New Study Reveals Americans Fear Call Centers More Than Dental Surgery!

According to a recent study published in CRM Aficionado Weekly, nearly 70% of CRM professionals report that they find dealing with call centers to be more stressful than going to the dentist!  That’s a pretty amazing statistic if you really think about it – 70%.

Ok, I totally just made that up. There isn’t really such a magazine or a study (at least not that I am aware of). But it sounds plausible right? After all, while going to the dentist is never fun, dealing with a poorly run customer service organization can be just as stressful and irritating. Right?

I do find it amusing that so many people have an irrational fear of dentists. I mean what’s so scary about being drugged, strapped in a chair, and examined by a guy with a mask wielding a power drill? Oh, um. Well, I guess I just answered my own question. Let’s just pretend it was rhetorical. But personally, I happen to absolutely love my dentist. He’s great. Heck, I’d probably even marry him.

Well, except that I’m not attracted to men. And I’m already married to my wife. Not to mention the fact that I have a lot of cavities and fillings, so I doubt my dentist would even want to marry me. But you get the picture. And no, not a picture of me and the dentist on a tropical beach holding hands and flossing our teeth. Let’s get rid of that mental image and move on…

So what’s so great about my dentist you ask? Does he let me get super silly on nitrous oxide before a routine cleaning or check up? No, though I might have to inquire about that. What I do appreciate about my dentist is all the little things he does; the small human touches that shows that he actually cares about his patients, not just as customers but as people. He looks you in the eye and shakes your hand when he walks into the room. He takes the time to talk with each patient and ask how things are going – with your job, your life, and – of course – your teeth. Contrast this with some other dentists I’ve visited whose conversational topics were limited to, “So, what kind of insurance do you have”?

Speaking of conversationally inept dentists, I recently had to visit a specialist (instead of my regular dentist) to have an existing root canal re-treated. This fellow was quite a character – and not in a good way. I’m not going to name names. Let’s just call him Bruce R. Jesperson D.D.S., of Cupertino, California. While “Bruce” was clearly quite skilled in his profession and did an amazing job on my tooth, he demonstrated a complete lack of bedside manners, professionalism, and common courtesy.

For example, rather than talking me through the procedure to make me feel more comfortable and to let me know what was going on inside my mouth during the 45 minute operation, he instead chatted with his assistant about conducting a cost analysis to see if they could find a lower priced disinfectant solution for the office. WTF? Maybe I was a little loopy due to the local anesthetic, but I swear he even pulled out his phone during middle of the surgery to check his stock portfolio. Who knows, maybe silver and gold commodities were making a run that afternoon?

In any case, this is a perfect example of how a company can execute perfectly and deliver the correct product/service on time without any errors – yet still manage to provide a very dismal customer experience. While the dentist performed his specific job/task very well (i.e., drilling holes in teeth and removing nerve tissue), he completely botched the overall customer experience.

While the customer (yes, I apparently am now referring to myself in the third person) was  actually quite satisfied with the product/service that was provided, the customer was not happy with the experience and likely won’t go out of his way to recommend the business to any family, friends, or acquaintances. In short, the company performed the task with perfection but screwed up the customer experience.

Now, let’s look at a counter example of a company who screwed up the task (they delivered the completely wrong product), but yet still managed to delight the customer with a good customer experience. The customer in this example is a strikingly handsome, intelligent, witty chap from California. Let’s call him “John”. The company is Zappos.com, an online retailer of shoes and apparel well known for their legendary customer service.

It all began when John ordered a Christmas present for his wife from the web site. Zappos seemed to be on top of things; they sent out all the customary order confirmations, shipping confirmations, and tracking information. They even upgraded John’s order to free next-day shipping. So far, so good! But then something funny happened. And not “ha ha, isn’t that funny”. More like, “what the hell, I didn’t order that” kind of funny. In fairness to Zappos, while they got the both the product itself and the color completely wrong, they did at least get the size right. I guess that counts for something?

But here’s where Zappos recovers and gets their act back together. When John calls to complain and ask what’s up, Zappos explains that John’s order must have gotten mixed up with someone else’s. Zappos quickly mutters something almost inaudible about “those damn robots screwed up another order – no TV for them tonight.” Zappos promises that they will re-ship his correct order right away. 

Zappos then says that John can just place the wrong item back in the box it came in and leave it outside on the porch; someone from UPS will come pick it up tomorrow. And as compensation for his inconvenience, Zappos will send him $20 that he can use on his next order for anything he wants. That’s a pretty sweet apology! So, in summary, Zappos screws up a relatively simple task and ships the completely wrong item, but quickly (and politely) fixes the problem and then delights the customer with a generous hard-cash apology.

If only I had $20 bucks for every time a company screwed something up!

Comments

[Darrin Husak]

I thought dental fear is more horrifying than those in call centers. Maybe that's because people are now more scared of unexplained hikes on their bills than ear-wrecking drilling sounds.

[Jim Thomson]

Really Good post!!

Oceanfront Dental Group offers strict attention to all aspects of dentistry including cosmetics, routine maintenance and hygiene. http://www.oceanfrontdental.ca/

[Tabatha Aikins]

I like the clever comparison you made between dental and call center fears. I heard about treatments like sedation dentistry that help lessen dental fears. I think this would be useful for you. Hehe. How did the operation go? =)