How can you balance customer needs and business goals when managing escalations?

While the root cause is ultimately important from a problem management perspective I don't think it's the first step. The first step is to understand your customer's pain point and the impact. By talking through with them what the real-time impact is you can show empathy, clarify what options you both have to mitigate that impact and show that your organisation cares. The first step to managing escalations is understanding the impact on the people and their customers!

To find the right balance between customer needs and business goals during escalations, it's important to figure out the main problem causing the issue. This helps solve the problem in a way that makes the customer happy and also benefits the business in the long run.

Surprisingly enough, in my opinion, the number one step is to be available. Unfortunately, the bar is often set quite low. I started and ran a business for 13 years and successfully captured and kept business from well known competitors in the space. When I asked for feedback and why we became their Go To vendor, the response was shockingly simple. The reply was almost always: Tim your company does 2 things better than everyone. 1. You are almost always available when we call or email and 2. You don't avoid us when there is a problem. We figure it out and you provide us with options to resolve the issue. I'd hang up from these type of calls dumbfounded that the fact we answered the phone was why we were better than our peers.

Does the root cause matter at the moment when the customer is unhappy? No. You need to help the customer; of course, knowing the root of the unhappiness enables you to fix the problem in the long term. But the customer has a problem right now. Therefore, have two parallel tracks: 1. Short-term fix that helps the customer move forward and feel they matter to you 2. Root cause analysis to prevent any future occurrences (and consider doing some proactive fixes for people who have not noticed yet there was an issue)

Customer escalation is often the culmination of their frustration or disappointment. As support professionals, our role goes beyond addressing the surface-level problem; it's about empathizing with their journey, acknowledging their emotions, and uncovering the underlying issues that led to this point. Listening actively is the linchpin of this process. It means giving the customer your full attention, not just to their words, but also to the emotions behind them. Open-ended questions are your tools for delving deeper. Instead of assuming you know the cause, let them guide you to it. Every escalation is an opportunity to transform a dissatisfied customer into a loyal advocate.

Find a balance between strictly following procedures and common sense. An escalation already means that an employee tried to solve the problem following the procedures (hopefully) and was unable to do it. Employees that handled escalations should be trained to use critical thinking and common sense together with 4 eyes principle to find the best solution for the customer. The company faces now 2 choices (to go to the extremes): either the customer will become a detractor or a raving fun. When crouching the numbers, the business should take into account how much a detractor costs and how much a raving fan can bring. Thus business goals and escalations are not necessarily be at odds but in the long run can lead in the same direction.

I understand escalation is sometimes the best way to proceed depending on the situation. You need to have the professional maturity and understanding of the procedures to go ahead and scalate the issue in case you are not able or don't have the authority to do so.

IMHO transparency is something that always or rather should i say mostly help. In case the escalation is due to a fault at the business's end, one should own up and apologize upfront (this is only if the fault is on this side of the table). If its not and the escalation is owing to customer's expectation miss match, one should empathize with the customer, explain patiently the company's position and logic. 8/10 customer's would see logic. There would always be those 2 who would not, in such case one should consider whether winning the argument is important or the customer. This would also depend upon the stage of the organization (early stage companies might need to be a little accommodating, while established brands can chose not to).

Having the authority is a clear benefit. Of one does not have this, properly providing the person who does with a report of what's been discussed and what the customer wants is a clear responsible thing to do so the next person doesn't end up "walking in blind" to an already agitated individual.

It is also important to ensure policies and procedures are set by stakeholders who understand the customer perspective. If those stakeholders sit in ivory towers, never conversing with customers or listening via. surveys etc., then it is very unlikely your policies and procedures can be balanced in the first place.

When customers escalate issues, it’s a sign that trust may have been breached, and their initial sentiment is likely negative. In these situations, the focus should be on understanding the customer’s perspective and determining what actions will transition them from a negative sentiment to at least a neutral or, ideally, a positive one. While some guidelines and rules can provide consistency, it’s also essential to empower service agents to use their judgment to find tailored solutions for each customer’s unique circumstances. Zappos is an excellent example of this approach. It’s about achieving a balance between consistency and flexibility to best serve the customer’s needs and rebuild trust.

This is also a good point to build trust through a well-crafted and genuine apology. You're acknowledging the impact on the customer and the problems they have faced, even though you're unlikely to be personally responsible. Frame your win-win outcome with a genuine apology, and you'll build trust and repair relationships. 1. Acknowledge the issue and how your customer feels about it 2. Here you make your offer of repair 3. Explain what happened 4. Explain what has happened since to repair the situation, or remove the likelihood of repetition 5. Reiterate. Again, offer a genuine apology to reiterate your position and rebuild your relaltionship

It is not about win-win. It is about doing what is correct in the moment. Pursuing a "win-win" approach, while idealized, can have drawbacks. It can lead to superficial compromises that don't tackle core issues, produce diluted solutions that satisfy no one entirely, and avoid necessary tough decisions. Additionally, striving for such outcomes can be time-consuming, potentially hindering timely decision-making. What is most important is to be fair and as consistent as possible. Hopefully, you often have a solution that is best for the customer since that fits a long-time view of Customer Experience. Rarely will you pick another option. It is fine as long as you can explain why you choose this option while looking others in the eye.

