Customers want better experiences all the time. But their expectations are still focused on three key areas.
Customers agree that delightful experiences are built on good customer service. But what constitutes “good service?”
Three keys to delight
They like speed, convenience and transparency, according to a new West Interactive Services survey on customer experience preferences.
When customers were asked, “What goes into good service?”
- 77% said speed to resolution
- 55% said convenience, and
- 47% said transparency.
It didn’t matter which channel they went to for service, either. They believed good phone, email, in-person, online or self-service needed those three components.
How Uber gets it right
Most companies deal with customers across many channels, and must work at making it top-notch at every angle. Uber and its customers predominately use just two opposite-end channels: a modern mobile app and old-fashioned person-to-person interactions.
The company’s growth and customer satisfaction ratings suggest the transportation networking company is getting the customer experience right: It’s growing drivers and rides in nearly every city where it operates, according to Bloomberg. Satisfied customers outnumber dissatisfied customers 5:1, a YouGov survey found.
Here’s how Uber excels in the three most important areas of the experience — and tips on how you can improve yours.
1. Speed
The average wait for an Uber ride is only about four minutes and 10 seconds. Uber’s ability to create and develop mapping technology has allowed the company to connect drivers and passengers quicker than ever. The technology also helps drivers get customers to their destinations the quickest ways — although drivers are usually versed in how to get around their cities and are willing to follow customers’ directions.
For you: What can you make faster? The order process? Delivery? Resolutions? Companies want to make speeding up service, without affecting quality, a constant effort.
2. Convenience
Uber removed a lot of the friction in getting places. Customers can move on their schedules — not on a bus or train schedule. Customers don’t have to find a ride to hail. They press an app and the ride finds them, almost anywhere and anytime.
For you: Because of conveniences like Uber, customers expect answers and action around the clock and almost immediately. You might not need to have a sales rep available to visit customers at midnight on a Saturday, but you need some kind of support around the clock these days. If you can’t answer immediately, let customers know when they can expect the answer. Post it on social media, your website and everywhere they go for help
3. Transparency
Customers can rank their drivers, and drivers can rank their customers after every trip. The drivers’ overall satisfaction rankings show up on the app, along with their photo and the type of car they drive, so customers know exactly who they’re dealing with.
What’s more, if a driver ranks a customer lower than a 3 (on the 5-point scale), Uber will never match them again. It knows some people just shouldn’t work together.
Plus, Uber has expectations for how their company is presented. Inspectors check that cars are fewer than 10 years old, clean, have limited wear, are insured and are inspected before a driver can use them to pick up customers.
For you: Your employees and customers might not interact face-to-face often, if ever. You can still create a personal element by adding their photos to their social media handles or email signatures. If you have techs who visit customers, add their photos and perhaps a little nugget of personal information that might help them connect with customers on confirmation emails or texts.
