When I was a kid, my father would often say "Why try to fix something with a band-aid, when you know cement is required?" Ever noticed what's required when utilizing cement? A little more effort is required when attempting to put something that will last for a while in place. This made me think about strategies that are often used to "fix" a customer service delivery problem. Let's take a look at some of these "band-aids".

Motivational Talks - While motivational talks are a great tool to utilize, they are but a spoke in the wheel of creating great customer experiences. Now, everyone needs a little motivation now and then, but be careful not to totally rely on this option. Attempting to "motivate the troops" without first listening to the troops is in my opinion a tactical error in the quest to provide great customer service. A common military tactic is to send out a "point man" ahead of the troops to look for and report back on hazards that the platoon might encounter. To ignore the point man's communication would be unwise as this information was key to the mission's success and to the safety of the entire platoon. It's the same in customer service. The people who service the customer as well as the people who service the people who service your customer are your company's "point personnel". Here's the cement: Get their opinions regarding the state of your current customer experience strategies. They can identify "hazards" that may cause a significant decrease in customer satisfaction and revenue. Here's a formula for you: Motivational talks before investigation usually results in disengagement. Motivational talks, when utilized in isolation, will just like a band-aid slowly lose its ability to stick. The result is the underlying issue reappears.

Customer Service Training - Often I hear managers or business owners say that their employees need customer service training. Now you would think that as a customer service training provider, I would be excited to hear about that need. My first question is always "Why do you feel your employees need customer service training?" Some of the answers that I receive are "I want them to learn how to be nice to our customers.", "I want them to understand how important our customers are to the company." or "I want them to learn how to handle angry customers." Now these are all some legitimate reasons to consider customer service training as a solution, but when used in isolation might be considered a temporary band-aid. Customer service personnel might for a time exercise some of the skills learned in training sessions, but if the internal issues which create problems for employees during their customer interactions go unaddressed, then the concrete has not yet been utilized.

Manipulation - Some managers and supervisors use this tactic in hopes of getting improved results. Comparing their team's results to another team within the same organization, or to another location - in another state or maybe even on the other side of the world without considering the various dynamics that may be at work. This is a band-aid laced with poison. Most people do not enjoy having their performance negatively compared to someone else's. Some companies feel that "a little competitiveness" is okay amongst employees. Make sure that this "competitiveness" does not induce cheating to stay under the numbers radar. The cement to be applied is to allow employees the proper time to take care of the situational needs of customers. When monitoring service interactions, make sure to consider whether or not the actions taken were such that the customer should not have to come back,, call back, email again or engage in an additional web chat conversation. To base performance incentives strictly on meeting a number is somewhat dangerous to the work culture. Did the actions taken not only meet the purchasing customer's needs, but also those of the internal customers? Was someone else negatively impacted by an employees quest to "meet the numbers" goal? Beware of manipulation. You may in fact be creating additional work when utilizing this band-aid.

Remember - using a band-aid in the quest to create great customer service experiences is but a short-term solution. Get the cement out and develop an environment that thrives on providing the best service for each individual customer's situation.