Archive for the 'first direct' Category

5pm in an airport Sunday. Started work at 1.30 and in 3 hours work I have achieved very little.

a) Not started on real work tasks

b) Eventually downloaded all email attachments to prep a board meeting next week after some resends and an hour of waiting. Not had chance to read any.

c) Not booked car parking for next week – no log on ability on main screen and I know if I try to book it will reject me as my email address is already in use. So I have to book, fail, then log in and book again.   (Gatwick)

d) Not printed air tickets for tomorrow (Easyjet) as access failed after trying my passwords. So tried for new password and but email hasn’t come so I suspect it was a site error rather than password error. Trying later shows this to be so. Tried tweeting them as no route through help to resolve.

e) Not entered supplementary details for another air ticket ( Easyjet) for next week so I can print them – why does France want my passport details, its not Spain or Portugal – looks like a lazy process for flying abroad.

f) Tried at airport and failed to make macbook connect with phone as bluetooth connection is failing.

g) So couldn’t connect to personal bank and pay bills and make Jan 31 tax payment.

h) Cant connect to business bank and make authorisations that have been waiting since Friday as it kicks me off half way through

i) Cant update to blog – saved text til later.

j) Cant update weekly work and comms tasks in work wiki

h) Cant download and read the research papers I need for tomorrow.

i) Cant get into Twitter, Linked In and Facebook to check and update

I did manage to renew my travel insurance – well done Multitrip – an actual low touch service. Fished out email from a month ago. Clicked on link which had my sign on & password below it. Copied password and entered site. Chose renew. Checked all cover features ( and could have selected/deselected each feature. Entered card details. Renewed. Choose to print papers or just leave online. Very little customer effort and really well thought through.

Contrast this process from first direct to pay my tax bill this evening when I got home ( and yes I’m a fan and dont like slagging them off but heh its been a long day…) I make the payment online, it  insists I phone them to confirm after making payment on line. Fair enough but when I have to done so to confirm, they insist they ring me back tomorrow to do it again. I tell them thats dumb but if they insist if they do that then its after 1.30, on my mobile and with a good reason why. Two minutes later the same guy tries to get thro by mobile which has zilch signal at home. I call them again, pass security again and they say they still need to call me back again. They haven’t got my home number so I give it them. They phone me on it – so how secure is that.  I go through security again and get no more info than on the first call. Talk about dumb. I gave the poor lady feedback. Directly.

I sometimes feel my internet time is at a premium between meetings, at airports, interrupting just being at home. At home in Kent, or in County Down, in the office, or through my mobile – I rarely get a fast service anymore ( and yes, all checked, it isn’t the laptop or software). Last week I travelled all the way from London to Bristol without getting any service fast enough to download the last minute papers for the meeting I was going to – its no better by mobile.

So here I am another 75 mins later. And still not started work.

Customer effort, customer experience, first direct, insurance, self service | No Comments

I spent a couple of days this week presenting to a large financial services business and encouraging them to learn some lessons from social businesses.

One of the major chords was about the values of the business: being open, transparent and honest and in public. I was using 3 examples of  ”crowdsourcng” and “crowdservicing”: Mini showing its customer ratings for sales and for service on its dealer sites, first direct ( happy 21st!) sharing customers good and bad commentary and giffgaff (happy 1st birthday yesterday ! ).

giffgaff works with its customers on all facets of the business – product development, sales, marketing and service. to be able to do this it has to transparent, open and honest. How many telcos would publicise their network outages?

Look at what first direct is doing next – inviting customers to join their Beta Lab to help them develop their products. A step too far for your business? Or just a step back into history if you are an IT company who have been doing this successfully for ages.

Back at the events, we were discussing how that could work for a financial services company. Just imagine sharing your internal customer feedback and customer data on your website. Publish your NPS scores and verbatims for example?. Publish your quarterly customer research?

Let’s face it, very few people in your business get to read it, let alone act on it. So what if the tables were turned and executives had to explain to customers what they were doing about the experiences represented in the data. The pressure would really be on to show the public audience that you are serious about customers.

