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NuVoodoo Media - May 11, 2015
May 11, 2015
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. What would a listener with a complaint, concern or question encounter trying to contact your station(s)? Are systems in place? Are those responding trained adequately in how to respond? Do they have latitude to over-perform – rewarding a caller with a prize or some other token of the station's gratitude?
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It happens all the time in the wider world of customer service: memories being made, both good and bad. If a listener took the time to contact your station via email, phone or social media, what would be the outcome? An amazingly positive story she’ll tell her friends about for years to come? A public relations nightmare … that she’ll tell her friends about for years to come? No reply at all?
Returning from last month’s trip to the All Access Worldwide Radio Summit, we found ourselves in travel hell with a late-departing flight from LAX resulting in a missed connection in DFW. The weather was awful. Seven stories fell out of the experience:
- Just three agents were assigned by the American Airlines to rebook hundreds of passengers resulting in a long line and an even longer wait. Positive for the agents (who were wonderful). Negative for American Airlines, who saw the weather forecast, and obviously didn’t manage effectively.
- Positive: When it seemed she’d be unable to find another flight to Cincinnati that night, the Hotels.com app found her a nearby hotel room at a good price.
- Positive: One of the savvy, but over-worked agents from the chintzy airline was able to find her a flight to Dayton – only an hour or so from Cincinnati.
- Negative: While Hotels.com was quick to book the room, Hyatt wouldn’t cancel the reservation (held for less than an hour) without imposing a one-night cancellation fee.
- Positive: Hotels.com WAS willing to waive the cancellation fee for a frequent traveler.
- Negative: Hertz sent us to voice mail hell. Press 1. Press #. Press 7. Go to hell.
- Positive: National had a human on the phone and made a car available in Dayton. This Hertz Gold Club member has switched to National. Forever.Â
Note the brands associated with the Negatives. Note the brands associated with the positives. We’ll remember the associations forever and tell our friends. We’re sure you have your own stories.
Back in January when we called and emailed around to radio stations in Philly to see who’d answer their phones and who’d return email, we were generally ignored. Most published studio phone numbers rang and rang, but were not answered. One owner, however, had a person answer the calls for all their stations and trained him well with good responses to our various inquiries.
Only three of the market-leading stations replied to our emailed inquiries (all minor complaints about station programming). But, we got two replies from the market’s all news powerhouse, KYW NewsRadio, including a very reasoned response from Director of News and Programming, Steve Butler, regarding our alleged concern that the station’s constant teletype sound effect was annoying. If they’d been actual complaints from actual listeners, memories would have been made … some good, some bad. KYW = Good. We’ll remember. We also won’t share the negatives here.
Along with preparedness for emergencies of various types, are you testing the response systems of your station(s) on a regular basis? What would a listener with a complaint, concern or question encounter trying to contact your station(s)? Are systems in place? Are those responding trained adequately in how to respond? Do they have latitude to over-perform – rewarding a caller with a prize or some other token of the station’s gratitude?
While the odds are low that the listener email, social media comment, phone message, etc. is from a current ratings participant, future ratings participant or even a close friend of a ratings participant, can you afford those odds? In the unlikely event that person holds a meter or diary, which type of memory would you prefer to make?
People talk. People share more than ever. We just did. What are they sharing about you?
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