Where do you get off? If you want my money, you are a business. That means act like it. You are not above customer service. You are not above basic administrative competence.
I don’t know if this happens everywhere, but when I lived in D.C., Greenpeace used to have solicitors parked outside the metro stations. Essentially, they want to know if you care about the planet. If you do get sucked in, they of course want to solicit donations. They ask you to put your contact and credit information on paper, give to an intern/volunteer/new hire, and trust that your identity won’t be stolen. Because they’re a wholesome non-profit and all that.
Now, this isn’t a post against Greenpeace. I know they do great things. What it’s about is when you have someone who has a financial relationship with you, even if by donation, there are still some basics you need to deliver. Like if due to the recession, you need to decrease your monthly contributions, someone needs to pick up the phone or answer emails. Don’t be so unreachable that instead of someone decreasing, they feel like they just want to cancel all together to avoid jumping through hoops. Again, basics.
Most of my contributions go to my sorority’s national foundation. I can make a phone call, talk to a real person, and get some great customer service. I had to change an address, done. Update my credit card info, done. If I want to know where my money is going, they can tell me what leadership programs and what chapters I support. Awesome. I want to keep giving my money to an organization like that, not just because it’s my sorority, but because they GET IT.
I’m treated like a client they don’t want to lose.
I know many businesses lose clients on a regular basis because of administrative inefficiencies. Sending out incorrect invoices, billing twice, copy-pasting the wrong information in emails, spelling your name incorrectly, refusing to patch you through to a supervisor, having a giant automated phone system with no people, and on and on…
What irks me is when an organization feels they are above good customer service. It’s expected of business…why isn’t it expected everywhere else? Even if you’re with a volunteer organization, if you volunteered to be the membership chair, then you HAVE to follow up with potential members in a timely manner. If you can’t, then you shouldn’t have volunteered. Your individual actions can reflect on the organization as a whole.
If you have employees or volunteers who are passionate about what you do, you’re less likely to run into administrative issues. Customer service becomes more about building relationships instead of facing a firing squad. From there, people might be willing to extend their financial relationship with you. And then we can all get back to what we wanted in the first place: doing something for the common good.
Photo from clipart.
Very well said here Emily – I’d actually phrase it a bit differently – instead of being treated as a customer, I think we want to be treated as human beings – companies often forget the value of customer service, but they also (very often) forget that they are dealing with other humans – people with emotions on the other end that they need to be in tune with.
This is part of the reason why small privately owned businesses are always more appealing to me than the corporate giants – it’s the reason I always seek out a “local” coffee shop over a Starbucks – because these are people that, 9 times out of 10, generally CARE about their customers and do everything they can to make you feel special – because you are – you are extremely valuable (not expendable) to THEIR success.
Good thoughts here Em. Cheers!
Matt, I like your thinking. We are humans. Whenever I’m really upset about something and have to dial to a customer service rep, I give myself a pep talk: “This is not their fault. She/He is just answering the phone, and they will try their best to help me.” I even try to start with, “Hi, I’m going to do my best to remain calm because I know you want to help and screaming won’t get us there.” It usually works…Now, there are some local businesses who blow me off (my cable distributor) and DirecTV is WAY more helpful…go figure.
Great post Emily. As someone who works in the nonprofit industry it is SO great to hear someone say what I know most donors and volunteers have been thinking for awhile – why is it that nonprofits are not run more like businesses? Focus on customer service. Focus on clearly providing your donors/volunteers with evidence of what their donation/work has accomplished. Consider grants and individual donations as investments not gifts and show the return on those investments.
Two things are standing in the way: leadership/management in nonprofits that still just don’t get it. And the fact that nonprofits (in general) have not yet figured out how to get and keep good people (who then in turn can do good work to treat donors/volunteers like people they don’t want to lose). Too many nonprofits think the “good cause” is enough of a motivation for donors/volunteers and employees alike. There are lots of good causes out there – we will donate and work for the ones that prove their worthiness as an organization as well.
Ashley, what you point out is perfectly true: there are nonprofits who can accomplish great customer service!! And that is wonderful, not all fail at this part of business. But the same things that impact nonprofits from being successful (leadership/management, retaining good people) are in play in business as well. I’ve seen it where basic administrative skills aren’t a priority, only to later find out that that’s the reason the multi-million dollar client left. A good cause or great product aren’t worth it anymore. I know that there are some amazing companies that are a circus internally. The sad part is the client tends to be the victim of that…
There is an old saying, “If you don’t treat your customers well, someone else will.” This also extends to volunteer organizations: if volunteers don’t feel that their time is appreciated and their contributions are respected, then they will eventually volunteer someplace else that effectively recognizes and appreciates them.
As a manager I found it helpful the remind myself that capable team members can pretty much find another job if they want to. That led me to periodically ask, “What keeps you here?”; I need to know so I can pay close attention to whatever is within my control as a manager. Heads of volunteer organizations and volunteer projects would do well to ask the same thing of their volunteers. (By the way, as a leader you gain some credibility for asking the question in earnest; you gain more credibility for remembering what they previously said over time without them having to remind you; you gain more credibility by demonstrating you are willing to take some actions within your own span of authority to act on what they said.)
Ah, but it’s a tough economy you might say; even talented employees have few options to leave. Yes, they may stay employed but they may also completely disengage, doing just what they must to remain employed. The key to the success of any service business, as with any volunteer enterprise, is engaging the hearts and minds of people to do more than they have to, to take the mission of the enterprise to heart, and act accordingly. You just don’t get that if you lose sight of the basics, as you have noted in this post, Emily.
Marc, I’m finding engagement is probably the most important thing right now. Reading through the blogs and posts of other young workers (employed or not), they don’t know what engagement is. They just know that work is not happy, employers don’t care if you’re at the bottom of the food chain, and even if you’ve been loyal for years, you can still get laid off. While the recession may be an exception to the rule, there’s a lot to be said for how this shapes our lives. What impact does it have on our relationship to other organizations? What kinds of leaders will we be? Do we have the business sense necessary to be successful? I know that many of us are spending more time in administrative roles than we would have liked, but I’m hoping that means we’re more understanding. Just like I identify with those in the food service from my time as a waitress, hopefully it will be the same across experiences. But who knows?
In today’s competitive world, the businesses that get the notion customer service is among their most valuable assets will have the best chance of lasting. Poor service is almost a death sentence to a business right now.
What’s amazing is customer service is simple: Saying things like “thank you;” “please;” and “I can do that for you.” is all that is really needed.
Hi Alex, you’re right, little things help. I was in a situation recently where things were a mess administratively. I was trying to sign up for something, and it was if all parts of my application wouldn’t go through. Then I finally got so frustrated, when I called about the last hiccup, I demanded to speak to a supervisor. Of course, it turned out, the insanity I had been dealing with had involved her…not much trust in the system if the supervisor is contributing to chaos. I guess her boss got wind and called me to try and smooth things over, but I discovered it was really damage control, they wanted to protect themselves. They didn’t really care. And I doubt the process will improve. Needless today, I don’t want to sign up anymore. Thanks for stopping by!
Just did this 5 part series,.. very challenging