A Case for Empowerment and Being Bold — Tuesday CX Thoughts

In my last Tuesday CX Thoughts article, I told a story about a bad experience I had with a rental car company.  Well I have another rental car experience to share that occurred a few weeks after that article, only this one was a very positive experience. 

My family took a road trip through the Midwest over the week of July 4th that included stops in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. We flew into Minneapolis, where we rented our car for the week. Our flight got in pretty late, and after checking in at the rental counter, we proceeded to the garage and our designated row to select the mid-size SUV that we had paid for. My 11-year-old daughter always gets a thrill out of this process, and she insists on selecting the car, usually based on color. 

This time, she had her eye set on a Jeep Wrangler in the next aisle over from the mid-size SUV area. I explained to her that we couldn’t pick the Jeep because it was in a higher class than what we paid for. She then noted that there were also midsize SUVs in the aisle the Jeep was in so maybe that meant we could get the Jeep. I told her it didn’t work that way but she insisted that we ask. So then I told her, ok if you want the Jeep so badly, you should go ask. She thought about it for a second then walked back to the attendant and asked if we could grab a vehicle from the aisle the Jeep was in.

The attendant at first thought she was referring to the other mid-size SUV’s in that aisle and told her that she could grab any of those vehicles as well. But my daughter then asked specifically about the Jeep. I stood by waiting for the rejection, but after a brief pause, the attendant responded, “Sure, go ahead and grab the Jeep.” My daughter was elated, and that kicked off an incredibly memorable week for her. 

So, a few good lessons came from this experience. For one, as a general life lesson that my daughter took away, don’t be afraid to ask for something you want, as fortune favors the bold. But are there any CX lessons from this encounter? 

The attendant didn’t have to let us have the Jeep, and he probably went against the policy by letting us take a car at a higher level than what we paid for. But he also recognized the situation and the opportunity to create a memorable customer experience for an 11-year-old girl and, by extension, her father, the customer. He may have also made the calculation that it was late at night, nobody else was coming to rent the Jeep that day and that there was no harm in letting us take it. Or maybe he just wanted to go home and was feeling generous. But regardless of the reason, this unexpected great experience happened because he was empowered to go above and beyond to delight a customer. And by doing so, he earned my loyalty and increased my CLV for his company at no real cost. 

These quick CX wins are easy, but too many organizations miss out on them because they don’t effectively empower their frontline employees. They measure frontline performance by adherence to policy, which results in employees being afraid to do the right thing for the customer. They don’t give the frontline the proper training to identify when they have the opportunity to create long-term, loyal customers. They don’t have the tools to measure CLV and quantify the positive impact of customer-centric decisions that might not be in the approved workflow.  

And I get it, doing these things are hard and empowering the frontline can make some leaders anxious as it can be risky. However, the most customer-centric organizations I know empower their frontlines and can quantify the impact. It’s bold, but they know, like my daughter does now, that being bold has its rewards, whether it’s an upgraded ride or a customer for life. 

How well does your organization empower frontline employees to create memorable customer experiences? 

When you complete an honest assessment, the outcome can be beneficial, particularly for your Customer Experience program.

Take five minutes and complete an audit for your organization here. 

You may discover a gap in measurement, an opportunity to improve a process, the place where an organizational shift needs to take place or an opportunity to win a greater share of your customers’ wallets. 

We all want that bigger “return.” In this situation, the worst-case scenario is that you’ll get some information that will help your organization since completing this audit is free and without obligation.

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