I believe this is part of the negotiation process and the end result has to be good for both parties. There are many options and ways to make the customers satisfied and you have to find the one that works for them and you as a representative of your company.

Ask the customer how you can 'fix the problem' to ensure that they can enjoy the rest of the stay, or stay loyal / continue to buy from you. This simple question covers so many bases from both the customers side and from a business perspective; as a customer they will feel listened to, that you are truly wanting to help and seek an amicable resolution. As a business, it allows you to see the customers cards on the table - it could be something really simple that will resolve it, like a face to face with a GM who is actually present and gives an acknowledgement and heartfelt apology. This costs the business nothing, aside from time and gives a good basis to build upon to exceed customer expectations.

Three CRITICAL areas of documentation are: 1. FAQ pages or resources. FAQ documentation is vital for the team handling inquiries. Quick reference docs allow for speedy answers to a customer’s question with ease. 2. Rules of engagement on social media documentation. This works in tandem with the aforementioned FAQ docs. Everything from tone of voice to how the team signs off on replies should be synched. 3. Escalation documentation. This is equally important to know so everyone is on the same page when an inquiry comes in that the frontline team can’t handle. This can also be triage documentation. Try using an easy spotlight system; greens are listed in FAQ docs, yellows turn into greens or reds, reds require escalation.

I can't stress how important it is to document EVERYTHING! Documenting your interaction no matter how small is an important step to protect you and your organization from a plethora of headaches that result from a breakdown in documentation and notation. My rule, if it was not documented then it never happened. Solid documentation allows you to focus on follow ups and communication journeys that will bring a next level experience for your customers.

Analyzing data and trends from non-conformances and escalations is a critical way to drive improvement in systems. Are there specific areas of your processes that are repeatedly breaking down? Or are there specific types of errors happening, though with different causes—perhaps pointing to quality control issues? The customer’s processes may also be contributing to delivery issues. If this is the case, have a collaborative lessons learned discussion with the customer. This can be turned into an opportunity to further strengthen your partnership with them. These need to be structured very carefully, ensuring that you take responsibility for your organization’s contribution to the delivery issues, and your actions to address them.

Following an escalation it is important to delve into the root cause analysis and put steps in place to mitigate the chance for reoccurence of the specific issue, but what is often forgotten about is additionally reviewing how this issue got to the point of escalation, and why was it not detected and resolved by the established day to day processes that are in place. Escalation management should not just be about resolving a specific issue that has caused frustration for the customer, but also needs to be a chance to review and improve the day to day processes between the organizations to reduce the need for any further Escalation Management function to get involved in future, regardless of underlying root cause.

Escalations are not a one-time event and can be a symptom of a bigger problem with you, organizational policy, or a product. A customer follow-up and a full review of how you handle the customer can help prevent such a position from recurring and create a better user experience overall. Listen to the customer as sometime they may be on to something that no one else has spotted or other have seen but failed to appreciate it magnitude.

A lessons learned session with the internal team is always a good way to understand what happened and brainstorm ideas for improvement.

Yes, let's always celebrate the success cases!! It is very important to keep the internal team and yourself motivated. It renews the energy and makes everyone feel good about the hard work done ✔️

Whilst underscoring the positive effects of celebrating successful escalations on the team, it provides a learning opportunity for members of the team who would undoubtedly benefit from the insights provided. This would ultimately enhance their skills and competencies.

In managing escalations, the key lies in striking a balance between customer needs and business goals. This involves fostering active listening and empathy within the team to understand customer concerns deeply while also prioritizing escalations based on their impact on both customer satisfaction and business objectives. Establishing clear resolution metrics, flexible processes, and effective communication are essential components. Moreover, continuous employee training and a feedback loop for process improvement should be emphasized. Ultimately, having a well-defined decision-making framework that considers both sides ensures that escalations are handled in a way that benefits both customers and the business.

A key point to escalations, is mismanaged customer expectations. In many cases one has a dive into what the customer was truly expecting versus what was offered. There are many ways for one to achieve the business goals, yet the customer expectations should always be met with a priority.

A team that does not track KPIs is a team that is flying blind. Do not neglect your data and use it to find trends and opportunities for improvement. It's not the problems you see that will hurt you most but instead it's what you don't know that will bring you down.

Clearly set expectations and explain the process, the agreement and frequency of updates - to both internal and external stakeholders. Communication is key.

To me, the name of this article is confusing. Our business needs and customer needs should have at least some overlap in advance, before even getting to an escalation point. Furthermore, offering an escalation option means we acknowledge our process, even being the best there is, may still not offer 100% coverage for 100% of unpredicted situations and customer needs. and that is already a great balance between our business needs and the customer needs.