Today, it might look like a very brave step indeed. But imagine if in a year’s time all your competitors were doing this and you were still afraid to do it. How would that look?

Oh and by the way, whether you like it or not, customers are already sharing their feedback and data anyway. Do you think they don’t know? Your job is to help them know more and do something about it – not hide the data.

Today, corporates are allowed to be not open, not transparent. At some point soon that will become very difficult without looking dishonest.

Dare you share your customer data on your website? Discuss

Crowdservicing, Uncategorized, automotive, banking, first direct, honesty | 1 Comment

I use airports a lot. Many seem to be plastered with HSBC red lines, pretty pictures and slogans. Like the one above ” our belief is what we learn from one customer will help us to better serve another”. Of course that makes me wonder how they learn from each customer. Before giving any company feedback I always ask “what would you do if I gave you some feedback?”. From the response you can always tell whether there is an organised way of doing this. And you can tell whether the member of staff believes in it and so tries to get feedback. Or whether they know its a waste of time, turn defensive and try not to take anything on.

Today I had the latter experience with HSBC. Again. Why was I trying to give feedback?

The security on their business bank account is a dumb process with dumb questions. I told them that back in April and before. The security process involved me

• guessing if we have an overdraft facility – we’ve never asked for one, but I certainly don’t know if they gave us one and with a 50/50 chance of being right, I’d hardly call it a security question
• going online, opening the account and reading back the last transaction.

Talking to them today just took me straight back to the multiple run ins with security and my card being cut off whilst trying to get back from Sweden during the ash cloud problem (see blog ). Each time I try to give them feedback but I know I’m wasting my breath by the way it’s rebutted.

Why did I have to call the call centre today anyway? I don’t deal with the banking after all. Months and months of trying to change a name on the account. I was asked to call the call centre by the branch because the paperwork we sent in weeks ago had come through but wasn’t correct. The call centre say it is correct, so it was a complete waste of my time anyway. I asked my PA to call the guy in the branch back to confirm – but she can’t. You can’t call a branch. So much unnecessary customer effort around what should have been a simple change months & months ago.

In April I got so fed up with the way HSBC business accounts work that I tried to move our business bank account. I couldn’t get anyone who would recommend their banking supplier and all the forums were poorly rating everyone. So we took the second best in the consumer world ie Co-Op but the effort involved stopped us eventually. You had to join the Federation of Small Businesses for a fee. They insisted on coming to see you even through you didn’t want to see them. The account opening team screwed up the names and addresses – so we stopped at that point.

So much unnecessary customer effort around what should surely be the simplest process – winning a customer.

So some questions for HSBC:

• When oh when will first direct, clearly the best in the consumer world, open a business account so something sensible can be offered in the SME market.
• What has HSBC done, since spending millions on advertising, to fulfil the slogan ”what we learn from one customer will help us to better serve another”. What have they done to make it practical and true?
• What did marketing think when they made that slogan?

If anyone at HSBC is listening – please reply? I’d love to talk

Customer effort, HSBC, Marketing promise, customer experience, dumb things, financial services, first direct | No Comments

Here’s a great example of the small things in a customer experience that end up costing serious money. They’d cost very little to fix. Sent with love as the clients at M&S Money and first drect are top people and their past experiences have been excellent – but they threw away the sales benefit of all that great history at the crucial point.

I have travel insurance with M&S Money so I received a renewal notice by post. It feels a bit steep having gone up 50% in 2 years. But I haven’t got time to muck about. I’m going skiing so I need to act. I also need to get buildings and contents sorted before I go. And I have a quote in my hand from NFU for 2 of my cars that needs renewing before I go, so I may see what they can do on that before I make another call.

The M&S Money renewal notice is 6 pages of paper, much of it not relevant to me at this point. Some of it about Axa who underwrite. But nowhere does it say how to renew automatically online. Nowhere does it remind me that they did a great job on a claim last year – a fact I forgot until later. The number to ring is there on page 2 so I ring it.

