CX Heroes Webinar Series
CX Heroes Webinar Series
On-Demand Webinar
Parity is a challenge in business. When competing brands can’t create true differentiation, they struggle to stand out in customers’ minds. And in the telecom business — where the products vary little — parity is commonplace. But not for AB Sappa, the Swedish telecom company. In an industry where most products are the same, AB Sappa has found a way to differentiate itself – and it’s not with product, but with service… customer service. That’s a philosophy that is practiced company-wide and encouraged by giving all customer service representatives the power to be creative and do what’s necessary to solve problems.
The results are impressive. Since putting customer service at the heart of what they do, AB Sappa has been ranked highest in customer service among all telecom companies in Sweden — two years running. With the support of a customer-centric organization and the right tools, all the AB Sappa customer service representatives are equipped with everything necessary to make each customer experience amazing.
In this CX Heroes webinar, you will learn how AB Sappa:
Celebrate the people who drive excellent customer service— and the technology that empowers them. The CX Heroes program acknowledges the select few who have applied their skills, talents and empathy to make a real difference in people’s lives. The result? Truly authentic, personal, meaningful experiences that customers recognize as special.
1
00:00:11,460 –> 00:00:16,000
Hello everyone. And welcome to our CX heroes webinar on
2
00:00:16,000 –> 00:00:20,890
five successful habits of a CX hero. We’re really excited
3
00:00:20,890 –> 00:00:25,060
today, all the way from Sweden to have Katarina Cervell
4
00:00:25,160 –> 00:00:30,480
and Jacob Dalnäs from Sappa. So, welcome to you both.
5
00:00:30,810 –> 00:00:35,820
Jacob is CX hero. So, congratulations Jacob for being named
6
00:00:35,820 –> 00:00:38,830
CX hero. We’re really excited to have you here, and
7
00:00:38,830 –> 00:00:40,650
later on, in the webinar, we’re going to have you
8
00:00:40,650 –> 00:00:46,710
tell your story of what earned you this distinction. But
9
00:00:46,710 –> 00:00:49,729
before we start off, Katarina, I’d love to have you
10
00:00:49,729 –> 00:00:54,650
tell us a little bit about Sappa. Absolutely. I’ll do
11
00:00:54,650 –> 00:00:59,460
that. Sappa is the fourth largest telecom company in Sweden,
12
00:00:59,510 –> 00:01:04,580
and we deliver TV, broadband to our customer throughout Sweden.
13
00:01:05,430 –> 00:01:10,950
And we also deliver digital care services for elderly people.
14
00:01:10,950 –> 00:01:14,160
So, they can stay at home longer and feel safe,
15
00:01:14,160 –> 00:01:19,030
and their relatives can feel safe. And our mission is
16
00:01:19,030 –> 00:01:23,230
to be the most customer- friendly company in Sweden.[crosstalk 00:01:
17
00:01:23,230 –> 00:01:30,360
25]- That sounds great. Yeah. That sounds great. Well, we’re
18
00:01:30,360 –> 00:01:33,130
really excited to have you here and excited to dive
19
00:01:33,130 –> 00:01:38,550
into what makes an effective CX hero. So, as we
20
00:01:38,550 –> 00:01:41,020
get a little deeper into the webinar here, you’re going
21
00:01:41,020 –> 00:01:44,260
to learn five ways to improve customer service and establish
22
00:01:44,260 –> 00:01:48,060
successful habits that you can use every day. You’ll be
23
00:01:48,060 –> 00:01:52,130
able to” Establish skills that every agent should have.” We’ll
24
00:01:52,130 –> 00:01:56,120
show you how to” Handle difficult customers with finesse,” how-
25
00:01:56,120 –> 00:02:00,030
to” Recognize and reward your agents,” how- to” Turn customers
26
00:02:00,030 –> 00:02:03,630
into brand advocates,” and how- to” get personalization right for
27
00:02:03,630 –> 00:02:08,050
your customers.” So, without further ado, let’s jump right into
28
00:02:08,050 –> 00:02:12,510
it. The first habit is establishing a set of skills
29
00:02:12,510 –> 00:02:14,770
that every agent should have. And as you see on this
30
00:02:14,770 –> 00:02:17,840
slide here, we have listed 10 skills that we at
31
00:02:17,840 –> 00:02:21,110
Genesys feel are really important skills. These are certainly not
32
00:02:21,110 –> 00:02:26,120
every skill, but this is a really good, basic set
33
00:02:26,120 –> 00:02:28,919
of skills that we think are important. So, as you
34
00:02:28,919 –> 00:02:33,419
have a chance to look at this Katarina from your point
35
00:02:33,419 –> 00:02:36,590
of view, which two of these skills do you think
36
00:02:36,590 –> 00:02:40,700
are the most important to providing good customer service? Or
37
00:02:40,700 –> 00:02:42,320
if you see a skill that’s not on here, is
38
00:02:42,320 –> 00:02:45,460
there something that’s missing here that you think is an important skill?
39
00:02:46,700 –> 00:02:49,440
Yeah, I would like to choose all of them, but
40
00:02:51,360 –> 00:02:55,030
I would like to keep it to a smaller[ inaudible
41
00:02:55,450 –> 00:02:58,900
00: 02: 55]. In order to reach our vision, that
42
00:02:58,900 –> 00:03:02,470
is to be the most customer- friendly company, I think
43
00:03:02,470 –> 00:03:06,880
that it’s very important that advisors like Jacob is a
44
00:03:06,880 –> 00:03:12,930
good listener to the customer and also to be assertiveness
45
00:03:13,100 –> 00:03:18,590
to the customer’s needs and also get on the same
46
00:03:18,590 –> 00:03:22,419
level as the customer. So, that’s very important, but I
47
00:03:22,419 –> 00:03:25,610
think the most important thing for us is that our
48
00:03:25,610 –> 00:03:31,770
advisors are genuine and themselves because that’s creates a relation
49
00:03:31,930 –> 00:03:34,650
with the customer and that’s very, very important for us.
