Tag: customer relations

Customer Service Is The "New" PR

Posted on by Dorothy Crenshaw

The best PR agency in the world can’t hold a candle to employees who are empowered to do the right thing.

That was my thought when I read @scottmonty’s tweet about an incident involving a Wisconsin Costco. Monty’s screengrab recounted the experience of a resident stranded by heavy rains and flooding. Apparently the staff of a nearby Costco opened their doors to helpless locals, handing out dry clothes and even dragging in furniture when the store itself started to take on water.


The incident didn’t get a lot of attention, but you can bet it mattered to the people who count – the local community.

Good PR and great customer service have never been more intertwined. The best way to understand a company’s reputation — and its values — is to look at its response to customer reviews and complaints.

A business can spend millions on brand reputation and community service. It can employ high-powered PR agencies. It may invest heavily in customer service and response. But a reputation can unravel quickly when a public-facing employee mistreats a customer. We all know that an unhappy consumer won’t hesitate to take their case to social media. The good news is that the converse is also true, though it may happen less often. But that may be because many companies don’t realize that PR and customer relations are two sides of the same coin.

Just this week, I was disarmed by a funny and sympathetic cable company employee who got the brunt of my complaints after my favorite shows disappeared from the DVR. I was determined to lambast the hapless person who eventually took my call. In the end, though, he defused my anger through a combination of deft handling and the offer of a service call within hours. Like an upgrade for an unhappy airline passenger or a free cocktail for a delayed restaurant table, authorizing a rank-and-file employee to offer perks or benefits in a jam is very simple, and very powerful.

Public relations and customer service aren’t closely linked at most businesses, but they should be. Here are some ways companies can use one to help the other.

Align the goals of public relations and customer service

You get what you incentivize. A problem in some businesses is that customer relations staff are rewarded based on the volume of inquiries handled. If they’re instead evaluated based on complaint resolution rates, and/or customer satisfaction survey scores, the teams will be working toward similar goals. By the same token, the PR department or agency should be evaluated not just on positive earned media generated, but metrics related to enhanced reputation.

Use automation wisely

Automated customer service like emails and chatbots are superb tools when used well, but they can work against brand messaging and good PR if not. Automation should ideally be used not to avoid human interaction, but to do two things: preemptively answer routine questions or concerns; identify and escalate high-priority situations that require quick human intervention.

Double-down on messaging

We once represented a company that pioneered a specific kind of insurance available online at a great price. But some buyers failed to read and understand the lengthy policies they received, and they were surprised if claims were denied. Many vented frustration on consumer complaint boards, which were reflected in bad reviews for the brand. Our program helped educate prospective customers about the insurance and how it worked, but our team also liaised with customer service on a daily basis to spot, handle, and escalate complaints. We developed media and customer-friendly brand responses that showed a prompt commitment to resolution and pointed customers to earned media on how the insurance worked. It didn’t make everyone happy, but it showed that someone was home. The company was listening to its customers.

Empower CR reps to quickly resolve or escalate ordinary complaints

As mentioned, we’ve all had the delightful experience where a complaint is met with a quick agreement to waive a penalty or credit a finance charge. It’s often worth it for companies to give customer service personnel the leeway to make quick decisions for routine matters. Sometimes it’s not just the infraction itself that does the damage, but the lengthy wait where a complaint is escalated, or an infuriating lack of response to a problem.

Follow up on sensitive issues

After HBSC was sanctioned for money laundering, I decided to close an old account I had there on principle. When I called and the bank rep asked why, I shared my reasons. She acknowledged my explanation and politely ended the call. It might have made more sense for her to ask if a bank representative could contact me later or send an email recapping the bank’s public apology and amends made in the wake of its settlement. It would not have changed my mind in this case, but it might have softened my indignation. The opportunity to build a relationship, even when it starts with a complaint or cancellation, is always worth taking.

How PR And Customer Service Can Work Together

Posted on by Dorothy Crenshaw

Good customer service and good public relations have never been more aligned. One of the quickest ways to understand an organization’s reputation is to look at its response to a consumer complaint.

