1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
One of my goals for the year is to experiment with different approaches and tools to strengthen my relationships with the people I love and care about.
We will revisit ideas from prior RiseWithDrew posts on this topic for the next several Fridays. Today, we turn to the professional relationships.
You are not special.
That’s the message we too often get when we interact with most organizations.
We feel like a number. Not a person.
It’s not a good feeling.
2: Chip and Dan Heath share a story in The Power of Moments about analysts at the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) who studied customer service calls and the ratings people provided afterward.
The analysts found that only half of the customer ratings were attributable to the particular call they had just experienced. The other half reflected how they had been treated previously – i.e., if a person made five calls to resolve an issue, it didn’t matter if the 5th was handled brilliantly.
The term they used to describe this experience is “baggage.”
Next, they ran an experiment. In half of the calls, agents were directed to ignore the “baggage.” In the other half, agents addressed it directly and apologized.
Customers rated their quality of experience with reps who addressed the “baggage” almost twice as highly.
And, the caller’s perception of the effort they had to invest to resolve the problem plummeted by 84%.
3: “Baggage” handling is responsive. It demonstrates understanding and validation of the frustrating past experience.
More next week!
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Reflection: Are there ways to apply the lessons learned by the CEB regarding “baggage handling” to my organization?
Action: Put into action the ideas from the reflection above.
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