Transcript Customer Service in a shrinking economy.pptx

CUSTOMER SERVICE IN A
SHRINKING ECONOMY
By Jena McGregor, Aili McConnon and David Kiley
Steven Sin, Melissa Snelling, Craig Leibelt
Article Overview
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Companies are finding it difficult to
maintain customer service : sinking
sales and declining employee morale
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Companies may feel forced to trim
costs, cutting too deeply can drive
away customers
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Customers are wanting more
attention, better quality and greater
value for their money
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Companies are focusing more on
loyal customers then one-time
customers
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Put customers first opposed to those
that sacrifice loyalty for short term
gain have performed better in this
economy
Hertz
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Richard M. Garber rented cars from Hertz 20-40 times a year for business
trips
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Nobody was waiting with a handheld check-in device
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Drag his bags to the counter to return the car
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Difficult to track down Hertz employees for help
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"When you're rushing for an airplane, every minute counts," says Garber.
"The less convenient they are, the more likely I am to try someone else."
Hotels
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Hotel chains such as Four Seasons and Marriot are joining up to buy goods and
services, instead of each hotel buying it on its own
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Coffee
Valet parking
Cleaning Contracts
Landscaping Services
The Ritz Carlton have been doing their laundry at night to save on electricity costs
as well as replacing fresh flowers with potted plants
First-time customers may not notice the small changes such as the fresh flowers,
but the repeat customers probably will.
That has led to a renewed emphasis on "tiering"—routing elite-level customers to
better agents, nicer surroundings, or faster service.
Zappos.com
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In the past have offered free shipping on orders and returns, and have even
shipped orders overnight for any customer
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Recently they are focusing their spending on a new VIP service for their most
loyal customers
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Now the site can only be accessed by loyal customers who receive an invitation
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Promises overnight shipping
Earlier access to sales and new merchandise
"We decided we wanted to invest more in repeat customers," says Hsieh. "We're
shifting some of the costs that would have gone into new customers."
Cheap Technology
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Some companies have been experimenting more with cheap technology
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Responding to customer complaints via twitter
BMW offers free Wi-Fi to customers while waiting for their vehicles to be serviced, saves costs
on giving out and maintaining free loaner cars
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When companies come up with simple, low-cost ways to trim costs while
improving life for customers, they're likely to win in good times and bad
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"I have a saying: 'Fix the customer before you fix the car,' " says Harris. "If
you focus on fixing the customer's problem first, the rest is easy."
Top 10 in Customer Service
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LL Bean
Overstock.com
Zappos.com
Amazon.com
Newegg.com
QVC
JCPenny
Coldwater Creek
Nordstrom
Questions?
Sources
 http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/con
tent/09_09/b4121026559235.htm
 http://seekingalpha.com/article/114831overstock-amazon-near-top-of-bestcustomer-service-survey
 http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/02/02
19_customer_service/2.htm