Custody service

It was a dreary early morning when I entered the door of the newly remodeled facility to be greeted by the steely-cold stare of the security guard posted at the entrance. I made my way silently through the long line to eventually meet an individual who was posted on the other side of thick Plexiglas, which had small holes drilled through it and made it difficulty to understand what was being said.

The description you’ve just read does not describe the new prison being built on Saipan, but a visit to the CUC office in DanDan. It had been many months since the last visit. We had eliminated the need to make regular visits to pay a bill by having it automatically deducted. The remodeled facilities were more open and brightly lit, but it was surprising to see the upgraded level of security. Not being able to get the assistance I needed from the lady behind the Plexiglas, I was directed to talk to someone at customer service – where one would suppose that customers are served.

I dutifully signed in on a paper and then sat down with three other individuals. I had no idea who was next in line, or how the order would be determined. Several minutes passed, which gave me the chance to observe three people sitting at their desks looking busy and a couple of people actually serving customers. Finally, an available customer service rep yelled out, “Who’s next?” Since she did not go to the paper to determine who was next, it was up to those patiently sitting on the hard, cold bench to make the choice. One man stood up and walked toward the lady to get assistance. By this time a woman had signed in and a man came after her without signing in. After sitting for a minute, the last man to sit down got up and walked over to one of the busy looking CUC employees to ask about a bill. The rest of us, who had been there for 10 minutes, observed.

I finally got up and asked the employee, “Can you tell me how the order is determined, because some of us were here before this gentleman?”

Without batting an eyelash, the male CUC employee totally disregarded my question. He did not respond to me by eye contact or the courtesy of a reply. This caused me to say out loud, “I’m being ignored.” Still no response, but he did tell the other man to sit and wait to be called. Realizing that I was not being acknowledged as a human being, much less a customer, I shuffled back to the cold, hard bench where I waited, feeling more and more like I was in custody at a prison facility.

To be fair, the lady behind the Plexiglas was friendly, and the lady in customer service who eventually assisted me was helpful. However, there was no excuse for the busy looking man in customer service who treated customers as a nuisance. He should be sequestered in a backroom where he can do his paperwork without being troubled by those pesky CUC customers.

With the 1.5 cent per kwh surcharge being added this Monday, utility costs will be going up, which means people will have a more difficult time paying their bill, which means more visits to custody service where you’ll have to plead your case to keep the lights on.

Unfortunately, this level of service is not only prevalent in government offices but also in many businesses. People are made to feel like cattle while waiting to be served. You can spend lots of money on advertising and public relations efforts; however, all of that money has been wasted the minute a person walks through your door. Retailing consultant, Richard Israel, revealed that much of a large advertising investment by a major furniture chain was lost the moment a customer entered a store and walked smack into a “non-supportive psychological environment.” In other words they had a custody service experience where they were ignored and salespeople failed to respond to questions and requests.

“The whole purpose of advertising is to get people to come in the front door,” says Israel. “After that, advertising can’t do anything more for you. It’s up to the people in the store to take over during the last four feet.”

It’s those last four feet where organizations typically fail to turn a curious prospect into a delighted customer. Businesses will spend huge amounts of money remodeling, advertising, promoting, and dressing up their staff; yet they lose it all in the last four feet to make a touch down with a customer because they view customer service training as an unnecessary operational expense. Their customer service opportunity turns into a custody service experience for the customer. Pity.

(Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is the owner of Positively Outrageous Results. They can be contacted at: biz_results@yahoo.com)