House of Horrors

While my son and I were in Los Angeles last year, we went to Universal Studios. Out of all the interesting rides and attractions, there is one called the House of Horrors. It is a multi-sensory spook alley that has some of the Studio’s famous horror movie characters from the silent screen to the modern age.

While we were walking through the haunted house, some frightened boys ran the opposite way in the line to get out of the place. This heightened the tension of everyone as we waited in the line for something horrible to happen. We could hear screaming and howls of pain ahead of us; however, we continued our journey because there was no place to go except to turn around and run like those frightened young boys.

Even though Halloween is over, we still have plenty of places on Saipan that continue to exhibit their “house of horrors.” These are the businesses that scare their customers away with frightful service. Their employees do not wear costumes, but instead put on zombie faces that only come alive when it’s ready to punch the time clock to go home. Many of the walking dead can be found lurking the halls of government offices where their verbal and nonverbal actions let you know you are an unwelcome guest.

Is your business a house of horrors for customers? Are you aware of the things that frustrate them and possibly scare them away? They might be the general frustrations that customers feel when they interact with any business in your industry. For example, when you visit a doctor at the scheduled appointment time, you know that you will have to wait anywhere from 15 to 50 minutes before being seen. Other examples include no prices on products or the shelf they sit on, lack of parking spaces, or limited selection, low inventory levels, no service after the sale, etc.

If your business could overcome the painful experiences that are common among you and your competitors, it could give you a competitive edge. As you eliminate frustrations and replace them with the opposite, then your business will become more appealing to prospects and customers. The first step is to identify the various frustrations by inviting your staff to a brainstorming session where you list all of the horrors experienced by your customers. You may even invite some of your customers to the meeting to hear what they have to say.

Identify a topic statement to get everyone’s thoughts focused, and have them spend a few minutes writing down the answers to the question. Go around the room and have each person take turns stating just one frustration at a time so that everyone has a chance to contribute. Make a list of them on a flip chart or whiteboard so everyone can see them. One possible topic question could be: “What are the key frustrations our customers experience when they interact with our business?”

It’s important to not criticize or disagree with anyone’s comments. This might cause people to hedge comments and just tell you things they think you want to hear. After everyone has had a chance to share their thoughts, this becomes your list of horrors that causes customers to have a negative experience when they encounter a frustrating situation at your business.

With all of points listed, it’s now time to prioritize the frustrations so that you can identify the top ones to work on. This is done by asking each person to write what they think are the top three frustrations. Go around the room again, asking individuals to tell you their three items. The person’s number one frustration is worth three points, second is worth two, and the third prioritized frustration gets one point. These points are put next to each frustration listed on the board, and when all have had a chance to comment, the points are added up. The frustration with the most points will be what the group’s feels is the number one frustration, the second highest points number two, and so forth.

Once the order of frustrating experiences is identified, the next step will be to discuss how they can be eliminated, who will be responsible, when it should be accomplished, the resources needed and budget available to reduce or eliminate the frustration, and any staff training to ensure the frustration does not reoccur.

Ideally, a policy and procedure document will be created that can be referred to in the future, or used to train new employees. Periodic reviews or customer surveys are useful to make sure the maddening experience has not crept back into the organization. As you tackle each frustration and turn it into a delight for your customer, you will find that you house of horrors will be transformed into a place of pleasantness where customers and prospects look forward to spending their time and money.