The number is obviously the same number as for new sales as it tells you get the best price, 20% lower, by going on line. So I select option 3 for that, thinking it was a strange way of getting online. It just sends you to oblivion. I just checked the number again but  its closed and advises you still to go online to get a best quote (despite the fact the website is down).

So I go online obviously seeing no end of googled prompts to go somewhere other than the M&S Money site. I get a price which is 8% lower, not 20% lower. Hmmmm.

Since the price is steep and not the 20% lower, I do a quick check before buying from the M&S site. Meerkats brand awareness is in mind…… so I “go compare” at their site. Its very fast and I get a list within a minute. I don’t recognise any of the brands but they are a good 50% lower in cost for the same headline benefits. I check out the site of the most likely one, Multitrip, since there are no creds on the Meerkats site. It shows its underwritten by Axa – the same as M&SMoney.  I remember at this point that it was Axa who did a great job on the M&S claim. It has a detailed list of benefits and features which seem comprehensive. I check the 6 page letter and it doesn’t have a list.

I then check the quote on the Multitrip site – its fast and lower again than on Comparethemarket so I buy it direct from Multitrip. Job done. Note how the brand trust has travelled from M&S to Axa to Multitrip.

Meanwhile NFU phone and I renew the cars without getting an alternative quote from M&S Money. Or anyone. Why not? They’ve always been lowest on any quote Ive got by a country mile on old Land Rovers. The souped up Mini is reasonable at £400 ish and so I know Its not worth chasing a quote. NFU has no functionality on line.

Now for the home and contents. I go back to the M&S Money site to get a quote and get the attached quote screen – the service is not available. So I ring the number given. Eventually I get to choose an option 5, yes 5th of 6, to get a quote. And what a wall of recorded messages I hit. I went from amused to fed up to giving “fed up” feedback on the IVR when I eventually got through. And then guess what – the agent’s system is down too, so I’d wasted all that time listening to messages for no use at all. The poor agent got more feedback about updating sites with relevant messages. And how I wasnt going to get a quote from M&S Money later, no thanks.

Now people at first direct may be laughing…. but don’t. I got transferred through to insurance sales after a routine transaction earlier in the week from a train. I would have asked for travel, car and home quotes. But the recorded “business prevention” message was so long that I just told the agent I didn’t have time for this that the message had so turned me off that I didnt want any quotes.

OK this stuff is hard to get right. But its not rocket science. Its attention to detail. Its inexpensive to fix. As one client said this week – “the brand IS the customer experience”.

Compare the market, Marks and Spencers, NFU, first direct, multitrip | No Comments

first direct’s withdrawal of mortgages to new customers took the news by storm yesterday. It wasn’t a surprise. As we reported on the 11th of Feb blog entry, it was evident the product was selling “too well”.

 So how come it took til now to do something? Why did it have to reach crisis point? I wonder who’s getting what blame?

But they did get brave and do the right thing. Look after the existing customers and the ones who already applied and stop taking more business that couldn’t be handled properly.

Bravo!

Listening to customers it must have been evident it had to happen. I wonder why they didnt just up the rates a bit in February and take more business at a higher margin, avoiding the negative publicity and “first rock” factor?

It’s interesting that there’s now a BBC Today programme on Saturdays that’s designed to do exactly this. Pick up the stories from the customers before the journalists can.

What our customers are saying is in the public domain. Shouldn’t you be picking it up in your business first?

Talk to us about the “what our customers are saying” process

Uncategorized, WOCAS, first direct, listening, word of mouth | No Comments

Hi Lynn – not sure what to say. My inbox is already filling with industry people who feel misrepresented – yet again. There’s so much good stuff in the industry, so many people trying very hard to fix what’s broken. Ok Paul made that stance at the start but it wasn’t explored.

I feel particularly disappointed at the editing. The juxtaposition of customer comments with extracts from conversations eg the American “have a nice day” with a first direct agent – it so misrepresents what first direct do.

It looked like “which clips can we use to illustrate the point we want to make” rather than any insightful journey.

dumb things, first direct | No Comments

Sorry for radio silence. As you can see we have a new site going live and the blogs will now resume!