50
00:03:36,950 –> 00:03:39,610
Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. That authentic bond
51
00:03:39,610 –> 00:03:42,030
with a customer that lets them know that you’re truly
52
00:03:42,030 –> 00:03:44,610
listening to them and you truly understand where they’re coming
53
00:03:44,610 –> 00:03:50,040
from. Yeah. Yeah. Jacob, what about you? You are talking
54
00:03:50,260 –> 00:03:54,080
to customers all the time. Looking at this list here,
55
00:03:54,080 –> 00:03:59,870
which two skills are most important? I think I put
56
00:03:59,870 –> 00:04:02,610
the two of them together as one actually, and it’s
57
00:04:02,860 –> 00:04:06,960
listening and attentiveness. I put this one because I think
58
00:04:06,960 –> 00:04:10,620
they go kind of hand in hand. I think it’s
59
00:04:10,660 –> 00:04:15,270
very important to listen and to also pay attention because
60
00:04:15,370 –> 00:04:18,339
then you can pick up the things that the customer
61
00:04:18,400 –> 00:04:23,680
is maybe not telling you because, in my experience, they
62
00:04:23,680 –> 00:04:28,210
don’t give their every need at once when they call
63
00:04:28,210 –> 00:04:30,910
you because they might be nervous or they have waited
64
00:04:30,910 –> 00:04:34,940
for a long time. So, it’s about reading the signals
65
00:04:35,560 –> 00:04:38,620
and just listening and paying attention to what they say.
66
00:04:39,350 –> 00:04:42,130
And then you can find many more needs than the
67
00:04:43,100 –> 00:04:46,700
one recent, that they are calling you. And after that,
68
00:04:47,529 –> 00:04:53,400
it’s resourcefulness that I took because when you listen and
69
00:04:53,400 –> 00:04:57,400
you find all the things that the customer needs, then
70
00:04:57,400 –> 00:05:00,900
you also need to be creative to solve the issue.
71
00:05:00,960 –> 00:05:05,060
Because many times it’s might not be our services that
72
00:05:05,060 –> 00:05:09,089
is the best solution for the customer. It might be
73
00:05:09,089 –> 00:05:11,880
something else. So, you will have to be creative and
74
00:05:11,880 –> 00:05:16,270
see in what way you can help the customer. And
75
00:05:17,880 –> 00:05:22,450
I also want to agree with Katarina on being on
76
00:05:22,450 –> 00:05:25,810
the same level as the customer is important like you
77
00:05:25,810 –> 00:05:29,700
speak the same language. And so you kind of have
78
00:05:29,700 –> 00:05:35,670
to be like a chameleon. You have to adapt to
79
00:05:35,670 –> 00:05:39,089
who you talk to and speak their language. So they understand
80
00:05:39,089 –> 00:05:41,390
you and that you feel a special connection with them.
81
00:05:42,010 –> 00:05:44,980
And of course, it has to be genuine also. I
82
00:05:44,980 –> 00:05:48,200
think you can tell very clearly when someone is reading
83
00:05:48,200 –> 00:05:51,140
from a script or they have been trained to say
84
00:05:51,140 –> 00:05:54,980
certain things. So, it needs to come from the heart too.
85
00:05:56,610 –> 00:05:59,140
That makes lot of sense. It sounds from hearing you
86
00:05:59,140 –> 00:06:03,450
talk, an important part of it is not only listening
87
00:06:03,450 –> 00:06:07,930
to what they say but picking up cues on understanding
88
00:06:07,930 –> 00:06:10,770
what they’re not saying and trying to fill in the
89
00:06:10,770 –> 00:06:13,540
blanks for other things that they might need to. Is
90
00:06:13,540 –> 00:06:19,760
that right? Yeah, absolutely. And we hire personalities like Jacob
91
00:06:20,070 –> 00:06:27,160
here, so… That’s great. Well, I think that’s really good
92
00:06:27,160 –> 00:06:31,980
advice here. So moving on to habit number two. One
93
00:06:31,980 –> 00:06:35,650
thing that I think anyone who works in customer service
94
00:06:36,770 –> 00:06:41,040
has dealt with is handling difficult customers. And handling difficult
95
00:06:41,040 –> 00:06:45,650
customers with finesse and treating them well is a real
96
00:06:45,650 –> 00:06:49,380
skill in and of itself. 95% of customers tell others
97
00:06:49,380 –> 00:06:52,420
about a bad experience. So, a customer that has a
98
00:06:52,420 –> 00:06:55,640
bad experiences is likely to complain about it. So, it
99
00:06:55,640 –> 00:06:58,560
makes it all the more important to be able to
100
00:07:01,110 –> 00:07:02,730
deal with the customer who might not be in the
101
00:07:02,730 –> 00:07:05,120
greatest mood or might not be in the greatest situation
102
00:07:05,120 –> 00:07:08,240
and try to get them to a good spot. So,
103
00:07:09,720 –> 00:07:15,760
Katarina, how does Sappa, as an organization, how do you
104
00:07:15,930 –> 00:07:19,990
train advisers to deal with frustrated customers, and what’s your
105
00:07:19,990 –> 00:07:23,800
overall philosophy on helping customers who might be frustrated or
106
00:07:23,800 –> 00:07:28,180
in a bad place? First of all, we work with
107
00:07:28,180 –> 00:07:33,530
a professional coach. We worked with Jessica for several years. And
108
00:07:33,530 –> 00:07:36,390
she comes to our office every third week, not now,
109
00:07:36,440 –> 00:07:39,800
but now we do these digital, but she comes to
110
00:07:39,800 –> 00:07:43,470
the office every third week, and she trains and develops
111
00:07:43,470 –> 00:07:48,510
our advisors. And there’s a really good relationship between this
112
00:07:48,510 –> 00:07:52,870
coach and our advisors. And it’s a lot about listening
113
00:07:52,870 –> 00:07:57,140
to the customer and getting the customer to understand that
114
00:07:57,140 –> 00:08:01,310
we have a common goal with this conversation we’re going
115
00:08:01,310 –> 00:08:04,370
in the same direction. So, we need to be on
116
00:08:04,370 –> 00:08:08,120
the same side. So, we work a lot with that.
