She insisted on coming to our house, a long and confusing drive judging by her two calls for directions and a late arrival. The first question I asked made it clear she was going to be of little use. We made the best of the situation, learned a few things, and got the name of a better source so we could try again.
The topic: insurance. The problem: she represented “personal lines” and, as the owner of a small business, I needed information on both “personal” and “commercial lines.” The cost: an hour and a quarter for my husband and me, half a day for her, not counting scheduling time, frustration, gas, etc.
This is a classic, and not uncommon, example of a misalignment between customer needs and the organizational model and process meant to satisfy those needs. Here are some questions I’d like to ask:
- What are this agent’s priorities? A solid schedule of home visits? Being friendly and ready with an enthusiastic pitch?
- What is the process for assessing the situation supposed to be when a prospective customer calls? Is locking in a sales visit the only goal?
- Have the words “be sure you don’t waste people’s time” ever been uttered?
- How many customers fall between personal and commercial lines? (And how many have no idea what those options mean when the phone menu makes you choose?)
- Will this wasted trip make it into the extensive improvement process that I have heard touted? Did the agent even recognize this visit as a big mistake? Or is this “just the way things go”?
- How often does this happen?
- If I hadn’t asked about business related options, would she have signed me up for an individual plan without my ever finding out that I could be missing a far better option?
Unless I just have incredibly bad luck, these kind of problems happen all the time. What this tells me is that the opportunities for improvement are huge, even in companies with a reputation for being well run, which is the case here. You must raise the bar:
- Know what you want your customers to experience and find out what they actually experience.
- Create a culture that sees waste and value. Eliminate one and create the other.
If either if these sounds daunting, get help. Both are critical to a well run company.
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