Working with the Chief Customer Officer at Northeast Utilities, Johnny D. Magwood, has been a great experience.  We had a stimulating conversation last week about the challenges and opportunities that surround a shift in organizational culture to one that focuses on the customer.  He recalled an experience he had early in his career where the organization he was working for had determined to be more customer-focused.  He described that the entrance to the company headquarters doubled as a smoking area for employees.  The lobby area where customers passed through on a daily basis was a mine-field of ashtrays and cigarette smoke that individuals had to wade through to make it to their appointments.  He wondered what kind of impression that environment made on customers. Rightly so, he assumed customers were left with the notion that the company did not value them and were OK with putting obstacles in the the way of them having a positive experience.  Recognizing this issue, management removed all the ashtrays and instructed employees to smoke elsewhere.  Within a week, the ashtrays were covertly brought back in and old habits resumed.  Eventually, through persistent effort,  the smoking area in the lobby was permanently shifted to another area – away from customer’s view but it took awhile longer to shift people’s mindset around building an environment that worked for the customer.  

I loved this story because I think it so clearly describes how hard change can be, how difficult it is to see things from another’s perspective and how everything we do speaks loudly.  Every organization faces this same issue when moving toward a customer-focused culture.  How do we really get leaders and employees to see things through the customers eyes?  Yes, it takes time but it can help to walk in the customer’s shoes.  Here is a way to accomplish that:

Create an experience called "Customer for a Day."   Ask a small group of employees to enter the workplace on a particular day "as if" they were a customer.  Perhaps ask them to wear a baseball cap that says "customer" or don a "customer" button on their jacket.   Ask them to tour the building or facility looking at it through the lens of the customer.  Give them a checklist of things to look for that might include:

• How would you describe the environment?
• Did employees look busy / focused / friendly?
• Was the environment neat and well organized?
• What did you notice that let you know it was a customer-focused company?
  
  
  
• Did you run into any obstacles or red flags?

Gather the "customer employees" after the exercise and debrief with them.  It can be an eye-opening experience and one that can be shared with all employees through company newsletters or intranet profiles.  Make it a quarterly event and select new employees for each "Customer for a Day" experience.

Remember the old Earth, Wind and Fire song whose lyrics contained the memorable lines, "After the love is gone….what used to be right is wrong…can love that’s lost be found?"  I can’t get those lyrics out of my head as I continue to see the huge sales that surround us all at every turn. "70% percent off" seems to be the key driver of traffic to most retail stores today.  In these difficult economic times, huge sales are what brings customers in the door.  You are most often met with robotic greetings and responses, at best, or surly impatience at worse.  And we ignore or resign ourselves to "this is the way service is these days" or "it is what it is" because the cost savings somehow make the bad service acceptable.

Back to the lyrics – so what happens "after the sales are gone?"  Can love that’s lost be found?  What will drive customer loyalty (and love) during times when most people are being conservative and cost-conscious?  The "love" needs to be generated by great service – by an experience that will drive traffic even when the sales are finished.  Companies, businesses and stores that provide an experience that makes people glad they came by. An experience that actually makes people feel better during this challenging period.

From time to time, I want to highlight businesses that, in their own way, are delivering this kind of memorable service in hopes that the best practices can be adapted to your business – or at least generate a conversation about how you and your team can do better when it comes to delivering to your customers.

Recently, my daughter voiced an interest in taking dance classes – hip-hop in particular.  I found my may to a local Chicago dance establishment called the "Joel Hall Dance Center."  I was familiar with the Company but had never been to their center.  From the minute we walked in the door we were greeted with friendly smiles, asked our names and invited to discuss our interests and get their advice about classes that would be a good fit for my daughter.  We both immediately felt embraced and engaged – so much so, that I decided to take the plunge and start taking ballet classes again – something that I had not done in over 25 years!  This took a certain amount of personal courage on my part but their welcoming spirit somehow bolstered my confidence.  Within a few visits the staff and teachers remembered my name, noticed when I was absent, shared discount options and always had a friendly greeting.  Everyone,  young and old, experienced and inexperienced seemed to share this same collegial atmosphere.

While my daughter’s interest has faded, I continue to return and am drawn back to the studio despite scheduling challenges, my lack of talent and the cost – because of the way I feel when I am there.  Welcomed and supported – a part of the group.  At the end of the day, it is about building community that draws us back to businesses – whether it is a dance center, restaurant, clothing store, etc.

How are you creating community – a great experience – for your customers, after the sales have gone?