117
00:08:08,440 –> 00:08:11,760
And then it’s very interesting because there is a customer
118
00:08:11,760 –> 00:08:19,780
survey in Sweden, that’s called Swedish… Quality Index. Yeah. Quality Index. Thank
119
00:08:19,780 –> 00:08:24,750
you. And we are the only company in telecom business
120
00:08:24,750 –> 00:08:29,850
that has a positive effect on with contact with the
121
00:08:29,850 –> 00:08:33,530
customers. So, for often when they call us, they could
122
00:08:33,530 –> 00:08:36,270
have a problem, or they can ask question, but although
123
00:08:36,540 –> 00:08:40,320
frustrated, they are very happy after they’ve been talking to
124
00:08:40,320 –> 00:08:43,559
us. And we are the only companies that has that. So,
125
00:08:44,420 –> 00:08:48,670
our advisors are very good at talking and listening and
126
00:08:48,670 –> 00:08:51,960
understanding and get on the same level, the same page
127
00:08:51,960 –> 00:08:55,950
as the customer. So, we train a lot, and they
128
00:08:55,950 –> 00:09:01,610
are helping each other also. Yep, that’s great. And Jacob, how
129
00:09:01,610 –> 00:09:04,130
about you? You are on the front lines everyday dealing
130
00:09:04,130 –> 00:09:06,580
with customers. I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of
131
00:09:07,429 –> 00:09:13,910
experiences with customers that are not the happiest. Absolutely. What
132
00:09:13,910 –> 00:09:19,630
do you find that works best? I think mostly you
133
00:09:21,030 –> 00:09:24,050
have to make the customer just understand that you are
134
00:09:24,050 –> 00:09:30,270
on the same side. And here in this situation is
135
00:09:30,270 –> 00:09:35,190
probably the most important out of any situation to speak
136
00:09:35,190 –> 00:09:39,070
the same language as the customer. If he calls in
137
00:09:39,130 –> 00:09:42,809
and he’s pissed off at Sappa, then I will be
138
00:09:42,880 –> 00:09:47,300
pissed off at Sappa too. And if he’s pissed off
139
00:09:47,300 –> 00:09:49,300
with my colleague, I will also be pissed off with
140
00:09:49,300 –> 00:09:54,880
my colleague. And I will agree with him, and we
141
00:09:54,880 –> 00:09:58,830
will speak the same language. Of course, I won’t throw
142
00:09:58,830 –> 00:10:02,570
anyone under the bus, not the company or my colleagues,
143
00:10:02,570 –> 00:10:07,380
but I think it’s important to show the customers that
144
00:10:07,380 –> 00:10:10,630
we are not getting defensive when things are going wrong.
145
00:10:11,559 –> 00:10:15,590
We accept that things can go wrong, and we take
146
00:10:15,590 –> 00:10:20,540
responsibility in those situations. So, usually an angry customer, I
147
00:10:20,540 –> 00:10:24,760
usually try to take as a challenge. And the challenge
148
00:10:24,780 –> 00:10:28,890
is that before the customer hangs up, we are going
149
00:10:28,890 –> 00:10:31,570
to be on the same page, even if he didn’t
150
00:10:31,570 –> 00:10:33,780
get as he wanted or I didn’t get as I
151
00:10:33,780 –> 00:10:36,080
wanted, then we can still be on the same page
152
00:10:36,480 –> 00:10:40,150
and understand each other. And as soon as they start
153
00:10:40,150 –> 00:10:44,929
to realize that I am the solution to their problem, they
154
00:10:44,929 –> 00:10:48,070
usually start to bring their guard down, and they have
155
00:10:48,070 –> 00:10:52,280
a different attitude. So, it’s just a matter of bringing
156
00:10:52,280 –> 00:10:58,540
their guard down and being on their side. So you really need
157
00:10:58,730 –> 00:11:02,179
to be able to demonstrate some empathy and show them
158
00:11:02,179 –> 00:11:08,170
that you not only understand logically what their problem is
159
00:11:08,429 –> 00:11:13,190
but that you feel for them. Right. Yeah. You are understanding
160
00:11:13,190 –> 00:11:19,520
where they’re coming from emotionally. Yep. Yeah. That’s great. Well,
161
00:11:19,520 –> 00:11:24,090
that’s[crosstalk certainly[crosstalk 00:11: 20]… That was something that our customer was
162
00:11:24,280 –> 00:11:27,320
asking for. When Sappa was started, I wanted a warm and
163
00:11:27,320 –> 00:11:32,550
friendly supplier, and that’s really what this guy started giving our customers.
164
00:11:34,650 –> 00:11:36,870
And you, Katarina. I’d love to hear you talk about that
165
00:11:37,150 –> 00:11:40,720
just a little bit more. Sappa has a really great reputation for being
166
00:11:40,720 –> 00:11:45,380
able to deliver customer service. Isn’t that right? Yeah, that’s
167
00:11:45,380 –> 00:11:50,179
right. We have been two years in a row, we
168
00:11:50,179 –> 00:11:57,690
have had the first place in the survey, like I
169
00:11:57,690 –> 00:12:01,440
told you before. And the customer thinks that we are
170
00:12:01,440 –> 00:12:05,700
really doing what we are saying in our corporate values.
171
00:12:05,960 –> 00:12:10,330
We are being friendly to the customers. We are listening.