A company can spend millions on a brand reputation campaign, use high-powered PR agencies, and reap the benefits of CEO thought leadership, but if unhappy customers hit a brick wall instead of help, those investments may be squandered. In the age of social media, an unhappy customer has access to a digital megaphone to share their anger, and most are only too happy to use it.

Take a look at the recent YouGov survey of Most Improved Brands. On the list are Comcast/Xfinity, Uber, and Amazon. Comcast’s problems aren’t all in its customer communications; its entire industry suffers from a poor reputation, in part due to a lack of competition and steep prices. But when the “last mile” of the customer relationship is owned by a company rep who frustrates them with doublespeak, unresponsiveness, or missed appointments, there’s bound to be fallout. After a video of a Comcast service rep falling asleep on a customer’s sofa while on hold with the home office went viral, It had nowhere to go but up. In fact, Comcast made no bones of the fact that it rebranded its service as Xfinity to represent a fresh start for its reputation.

As a brand, Uber has inherent sex appeal, but it also suffered bad PR due to a slow response to emergency situations, insensitivity to customer complaints, and widely shared, if isolated, incidents of driver horror stories. Uber’s rating system goes a long way toward ensuring a good experience for customers, but it has drawbacks. The company also ran into some reputation roadblocks when it made the decision to outsource customer relations to “centers of excellence” outside the U.S. Buzzfeed reported that about 500 customer service reps were let go, leading to a bumpy transition, not to mention resentment among those fired without notice. In 2016, however, it seemed to steer things back onto a positive path.

Amazon sets the standard

Amazon has set the standard for customer commitment, giving rise to much debate and coverage of the “amazonification” of commerce. Although its customer service isn’t perfect, it’s nearly always innovative, and Amazon exerts an outsize influence by pushing others in retail to raise their own criteria. The true test for the future will be Amazon Go, and its widely promoted plan to open brick-and-mortar stores.

So how can public relations and customer service work together? Here are some practical ways based on our experience.

Involve PR in customer service messaging

We represented a company that was very successful selling specialized insurance online, but because many buyers failed to read and understand the policies they bought, they were disappointed if claims were denied and often vented anger and frustration on consumer complaint boards. The result was that pages of negative reviews turned up after a simple search of the brand name. Our program helped educate prospective customers about the insurance and how it works, and we worked with customer service to develop responses that not only showed a prompt commitment to resolving complaints (and escalating them where appropriate), but pointed them to third-party articles and information about the insurance. It was a very productive collaboration, but it doesn’t happen often enough.

Align the goals of public relations and customer service

You get what you incentivize. Too often, customer relations reps have goals related to the volume of inquiries handled. Meanwhile, the PR team is working to earn positive media coverage or drive a perception of value. If CR is evaluated and incentivized instead by complaint resolution rates, and/or customer satisfaction survey scores, the teams will working toward similar goals.

Empower CR reps to quickly resolve or escalate ordinary complaints

We’ve all had the delightful experience where a relatively minor complaint is met with a quick agreement to waive a penalty or credit a finance charge. For many situations, it’s worth it for companies to give customer service personnel the leeway to make quick decisions for minor matters. After all, what typically adds insult to injury is a lengthy wait where a complaint is escalated, or a non-response in the face of a legitimate problem.

Offer CR talking points or follow-up directions on sensitive issues

A couple of years ago I cancelled an account at an international bank that was hit with a money-laundering scandal. I had multiple motivations for moving the account, but when the bank rep asked why I made the move, I mentioned its terrible reputation as a drug-money launderer. She politely told me she understood and ended the call. It might have made more sense for her to ask if a bank representative could contact me later or send a note recapping the bank’s public apology and amends made in the wake of its settlement. The opportunity to build a relationship, even when it starts with a complaint or cancellation, is always worth taking.

Arm them with good news where appropriate

If a company has just launched a new product or it’s been reviewed with five stars by an important critic or community, it makes sense for the customer relations rep to know about it and have a quick talking point for callers who have relevant inquiries. It can also be a humanizing exchange.
According to telco services company Mitel, it takes 12 positive customer experiences to make up for one unresolved negative one. When PR and CR team up, those numbers improve, and we all benefit.