|
BMW Delivers the World-Class Service That Customers Expect
World-class customer service is something that customers expect from BMW Financial Services. The company already had a strong service culture when Learning and Development Consulting Manager Chuck Hickman sought a way to help clarify and define it.
"Everything about your company needs to be world-class. In our case, that means the car, dealership experience, financial services, and our overall customer service. Customers are increasingly savvy and their needs are constantly changing. Companies must choose to continuously advance in the customer service arena, otherwise they’ll be passed up."
 Learning How to Delight Customers
The company provides BMW auto leasing and financing, as well as personal banking services. As part of a recent service development initiative, Hickman wanted to enhance the skills of 100+ call-center associates. Advantage partner Peg Ruppert recommended Delighting Customers for Call Centers, from Customer Focus, Inc. This one-day, interactive service program helped the group of highly professional service providers increase their ability to understand what customers really want, and exceed their service expectations.
Ruppert customized the program with a one-on-one active listening and coaching session. "When BMW associates were on the phone with live customers, we were listening in and providing very specific feedback regarding their use of the Delighting Customers skills," she says. "Our people enjoyed it," reports Hickman. "The coaching was confidential. People understood that this was not a critique system, but purely a development tool. They gave the experience a real thumbs-up."
The service development initiative also included hiring a full-time, dedicated customer care coach. One tool the new coach used was a quality monitoring form, much of which reflected the Delighting Customers training, that Hickman’s team created to reinforce new world-class service behaviors.
Ruppert says, "The next step was developing internal certified customer service managers who will act as cultural change agents." Working with partner Leslie Krehnbrink, she developed a coaching workshop to increase the managers’ coaching skills. "These people now become the champion of what we’re trying to do," says Hickman. Krehnbrink conducted certification sessions so key managers could both coach to and facilitate the program throughout the organization.
Customer Surveys Reflect Improvement
"A lot of companies talk to their employees about service, but very little is done to demonstrate its importance," Hickman adds. "We felt that training was what would reinforce the importance of world-class service in associates’ minds, giving them the knowledge and tools to upgrade rather than just asking them to behave differently."
The training, in conjunction with the other components of BMW’s service initiative, is having an effect. "We’re seeing some positive improvements in our customer service measures, and are very pleased with the progress we’re making. Our surveys indicate that our associates are understanding and applying the skills they learned in Delighting Customers, and the training has helped us to drive the change we would like."
But Hickman emphasizes that training alone cannot sustain a world-class service culture. "You need to put all of the internal mechanisms in place that will move you in the right direction. Choose the right training, place the customer care coach, develop ongoing internal change agents, and support new customer service behaviors every way you can. Your employees will understand your company’s commitment to world-class service, and customer feedback will show that the commitment pays off."
|