172
00:12:10,330 –> 00:12:16,630
We are being the worker. We go the extra mile
173
00:12:16,679 –> 00:12:20,470
for the customers. So, we’re really doing what we are
174
00:12:20,470 –> 00:12:25,020
saying in our values and our culture. We’re really living
175
00:12:25,020 –> 00:12:28,950
the culture internally, and the customer can feel it all
176
00:12:28,950 –> 00:12:32,050
the way. So, that’s nice. We actually have a good
177
00:12:34,130 –> 00:12:37,809
quotation from our CEO because he tells us on a
178
00:12:37,809 –> 00:12:43,390
regular basis to always think no corporate bullshit. And it’s
179
00:12:43,390 –> 00:12:46,530
just funny to hear something like that from your CEO.
180
00:12:47,280 –> 00:12:53,710
It shows the difference in the values. Yeah. And I think customers
181
00:12:53,710 –> 00:12:58,920
can tell that difference too. And your reputation, I think,
182
00:12:58,920 –> 00:13:03,429
is known in Sweden as an organization that cares about
183
00:13:03,530 –> 00:13:06,059
customer service. And this leads us… I think it’s a
184
00:13:06,059 –> 00:13:09,890
really great segue into the third habit, which is making
185
00:13:09,890 –> 00:13:12,429
sure that you recognize and reward agents for doing a
186
00:13:12,450 –> 00:13:17,610
good job. The CX heroes program is all about recognizing
187
00:13:17,670 –> 00:13:20,520
advisors and agents who go above and beyond to provide
188
00:13:20,520 –> 00:13:26,390
great service. And Jacob… Jacob, excuse me, congratulations on being
189
00:13:26,390 –> 00:13:30,530
named CX hero. We at Genesys are really excited to
190
00:13:30,530 –> 00:13:34,360
have you as a CX hero. And I think Sappa’s
191
00:13:34,360 –> 00:13:39,070
reputation for great customer service was part of what led
192
00:13:39,070 –> 00:13:44,450
to the story that led to you becoming a CX
193
00:13:44,450 –> 00:13:47,030
hero. I would love to have you tell us your
194
00:13:47,030 –> 00:13:54,990
story that got you this honor. Yeah. Of course. We
195
00:13:54,990 –> 00:13:59,179
are always encouraged to help our customers as much as
196
00:13:59,179 –> 00:14:03,770
we can, even if they don’t call and have a problem
197
00:14:03,770 –> 00:14:08,650
with our services, we always try to help them. And
198
00:14:08,870 –> 00:14:12,670
this time it was a customer that called, and I
199
00:14:12,670 –> 00:14:16,940
asked her to just normal, and he sounded a little
200
00:14:18,140 –> 00:14:20,930
shooked on the phone. And he was explaining to me
201
00:14:20,930 –> 00:14:23,560
that he was too scared to go out on his
202
00:14:23,560 –> 00:14:26,900
balcony here. He really needed help because he had find
203
00:14:26,900 –> 00:14:31,850
a wasp nest on a balcony, and he didn’t want
204
00:14:31,850 –> 00:14:37,150
to go out. So, I didn’t think… I thought it
205
00:14:37,150 –> 00:14:40,190
was a little bit strange that he called, but we
206
00:14:40,190 –> 00:14:44,180
are always encouraged to help them either way. And so,
207
00:14:44,180 –> 00:14:48,590
I was thinking what I would do myself in this
208
00:14:48,720 –> 00:14:54,070
situation. And I am very scared of wasps, so I
209
00:14:54,070 –> 00:15:01,680
could really feel his emotions. Sappa is not a pest
210
00:15:01,680 –> 00:15:08,600
control company at all. No, actually we’re not. But he
211
00:15:08,600 –> 00:15:14,710
had found our phone number outside where he lives because
212
00:15:15,090 –> 00:15:18,130
we handled the TV. So when he found our number
213
00:15:18,130 –> 00:15:21,160
and, but he had called us before. So, the first
214
00:15:21,160 –> 00:15:25,150
thing I said to him was that” We are your
215
00:15:25,150 –> 00:15:29,540
TV supplier, just so And he said,” Yeah. Yeah, I
216
00:15:29,540 –> 00:15:33,800
know. But you always answer, and I just panicked. So,
217
00:15:34,070 –> 00:15:37,750
I called you.” So, then I just said,” Of course,
218
00:15:37,750 –> 00:15:39,810
of course, we will help you.” He counts on our
219
00:15:39,810 –> 00:15:43,260
help. We will give it to him. So, I started
220
00:15:43,260 –> 00:15:47,410
to look in on the internet for exterminator in this
221
00:15:47,410 –> 00:15:51,700
area, and I called the exterminator just to see if
222
00:15:51,700 –> 00:15:54,410
they are open and see if they could handle this
223
00:15:54,410 –> 00:15:59,250
type of business. And I called up the customer, and
224
00:15:59,250 –> 00:16:03,030
I transferred him to the exterminator so he could speak
225
00:16:03,030 –> 00:16:07,100
to them directly. And I don’t know what happened after
226
00:16:07,100 –> 00:16:13,270
that, but I hope they helped him out. I love
227
00:16:13,270 –> 00:16:17,910
that story. And what a great example, Jacob, of you
228
00:16:18,480 –> 00:16:22,020
having the sense of empathy to understand and really feel
229
00:16:22,020 –> 00:16:25,010
what the customer is going through and to take action.
