I always enjoy writing on the subject of claims customer service. When I do, I almost always relate delivering great customer service to attitude. I continue to preach the model of “Performance is 80 percent attitude and 20 percent ability.” Because of our claims customer service classes and our many articles on the subject, I am asked very often to give examples of truly exceptional customer service. Many times, rather than getting caught up in the technicalities of the claims process, it is actually easier to give examples of great customer service outside of the insurance industry. So here it goes.
Some people hate to travel. I like it. I’ve been traveling virtually every week for over 10 years now, delivering our claims courses to claims people all over the U.S. and Canada. Now that we are branching out to the U.K. this year, I expect to travel even longer distances.
Like most people, I don’t care too much for the security lines at the airport. I don’t like delays, don’t get excited about the food on the planes, and don’t relish the time spent picking up my rental car. Other than that, travel isn’t too bad. I certainly enjoy the opportunity to see the number of places most people don’t get the chance to see. So, overall, the plusses outweigh the minuses.
I would like to take a moment and mention one aspect of traveling that, normally, would be considered one of those minuses, and talk about how it has become a plus. But first, I would like to take a moment to explain the connection all of this has to claims.
We all know that claims is a tough business. We often deal with customers who have had something bad happen to them. They didn’t want it, they didn’t ask for it, and they don’t like it. We accept that most of the time, if we do our jobs well, we can take away some of the pain our customers are experiencing by doing an exceptional job in handling their claims. We can’t actually make them happy they had a claim, but we can get them through it.
To the degree that we dedicate ourselves to delivering truly exceptional customer service, we can make the claim experience a much better process for our customer. In my travels, I sometimes come across individuals who are so completely committed to customer service, it makes me wish our industry could be as committed.
Back to my example. As a proud resident of New Orleans, I fly out of the New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport. I always check my bags with the skycaps because I have so much training material that I bring along with me.
One day a couple of years ago, I pulled up to the skycap station and noticed that most of the skycaps were doing what they always do: They were standing behind their booths, waiting for us passengers to drag our bags up to them.
Once there, they would ask that question that is so consistent among skycaps that I assume they must receive weeks of intensive training. The ritualistic, “Where are you traveling to?” Well, nothing wrong with that, that’s their job.
Every so often, I would run across a skycap who would break from his rigid training and ask, “Where you traveling to … today?” But that didn’t occur too often.
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Skycap
"Jerome" at MSY
On this particular day, however, I saw a skycap actually going out to people’s cars to help bring in their luggage. I thought this must be some kind of new service they were offering because I hadn’t seen that level of assistance in a long time. He was smiling, shaking hands with people, and generally looking like he was enjoying helping people. So, of course, I assumed he was new.
By pure chance, when I got up to the stand, the person who was going to help me was leaving, and the skycap that was running out to people’s cars came in to assist. As I waited for him to ask that question, I was surprised when he said, “Thank you so much for flying with us today. Can I ask you where you are flying today, so I can help take care of you?”
Being a little thrown by his enthusiasm for something as mundane as checking luggage, I must have paused a moment before answering. Before I could, he asked, “I think I’ve seen you here before, do you fly a lot?” I was floored. Keep in mind I travel every week. I see the same counter people, gift shop people, and even flight attendants virtually every week. This was the first and only person who ever noticed me as a repeat customer.
Astonished that this person had actually noticed that I fly frequently, I could only nod up and down for a moment. He asked my name and looked it up. That’s when he said something that really took me by surprise.
He said, “Mr. Van, I’ll tell you what. If you travel a lot, you must be a busy person. My name is Jerome. Here is my cell phone number. The next time you are on your way to the airport, give me a call, and I can have everything ready for you.” Now a little stunned, and becoming suspicious, I started looking around for the hidden camera. I asked, “Are you serious?” Jerome replied, “Sure. I don’t want you wasting time. Just call me and I’ll take care of you.”
Sure enough, the next time I was on my way to the airport, I called Jerome on his cell phone. He asked me how many bags I had to check and, of course, where I was traveling.
When I arrived at the airport and pulled up near the skycap booth, Jerome came out to my car, pulled the bags out of the trunk, put the tags on them, and put them on his cart. He then came up to my window, checked my ID (because that is required), and handed me my tickets. I never even got out of my car. Now THAT’S service!
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Huntleigh USA, All Rights Reserved
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One time when I called Jerome on my way to the airport, it rolled into voicemail. His outgoing message said, “Hello, this is Jerome. Leave me a message and I’ll get right back to you. And remember, the only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude.” There it is! The attitude connection.
Jerome is one of those rare people who can make a normally negative experience into a pleasant one. Now, when I pull up with my bags, I genuinely look forward to the few moments Jerome and I get to chat before I have to leave. Because my wife travels with me frequently, he knows her, as well. When I travel alone, he will say, “Say hi to the first lady Miss Ann for me.”
When I asked him if his special service slows him down, he told me that he actually puts many more customers through than if he just waits for people to come to the booth because he does the computer work in advance. So in this case, as with many situations in claims, providing outstanding customer service actually takes less time and makes the job easier and much more satisfying.
Can we chalk all of this enthusiasm to just being new? Jerome is actually a supervisor and has been with his company for 20 years. He said he got into this job because he loves interacting with people and going out of his way to help them. He says he loves “spending quality time with my beautiful wife Felicia of 20 years and my daughters Jerlicia and
Jenesha.” He sees a direct connection between his desire to provide a good life for his family and his drive to always find ways to improve the customer’s experience.
Jerome commented, “I see the relationships I have formed with people in this job as a significant accomplishment. I have customers who are now friends, who have been as good to me as people I have known all of my life. I found this out after Hurricane Katrina. I received so many calls from people who only know me because I help when they travel. They were checking to see if I was okay, and that really touched my heart.”
Jerome is a great example of someone who not only delivers great customer service, but because of his attitude, seems to enjoy his job very much. I’m sure it is profitable for him, as well, because I am sure that most people he shows a special interest in, like me, are more generous when it comes to tips.
This article was reprinted directly
from Mr. Van's article which can be found at:
http://www.claimseducationmagazine.com/
pdfs/cem09_01-02/cem09_01-02_FULL-
ISSUE.pdf
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