Call me sad, but I found a dumb thing at first direct at last! I have given them the feedback – it’s worth it because I believe they will act on it.

Unlike the guys at Swindon station today after I trod on a loose flagstone outside the front door of the station. It had a huge puddle under it that went straight up my legs. At least I was too wet to look like I wet myself!

Telling the ticket clerk, it was clear she had no way of dealing with what customers say. “Tell that guy in the orange jacket over there”. I didn’t bother.

So what did first direct do? A classic in the web site. Click on mortgage sales and it asks you to log in if you’re an existing customer. You log in and click on mortgages. It asks you to proceed to log out and look at mortgages. Back where you started! ! Tee hee.

The other dumb thing is quite interesting. And another classic. Marketing versus operations.

Marketing obviously made their mortgage offer way too good. Not only couldn’t I be put thro now, they couldnt call me back until Monday as they were booked solid!. It’s the classic oversell or underpricing that generates more demand than can’t be handled. Even assuming the forecasts were notified. The customer experience – frustrated. Being a fan I’ll wait. But it doesnt reflect well.

Bet operations are getting it in the neck not marketing.

I asked “Could I do it myself on the web?”. The answer ”We’ve taken it down because of the demand….” !!

Trying again a week later, the same problem. But the agent said “I’ll keep an eye on the queue for you through next week and call you back personally”.

customer experience, first direct | 1 Comment

Why is it always me that gets cloned? Well at least a useful comparison was possible this time….

My HSBC business credit card was cloned several weeks ago. By my reckoning the first call took place on the 2nd October. It’s now the 17th November and the replacement is still not set up properly. There have been more than 20 contacts so far.

My first direct personal credit card was cloned last Saturday the 10th November and the replacement was with me and working by Wednesday 14th. It would have been Tuesday but I was away.

First the right way to do it. I’m shopping with my daughter in London and the first 2 transactions bounce so I call first direct. They transfer me to the fraud unit and a lady abroad ( sorry forgot to ask whether it was Malaysia or India – betya it’s an HSBC centre though) asks me if I’ve tried downloading songs from iTunes that morning which I haven’t. So bang goes the Xmas shopping on the credit card. I wasn’t happy.

She tells me the card will be with me within 5 to 7 working days and I’m thinking “oh yeah?” given what I’m going through with the business account. Anyway I get home Wednesday to find it there and I’ve had no problem using it subsequently. Bingo – one very satisfied customer.

Could it have been better. Well yes. They could have called me before I had the embarassment of a snooty waitress at Harvey Nicks bouncing my card. They could have had the first person I called ask me about the iTunes transactions, rather than a rather lengthy transfer tying up me and the agent. The second agent could have spoken more clearly and been more understanding at my protests of being without a card for a week. They could have said that the card would go out same day and be there Tuesday and I’d have thought they were really trying to make it quick.

What about HSBC then? I’ll try and remember as many of the contacts as I can…..

1) The first call came at about 9pm from an Indian sounding lady saying she was from HSBC and could she have my credit card number, date of birth etc. Strangely enough I said “no – she couldn’t until she could prove she was HSBC and not some “phisher”". We got nowhere as the process says she can’t talk to me til I’ve been through security and since security was evidently silly I wasn’t willing to and they should get somebody sensible to ring me (lucky I had that glass of wine or I’d have been uptight by now !)

2) & 3) I then had a call from my colleague who’d had an earlier call from HSBC about the card. He’d told them they’d have to ring me. He explained they’d told him the card had been cloned.

4) Another Indian gentleman called me and attempts to take me through security again. I again refuse and ask him to go through my security checks. Tell me which company name is the card in? He can’t tell me anaything until I’ve been through security. Tell me the HSBC phone numbers on my credit card – he gave me 2 and both failed my identity check. So we parted company there.

By complete coincidence I had a conference call the following day with the nice guy at HSBC who runs the offshore centres and gave him the feedback on the security process.

Then I did nothing for a couple of weeks. The bank did nothing. Exactly as a phisher would do. My card stopped working though so heh maybe they were real. I just starting using another card from another bank.