230
00:16:26,300 –> 00:16:31,730
So, not only that but the fact that you have
231
00:16:31,730 –> 00:16:35,570
contributed to a culture overall where Sappa has the reputation
232
00:16:35,570 –> 00:16:40,220
of that customer knew to call you because Sappa always
233
00:16:40,220 –> 00:16:43,990
answers and always helps to solve his problems, which I
234
00:16:43,990 –> 00:16:48,220
think speaks both individually to your work and also to
235
00:16:48,540 –> 00:16:51,440
the culture that Sappa has created. So, Katarina, I’d like
236
00:16:51,440 –> 00:16:55,440
to ask you what does Sappa do to create this
237
00:16:55,440 –> 00:16:59,930
culture and to help reward your advisors for delivering great
238
00:16:59,930 –> 00:17:05,660
service? Oh, we do a lot of things. As I
239
00:17:05,660 –> 00:17:11,609
told you before, we have this individual training very good for the customers,
240
00:17:11,750 –> 00:17:16,300
and also for the advisors, it’s make them grow. Then
241
00:17:16,300 –> 00:17:20,840
we also encourage them to see possibilities inside the company.
242
00:17:20,840 –> 00:17:23,700
And we have a lot of advisors working in my
243
00:17:23,700 –> 00:17:29,760
IT sector or economy. So find new opportunities in the
244
00:17:29,760 –> 00:17:35,420
company. Then we also have something called Sappa awards. So,
245
00:17:35,420 –> 00:17:39,190
once a year, you have the chance to nominate your
246
00:17:39,190 –> 00:17:43,940
colleagues to Sappa awards. And there are different prices that
247
00:17:43,940 –> 00:17:48,990
you can win, like being the Sappa ambassador. Jacob is
248
00:17:49,230 –> 00:17:52,750
an example of being a Sappa ambassador you’re going outside the
249
00:17:52,750 –> 00:17:57,010
box. You help someone, and you deliver every day, every
250
00:17:57,010 –> 00:17:59,940
hour when you are work. So, we have a lot
251
00:17:59,940 –> 00:18:03,500
of things that we’ll do, and we even have the
252
00:18:03,500 –> 00:18:07,770
co- worker all the week and lots things that we
253
00:18:07,770 –> 00:18:13,320
do. That’s great. So, Jacob, I have to ask you,
254
00:18:13,320 –> 00:18:16,330
is that the most unusual call that you’ve ever received
255
00:18:16,330 –> 00:18:21,250
or have you had calls that were even more unusual?
256
00:18:22,540 –> 00:18:28,270
I think probably the most in terms of what I
257
00:18:28,270 –> 00:18:32,220
needed to do in terms of helping him, it’s probably
258
00:18:32,220 –> 00:18:39,540
the most outside of my comfort zone. But since we
259
00:18:39,540 –> 00:18:43,380
always encourage people to help the customer, no matter what,
260
00:18:43,570 –> 00:18:47,650
we have some of these calls pretty regularly where we
261
00:18:47,850 –> 00:18:52,330
go outside of our comfort zones to help them. We
262
00:18:52,330 –> 00:18:56,869
had even customers who calls from a rival company, they
263
00:18:56,869 –> 00:19:00,290
have a TV box from other company, and then we
264
00:19:00,290 –> 00:19:04,150
help them with their box because they could never get
265
00:19:04,150 –> 00:19:09,119
ahold of customer service. So, there’s many situations like this,
266
00:19:09,119 –> 00:19:14,220
which just makes it very fun. So yeah, this was
267
00:19:14,220 –> 00:19:22,990
probably the most strange. That’s a great one. We also
268
00:19:22,990 –> 00:19:28,260
have customer sending us picture on how the cable goes
269
00:19:28,260 –> 00:19:31,869
in their apartment. So, they follow the cable and send
270
00:19:31,869 –> 00:19:36,580
the picture all the way. And that’s very interesting because
271
00:19:37,050 –> 00:19:41,640
a lot of pages with just photos of the cables.
272
00:19:45,270 –> 00:19:52,720
That does sound unusual. Yeah. Yeah. Well sort of following
273
00:19:52,720 –> 00:19:55,890
along the same topic here, the fourth habit is turning
274
00:19:55,890 –> 00:19:59,450
customers into brand advocates. As I think both of you
275
00:19:59,450 –> 00:20:03,910
just talked about great customer service and customer experiences create
276
00:20:05,910 –> 00:20:11,980
brand loyalty. So, what sort of strategies, Jacob, as an
277
00:20:11,980 –> 00:20:15,060
advisor dealing with customers every day, what sort of strategies
278
00:20:15,060 –> 00:20:18,380
do you use to nurture that relationship? To build those
279
00:20:18,380 –> 00:20:23,890
relationships with customers. To make them into more loyal customers
280
00:20:23,890 –> 00:20:29,760
and to deliver them the service that they need? Yeah. The
281
00:20:29,760 –> 00:20:32,900
thing is that I am in my role as a
282
00:20:32,900 –> 00:20:36,760
customer service agent, I am a hundred percent comfortable, and
283
00:20:36,760 –> 00:20:39,420
it’s because I get encouraged to be genuine with the
284
00:20:39,420 –> 00:20:45,859
customers. They don’t give me any scripts or anything. I
285
00:20:45,859 –> 00:20:48,690
have a free hand to talk how I want and
286
00:20:49,000 –> 00:20:52,550
to help the customer in what way I want. And
287
00:20:52,550 –> 00:20:56,400
it makes me comfortable in my role. And I think
288
00:20:56,400 –> 00:21:01,859
this is something that customers can tell and it makes
289
00:21:01,859 –> 00:21:05,060
a more comfortable situation for them too, because they feel
290
00:21:05,060 –> 00:21:09,160
like they can be equally genuine towards me. And they
291
00:21:09,160 –> 00:21:11,470
can talk to me just how they want. If they
292
00:21:11,470 –> 00:21:13,970
get angry, they can scream at me, and I will
293
00:21:13,970 –> 00:21:17,530
still treat them with respect. And even if they come
294
00:21:17,530 –> 00:21:20,030
in with a negative attitude and wants to complain, they
295
00:21:20,030 –> 00:21:24,530
still can make their voice heard. I will understand them.
