loans”. I used them this time and it was fascinating.  Here’s why.

Before we went over to Winter Park to house hunt I called Wells Fargo because I have a banking relationship with them (maybe not much longer).  They gave me some quick overview of the process and when I said I was interested they asked if I could set up a time the next day to chat.  We made an “appointment” but at the appointed time …no call.  I called them about a half hour later, and nobody heard of me???  I could not help but remember the scandal last year about how their employees fraudulently moved accounts around to make bonuses, and figured maybe they were still too busy doing that to call me back!   Now in reality stuff happens, and frankly my local Wells Fargo people all seem nice, friendly and helpful but I do believe corporations have a culture and while I still have a checking account at Wells Fargo I think they and United have a much in common.

I then went online and “chatted” with Quicken Loans.  Within seconds of explaining why I was “chatting” I got a response “can we call you now or what time is convenient” I responded “now is fine” and in 10 seconds my phone rang and I was talking to a person who is now my “loan officer” (I subtlety noticed during this process that this nice person “Linda” would suddenly appear in the midst of some back and forth and make a decision in my favor.  From the start I had a relationship with a person who seemed in a decision making role).  Anyway on this initial call I explained some very complicated income statistics (my “income” was low in my first year or two of retirement, think of my Tax Credit strategy).  She quickly grasped, said can you send me three years of tax returns, just “upload” to Quicken Loans (after opening an online account of course).  Boom the next day I had a pre-qualification letter etc.  Off to Winter Park we went.

Now it has not all been peachy keen.  “Linda” told me at the start that the “underwriting process” will get more involved and it did (no surprise).  I felt at times like I was training some of their people.  Interesting when I could not get through to them on an issue a specialist "Natalie" (or Linda) would quickly grasp and get cleared up. 

Ok so why am I boring you with a Quicken Loan infomercial?  The way Quicken Loans has set up this whole pain in the ass process was fascinating to me.

1  They post your “anticipated” settlement date at the top of the page when sign in.  Also posted are stats on “completed items”, things they are working on and a “to do list” with target dates for you to get to them.

2.      As soon as you upload a memo or a document to that to do list and bingo it goes off my list and on to their list for their “underwriting review”.  Wham Bang!   Your to list is one item shorter and you can then pick off items as you wish in any order you wish.  It gives the customer a sense of control.

3.    If they did not like your answer they toss it back, and it pops right back as a “to do”.  That got frustrating sometimes but you always had “Linda or Natalie” to contact directly. I am convinced that subtlety most people I believe do not want to “go to the well” to often, and in essence do not want to “waste a lifeline”.  This helps keep the “Linda’s an Natalie's” from getting overwhelmed with appeals and guides customers to solving the problem themselves.

Now let me tell you if you want to buy a house you dutifully do your “tasks” and smile as you knock them off.  They even have prioritized all of it for you! Talk about instant positive feedback! Yay my list is done!

This in my opinion is pure genius, like getting me to deposit checks.  I did most of the work for Quicken Loans and felt OK about it!  I could not help but contrasting this with United’s approach to customer service.  If you think that Airlines are “different”, and my comparison is stupid, try this.

Next time you fly try Southwest Airlines, in my opinion their process is a carbon copy of Quicken 

Loans.   

Until next time

Adieu