Two weeks later on the 17th October I was speaking at the Institute of Customer Services Conference. I use several real examples of “dumb things” and this was at once added to the repertoire.

5) At the end of my talk, no less than the Customer Service Director of first direct comes up and wants my details to sort it out. He may not be HSBC directly but he takes it on personally – that’s fabulous. At the end of the conference I pick up my voice mails.

6) The first direct guy has called the right person in HSBC
7) He or she has obviously called Claire….
& 9) …..who has called me and left 2 voicemails whilst I have been in the conference
10) I return the call but she’s not there so I leave a message and…
11) ….she returns the call and we speak. She’s taken up the case and will sort it out. No security checks required, I notice.
12) & 13) When I get back to email, I find that Claire had emailed me to. I mail back and say thanks

I wait for the card over a week but nothing comes. In fairness there’s a postal strike.

14) Eventually I call Claire again and she checks it has been sent and it must be in the post.

15) I wait some more and eventually it arrives. At my colleague’s house. I get it next time we meet in a few days time. Then I wait some more for the pin number to arrive.

16) & 17) I email Claire again. She emails back. The card was preset up with the same pin so no need to have waited at all ! How dumb do I feel? But heh it didnt say that on the letter with the card….

I use the card and it works… YES ! But wait…. I try to use it on the web to pay for wireless access. This requires my address. The card bounces again. I try again. No. It bounces.

18) & 19) I ask my PA to call the number on the card and get the address corrected which she does. Of course they cant take her instruction as she cant pass security. So she passes the phone to me, but the computer says no. No I cant have my own address on my own card as I had before. Her insistence that it has never been possible drives me to distraction and I pass her back to my PA to escalate to the supervisor. After 20 minutes on hold she hangs up.

20) & 21) So she emails Claire at my request. Claire emails back to say she can’t take my PA’s instruction as she’s not a named contact on the account.

22) I email her back and confirm the instruction to have me on my address. And not to swap my colleagues onto my address!!!! No security but it apparently happens.

23) Last week my existing pin number arrived in the post under one of those sticky flaps in the letter! Not something I was happy with from a security point of view, since as with many people I’m sure, its the same one I use on my other cards.

I haven’t yet tried to use the card with my address details so I don’t know whether it’s really fixed. But I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t. And I wont be dsurprised if a colleagues card stops working.

Have I complained? No, I’ve done enough work. Will I move banks. No – its tons of work and wont be any better. I’ve used many banks and see no differences.

And do I feel like putting our insurance business thro HSBC? You guessed it – about 23 times less likely than going to first direct. Oh when will they start business banking !! Then it would be worth moving.

So an extreme story? – I dont think so judging by our personal experiences of dealing with banks. And we have further evidence from our work with the Amazon Skyline processes. One of our banking clients has reduced their contact rate by 81% in the past three years. Another US client has quadrupled the size of their business and decresed their contact support headcount by 20% at the same time.

If you work at HSBC and want to talk about how we can save you up to 80% of your operating budget then contact me on 07802 793515 or peter.massey@budd.uk.com

If you work at first direct and are reading this – fabulous, thank you and yes – when are you going to start business banking ! ??

If you are just a blog reader – Hi, thanks for reading and you can get more in our white paper “100 things you can learn from first direct”in our library

100 things, HSBC, contact rate, first direct | No Comments

Our Fast+Simple free white paper on first direct ’100 things you can learn from first direct’ was published in November 2005 and still continues to be our best seller in the library at www.budd.uk.com

Not to be out done, first direct themselves have just opened up more information on their culture including some video clips, podcasts and customer videos. You can see them at www.interactive.firstdirect.com

The more you learn, the more you realise it’s no one thing, there’s no silver bullet. It’s a whole lot of things adding up to everyone being a chief customer officer. This theme is also a striking part of our freshly published ’100 things you can learn from Google Inc.’ (no prizes for the person who says “but there are billions of things on Google…”). Its released this month and available free in the library at www.budd.uk.com

100 things, Google, first direct | No Comments