296
00:21:24,530 –> 00:21:27,910
And I will say that I will send their thoughts
297
00:21:27,910 –> 00:21:31,700
to the right person and just to show them that
298
00:21:31,780 –> 00:21:35,130
no matter what, I will take their opinions serious and
299
00:21:36,420 –> 00:21:39,369
I will listen to what they have to say. And
300
00:21:39,369 –> 00:21:45,160
we also encourage our customers to speak up when they
301
00:21:45,160 –> 00:21:49,570
have opinions of us, whether if it’s positive or negative
302
00:21:50,410 –> 00:21:55,950
because every month, we do a customer survey where they
303
00:21:55,950 –> 00:21:58,890
can just tell us what they think about us. And
304
00:21:58,890 –> 00:22:00,920
then we have an option where we ask them if
305
00:22:00,920 –> 00:22:04,710
it’s okay that we contact them in terms of the
306
00:22:04,710 –> 00:22:09,340
survey they filled in. So, right then, we have many
307
00:22:09,340 –> 00:22:12,430
people who experienced problems, but maybe they were too scared
308
00:22:12,400 –> 00:22:15,010
to call, or they didn’t have time. And they make
309
00:22:15,010 –> 00:22:18,320
their voice heard, and we make an effort to contact
310
00:22:18,320 –> 00:22:22,080
them and make our relationship better with them. And I
311
00:22:22,080 –> 00:22:26,900
think that makes them feel respected and listened to very
312
00:22:26,900 –> 00:22:33,080
much. That’s great. Katarina, we’d love to hear your thoughts
313
00:22:33,080 –> 00:22:35,730
on this too because obviously Sappa has created a culture
314
00:22:35,730 –> 00:22:39,480
where nurturing customer relationships is important. What are your thoughts
315
00:22:39,480 –> 00:22:45,100
on this? As I said many times, our strategy is
316
00:22:45,100 –> 00:22:50,250
to deliver the most customer friendly services and to do
317
00:22:50,250 –> 00:22:55,840
that we take our calls in one minute and that’s
318
00:22:55,840 –> 00:23:00,119
something that our customers love. And we also answer in person, so we don’t have a… what do
319
00:23:03,500 –> 00:23:07,840
you call it? Button? Yeah, we don’t measure how long
320
00:23:07,840 –> 00:23:16,290
we talk to the customers Yes, no,[inaudible. no[inaudible 00:23:13]. Oh yeah. Many
321
00:23:17,119 –> 00:23:20,930
customer services. When a customer calls, they have to press
322
00:23:20,930 –> 00:23:23,859
one to get to one of departments, or they have
323
00:23:23,859 –> 00:23:27,440
to press two to get to another department. We don’t
324
00:23:27,440 –> 00:23:30,140
have anything like this when they call, they come directly to
325
00:23:30,140 –> 00:23:32,650
us, and can speak to us and we won’t transfer
326
00:23:32,650 –> 00:23:35,940
them to some other place. We answer on every question.
327
00:23:36,730 –> 00:23:40,830
And that’s very unique for a company in this business
328
00:23:41,580 –> 00:23:45,530
and then we also, like Jacob said, we don’t measure
329
00:23:46,000 –> 00:23:49,310
the length of the conversation that the advisor has with
330
00:23:49,310 –> 00:23:53,580
the customer. So, it’s a very good opportunity to create
331
00:23:53,700 –> 00:23:57,060
a relation with the customer. And that makes the customer
332
00:23:57,060 –> 00:24:01,210
feels unique and taken care of. And then we’ll also
333
00:24:01,210 –> 00:24:06,640
do a fun thing. We write handwritten congratulations to all
334
00:24:06,640 –> 00:24:11,420
our customers that are turning 30, 40, 50 up to a
335
00:24:11,420 –> 00:24:14,550
hundred year. And when they turn 100, they get a
336
00:24:14,550 –> 00:24:19,609
special card and a little bit special treated. So, that’s
337
00:24:19,930 –> 00:24:24,330
something unique that we do. But we also are very…
338
00:24:25,040 –> 00:24:29,080
it’s very important to create the relation with the customer
339
00:24:29,080 –> 00:24:35,220
because that makes the customer absolutely feel unique. Absolutely. I
340
00:24:35,220 –> 00:24:39,270
love that. And I think that’s a really great segue
341
00:24:39,270 –> 00:24:42,880
again, into our fifth habit, which is personalization. You talked
342
00:24:42,880 –> 00:24:46,420
about sort of recognizing birthdays for customers. So, the fifth
343
00:24:46,420 –> 00:24:50,670
habit here is getting personalization right for your customers. Just
344
00:24:50,670 –> 00:24:54,119
highlighting the statistic here.” 79% of customers feel like a
345
00:24:54,119 –> 00:24:57,050
generic customer rather than a unique individual when they call
346
00:24:57,109 –> 00:25:01,119
in for customer service.” I think what that shows us
347
00:25:01,119 –> 00:25:04,109
is that customers want personalization to be able to simplify
348
00:25:04,109 –> 00:25:07,670
the interactions that they have with businesses. And they’re beginning
349
00:25:07,670 –> 00:25:10,540
to be introduced to new levels of personalization. So, when
350
00:25:10,540 –> 00:25:14,460
they call in or chat in or text in to
351
00:25:14,460 –> 00:25:18,680
customers, they’re beginning to see ways that they can experience
352
00:25:18,680 –> 00:25:20,990
personalization and in a whole new way. And they’re starting
353
00:25:21,280 –> 00:25:25,940
to expect that more and more from every organization. And
354
