“Uhhh, no thanks…bye.” Click.

What just happened? You morphed from someone who got help, resolved an issue and had a positive experience to an impatient person now thinking, “Oh god, please shut up and let me get off the phone.”

We’ve all been there. It’s not the rep’s fault. They are told to recite that bloated customer service script because doing so is company policy. Well, it shouldn’t be. Such mindless banter reflects poorly on your company and, especially, on your brand.

Here is why:

It’s not authentic—It’s too canned. Nobody believes it because nobody likes phony baloney.

It’s too fast—It’s so long and rambling that it’s uncomfortable for any listener to follow or respond to. Your rep, sensing discomfort, talks even faster just to get through it all.

It’s confusing—Just as the natural flow of the call reaches its ‘goodbye’ stage and it’s time to hang up, the senseless verbiage begins.

Parting impression—Leave your customers happy, satisfied and on a high note, not with a final impression of Buzz off, I’m done with you.

So why do Customer Service managers make their poor employees spew out this nonsense when the more often one repeats a lifeless line, the more canned it sounds. Sure, they want employees to be friendly and represent the company in a consistent fashion. Every brand should strive for that. Yet they should focus on hiring caring people who want to help, then letting them interact within a brand’s personality. Teach them what your brand represents and promises, what its traits are, then let them interact authentically and personably. A simple Thank you, if genuine, works wonders.

Candidly, cut the crap. Stop using these ridiculous closing scripts, painful for both parties to endure. Remember, the people calling are your customers. Honor them.

What do you think? Do these scripts enhance or inhibit the customer’s experience? What are some of your experiences?

The post Let me off the phone! Your customer service is hurting your brand. appeared first on Bondepus.

Then we heard that Planet Fitness is going in there. Yeah! Yippie! But, wait…Planet Fitness? Who are they?

Well, it wasn’t Trader Joes, but anything would be an improvement. We didn’t know the company or the gym but since it was coming in, we started to pay attention.

As the building took shape we heard the radio campaigns. We loved them, they are very clever and they actually spoke to us. They made us want to join. Then the building went up. Huh? I’m confused…. that’s certainly not what I expected based on their ads and messaging.

Their current radio ad announces sequentially:

“If you drink Creatine from a gallon jug, this is not your gym.”
“If steroids is what you call breakfast, this is not your gym.”
“If you have a tattoo of a bicep, on your bicep, this is not your gym.”

And so on. This resonated because I’ve always hated the gym atmosphere. Their tagline and motto is:

“Judgement Free Zone®, which means members can relax, get in shape, and have fun without being subjected to the hard-core, look-at-me attitude that exists in too many gyms.”

Perfect, a gym for everyone. Nobody staring at you, no posing, no overmuscled freaks looking at themselves in the mirror. And best of all, no salespeople. Everyone remembers the used car salesman approach at these places, right?

So, hey, they get it! They are different. This is great! They know what people like me want in a gym.

Then the building was completed. Whoa! Hold on! Where’s my gym?!

The design, branding and overall look screams “hard-core, look-at-me” gym. The building is loud, featuring in-your-face colors and metal accents, things I associate with a typical gym.

Everything Planet Fitness is saying: who they are, their core values and messaging, are all great. But this image doesn’t connect at all. It says, “We’re saying something different, but we sure look the same.” This is a confused brand, a marketing disconnect. Every message, every impression should be in alignment with the values a company stands for. This obviously includes the outside of their building even though, inside, they might very well be different.

It’s certainly better than a run-down, defunct check cashing joint, but I’m just not convinced that Planet Fitness is the gym for a regular guy like me. And I wonder how many ‘regular people’ share this feeling.

The post Planet Fitness, Are you Really a Different Gym? appeared first on Bondepus.

Years ago, when a San Francisco Giants friend of mine told me that he’d gone to a couple Oakland Athletics’ games that season, I remember thinking how odd that was. Generally you are a fan of one or the other. The Mets or the Yankees. But, he said, “The A’s have a good product.” That stopped me cold.

Product? I grew up rooting for this team. They play baseball, they are not a product! Within seconds, though, I got it – like, of course they are, totally! (Maybe you hear I’m from California!)

So, are the best-in-baseball Phillies a team, a company or a brand? Yes. Yes. And yes. When you think about it, the Phillies are similar to a professional services company, their employees and players (including the Phanatic) making up their brand. In any company that does not sell a tangible consumer product – like law, accounting, and consulting firms – it’s the people who embody the core characteristics of the brand.

These Phillies are a very impressive group who exemplify the best in sports – talent, character, integrity. They are class act athletes. But even when a new set of players come in, this entrenched brand transcends that change because the Phillies brand is really us. They are our community, they represent this fine city and they are about to beat the pants off Cincinnati. And everyone else who stands in their way.

GO PHILLIES!

http://www.bondepus.com
gary@bondepus.com

Thoughts? We’d love to hear your comments.

Best,
-Gary Epis & Amy Bond
267-239-0409 ph

The post Are the Phillies a Team, a Company, or a Brand? appeared first on Bondepus.