Chapter 2: Generic Customer Service Isn t Enough Anymore


Overview

A few years ago, Janelle saw an ad on television about a new product the Postal Service was offering—a mailing option called International Priority Mail. It was a takeoff on the immensely popular domestic Priority Mail product the Postal Service successfully created to compete with the higher prices of UPS and Federal Express.

The ad was compelling. It showed a spirited customer walking up to the counter of a brand new, spotlessly clean post office where a beautiful young blond-haired woman stood with a charming and big welcoming smile on her face. Regally perched on her shoulder was an American bald eagle. The "clerk," whose perfect teeth flashed behind her smile, took the customer's package and placed it into the eagle's beak, and off it flew into the distance. Old Glory fluttered in the wind accompanied by patriotic music playing in the background. At least this is how Janelle remembered it.

She was both captivated and impressed! Furthermore, if International Priority Mail worked as well as domestic Priority Mail, she was willing to give her next international letter to that eagle.

Two days later Janelle drove to her local post office, international letter in hand. The post office she walked into did not look quite like the new one in the advertisement. And the woman behind the counter, with no eagle on her shoulder, did not quite look like the fair young beauty in the commercial, either. However, Janelle understands that ads must sell a best face to the customer, and the main message of the ad was that the post office is reasonably priced and, therefore, a logical shipping alternative to UPS and FedEx.

After a lengthy wait in line, Janelle walked up to the counter with an anticipatory smile on her face and said, "I'd like to try your new service, International Priority Mail." The clerk inspected her fingernails, looked at Janelle, and announced, "It ain't cheap."

Organizations spend millions to tell the world how they would like consumers to think about their brand offerings, and then a human being with three simple words can shatter the illusion. One could argue that Janelle actually received good generic service at the post office. At least the clerk seemed to be offering advice that there might be a less expensive way to send her package around the world. That type of information provides value to customers. But one thing we know for sure: "It ain't cheap" flies straight in the face of the Postal Service's new product positioning as a reasonably priced alternative. It is safe to bet that the Postal Service did little or nothing to appropriately prepare its thousands of staff to be on-brand for the influx of customers coming to try out its new product.




Branded Customer Service(c) The New Competitive Edge
Branded Customer Service: The New Competitive Edge
ISBN: 1576752984
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 134

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