00:25:26,609 –> 00:25:29,490
a lot of those tools are making jobs for employees
355
00:25:29,890 –> 00:25:33,460
much better, being able to match agents and advisors to
356
00:25:33,460 –> 00:25:37,520
customers and situations that are more matched to their skills
357
00:25:37,520 –> 00:25:43,810
and availability, which allows agents and advisors to feel more
358
00:25:43,810 –> 00:25:46,980
successful. And to be able to handle situations with confidence,
359
00:25:46,980 –> 00:25:52,490
because they know they’re matched with customers that they’re going
360
00:25:52,490 –> 00:25:54,270
to be able to help more clearly because their skills
361
00:25:54,270 –> 00:25:55,780
are suited to it. So, I think there’s a lot
362
00:25:55,780 –> 00:25:58,840
of really exciting things happening in this field. This is
363
00:25:58,840 –> 00:26:01,420
something that Genesys is really passionate about, and I know
364
00:26:01,760 –> 00:26:07,240
personalization is really important for Sappa. Jacob, talk a little
365
00:26:07,240 –> 00:26:12,020
bit about making that experience feel personal for customers and
366
00:26:12,020 –> 00:26:14,470
why it’s important when you’re talking with customers to make
367
00:26:14,470 –> 00:26:19,840
it feel personal for them. Yeah. I think it goes
368
00:26:19,840 –> 00:26:25,609
back to the strengths of a customer service worker that
369
00:26:25,830 –> 00:26:30,230
we talked about earlier, like being a good listener, for
370
00:26:30,230 –> 00:26:32,930
example, is something I think is very important for making
371
00:26:32,930 –> 00:26:37,280
the customer feel a unique because if you are a
372
00:26:37,280 –> 00:26:41,410
good listener and you are attentive and can pick up
373
00:26:41,760 –> 00:26:47,460
many details, then later on in the call, when you
374
00:26:47,460 –> 00:26:51,470
present your solution or the problem, you can present a
375
00:26:51,470 –> 00:26:56,240
more broad solution that fits more of the customer’s needs,
376
00:26:56,740 –> 00:27:00,210
even things that maybe he or she didn’t express to
377
00:27:00,210 –> 00:27:05,050
you at first. And I think that’s makes them feel
378
00:27:05,410 –> 00:27:08,440
listened to it makes them feel like I’m not just
379
00:27:08,440 –> 00:27:10,730
sitting here and let them information come in here and
380
00:27:10,730 –> 00:27:13,540
out here, I take it in. I listened to it,
381
00:27:13,760 –> 00:27:18,100
and I tried to present my solution according to what
382
00:27:18,100 –> 00:27:23,340
needs she has. And also, I think it’s like we
383
00:27:23,340 –> 00:27:26,869
talked about to speak the same language as the customer.
384
00:27:27,730 –> 00:27:29,560
If I’m talking to someone who is a little bit
385
00:27:29,609 –> 00:27:34,420
older, I usually speak slower and more clear so they
386
00:27:34,420 –> 00:27:37,450
can understand me. I might even use some old school
387
00:27:37,560 –> 00:27:42,210
words. If I’m talking to someone younger, I talk a
388
00:27:42,210 –> 00:27:44,890
little bit faster. Maybe use some slang words here and
389
00:27:44,890 –> 00:27:49,730
there. And then I think this makes them feel more
390
00:27:49,730 –> 00:27:56,609
comfortable and it also makes them feel respected, I think.
391
00:27:57,480 –> 00:28:01,180
That’s really great advice. I think that makes a lot
392
00:28:01,180 –> 00:28:06,130
of sense and shows real connectivity. Katarina, why is it
393
00:28:06,130 –> 00:28:12,440
important for Sappa to create those personalized experiences for customers?
394
00:28:12,460 –> 00:28:15,230
You talked a little bit before about things like sending
395
00:28:15,230 –> 00:28:19,190
birthday greetings that’s obviously a core part of your culture.
396
00:28:19,890 –> 00:28:26,330
Why is that something that’s important? It’s important to Sappa because that’s the kind
397
00:28:26,560 –> 00:28:30,220
of company we would like to be when Sappa was
398
00:28:30,220 –> 00:28:34,119
started. Like, I told you, asking the customers what kind
399
00:28:34,119 –> 00:28:39,330
of supplier they wanted. And this was a place on
400
00:28:39,330 –> 00:28:42,340
the market that was free to be a warm and
401
00:28:42,340 –> 00:28:47,250
friendly company and give the best customer service. So, that’s
402
00:28:47,250 –> 00:28:50,530
very important for us that the customer really feels that
403
00:28:50,530 –> 00:28:54,620
we are not just treating them like customers, but they
404
00:28:54,620 –> 00:28:58,890
are our friends and, we are interested in them when
405
00:28:58,890 –> 00:29:01,420
we talk to them, we are not just interested in
406
00:29:02,400 –> 00:29:08,940
solving the problem and the conversation. Like you heard Jacob
407
00:29:09,220 –> 00:29:13,360
asking before,” What team do you cheer for?” That’s something
408
00:29:13,360 –> 00:29:16,970
that I often hear when our advisors talks to the
409
00:29:16,970 –> 00:29:21,940
customer.” What football team do you cheer for?” And,” What
410
00:29:22,190 –> 00:29:23,930
is the name of your dog?” If you hear a
411
00:29:23,930 –> 00:29:27,760
dog barking. So, they are really interested in the company
412
00:29:27,760 –> 00:29:31,540
and that creates a good feeling for the customer. Absolutely.
413
00:29:32,260 –> 00:29:36,450
And it’s also make the job much more fun, I
414
00:29:36,450 –> 00:29:39,960
think[inaudible 00:29: 36]. Yeah. Absolutely. It makes it much more
415
00:29:39,960 –> 00:29:44,750
fun than you get more and comfortable yourself. And you feel
416
00:29:44,750 –> 00:29:47,610
like you are not forced to be at work. I
417
00:29:47,610 –> 00:29:52,520
can be myself. And the biggest receipt that we get
418
00:29:53,060 –> 00:29:58,010
from our customer is because we mentioned the survey that
419
00:29:58,010 –> 00:30:01,310
we were voted the best customer service two years straight
420
00:30:02,170 –> 00:30:05,490
at the Swedish Quality Index. And this is actually the
421
00:30:05,520 –> 00:30:10,610
biggest customer service in Sweden. So, it’s the customers themselves
422
00:30:10,640 –> 00:30:16,290
that give rates on everything from a service to technology,
423
00:30:16,290 –> 00:30:20,690
to how you are as a brand. They vote on
424
00:30:20,690 –> 00:30:24,290
everything. And it’s a very big thing. So, it’s the
425
00:30:24,290 –> 00:30:28,210
customer’s own words that we are the best in customer
426
00:30:28,210 –> 00:30:32,490
service and two years straight. That’s great. And boy, that’s
427
00:30:32,490 –> 00:30:37,040
the best endorsement you can get. And I loved hearing
428
00:30:37,040 –> 00:30:42,770
both of you talk about, not only does this make
429
00:30:42,770 –> 00:30:46,220
the customers feel more comfortable. So not only is personalization
430
00:30:46,220 –> 00:30:49,270
important to make them feel comfortable. But Jacob, hearing you
431
00:30:49,270 –> 00:30:51,900
talk about the fact that it makes you enjoy your
432
00:30:51,960 –> 00:30:54,600
job more. Right? You feel like you are able to
433
00:30:54,600 –> 00:30:59,330
be yourself. It speaks to the strong, strong benefits of
434
00:30:59,830 –> 00:31:05,980
being able to connect with customers in that way.[crosstalk And it’s really great[crosstalk 00:31:
435
00:31:05,980 –> 00:31:11,440
05]- Looking at how we working, we always make it
436
00:31:11,440 –> 00:31:15,070
like a team. It’s very important to have a team
437
00:31:15,070 –> 00:31:18,840
feeling in the company. So, it’s not me, myself, or
438
00:31:18,840 –> 00:31:23,440
I. It’s the team that’s important. And that’s also a
439
00:31:23,440 –> 00:31:26,910
way to make it feel good for the customer. You
440
00:31:26,910 –> 00:31:31,540
always have someone to ask, or that could help you
441
00:31:31,540 –> 00:31:35,440
if you have a problem with the customer or the
442
00:31:35,440 –> 00:31:39,240
customer’s problem, you always have someone to support you. Yeah.
443
00:31:39,240 –> 00:31:46,650
Everyone is willing to help. Yeah.[crosstalk 00:31: 43]- That’s fantastic. Yeah. That’s great.
444
00:31:47,360 –> 00:31:51,380
Well, it’s been so great, Katarina and Jacob, getting your thoughts
445
00:31:51,380 –> 00:31:55,110
on the importance of delivering great customer service and great
446
00:31:55,110 –> 00:32:00,060
customer experience. Just going through our summary here, kind of
447
00:32:00,320 –> 00:32:03,330
the key points here, making sure you hire the right
448
00:32:03,330 –> 00:32:05,530
type of people for your business and provide them with
449
00:32:05,530 –> 00:32:10,340
the proper training. customer service can be tough, and it’s
450
00:32:10,340 –> 00:32:14,540
important to reward your agents and advisors. And it’s important
451
00:32:14,680 –> 00:32:17,990
that customer experience and customer service work together to create
452
00:32:17,990 –> 00:32:21,330
brand loyalty. And we just talked about the fact that
453
00:32:21,330 –> 00:32:26,700
using personalization to improve customer experiences is key. It’s not
454
00:32:26,700 –> 00:32:29,650
just about delivering more ads. But it’s about really connecting
455
00:32:29,650 –> 00:32:33,670
and making those customers feel comfortable and making employees feel
456
00:32:33,670 –> 00:32:37,240
more rewarded in their jobs and leading to more customer
457
00:32:37,240 –> 00:32:44,340
loyalty, which is really, really important. So, if you have
458
00:32:44,340 –> 00:32:47,590
listened to this and you’re inspired as someone who is
459
00:32:47,590 –> 00:32:49,460
in customer service, and you’ve got a story that you
460
00:32:49,460 –> 00:32:52,510
want to share, or if you work with someone that
461
00:32:52,510 –> 00:32:56,080
you believe is worthy of being nominated as a CX hero,
462
00:32:56,080 –> 00:32:59,740
we encourage you to nominate, be part of the program,
463
00:32:59,740 –> 00:33:04,440
be recognized as CX hero just as Jacob was. So, I
464
00:33:04,440 –> 00:33:08,840
want to thank everybody for joining us. Here’s our details
465
00:33:08,840 –> 00:33:11,760
right here. You can reach out via our website or
466
00:33:11,760 –> 00:33:15,510
give us a call or contact Jill. Hundley@ genesys. com,
467
00:33:15,510 –> 00:33:19,330
and she can get your nomination in. But Jacob and
468
00:33:19,560 –> 00:33:21,310
Katarina, I want to say thank you so much for
469
00:33:21,310 –> 00:33:24,870
joining us on this webinar. I think your thoughts were really
470
00:33:25,100 –> 00:33:28,710
great to get, and I think inspiring to me and hopefully inspiring
471
00:33:28,710 –> 00:33:30,880
to everybody that listened. So, thank you both so much
472
00:33:30,880 –> 00:33:35,400
for joining. Thank you. Thank you very much. We had a very good time. Yeah. It
473
00:33:35,400 –> 00:33:38,960
was fun. Absolutely. It was a lot of fun. Thank
474
00:33:38,960 –> 00:33:43,240
you so much and thanks everybody for listening. Thank you. Bye.
Katarina Cervell
Kultur Coach
AB Sappa, Sweden
Jacob Dalnäs
Sales Representative
AB Sappa, Sweden
John Munyan
Vice President, Brand Messaging
Genesys