Balancing connection and connectivity: Building customer trust

When I was growing up, my father co-owned a small department store in the suburbs of Philadelphia. It was there I learned the value of customer loyalty long before I even finished high school.

I knew from a very young age that a critical part of our family business succeeding was in satisfying customers with our products and local services. That lesson has stayed with me always.

The level of service we brought to our store all those decades ago is still valued today in the retail industry but looks very different with new technology.

It’s more personalized to suit the way people want to shop. It empowers customers with instant information. It removes inefficiencies, collects and analyzes data, and helps you understand your customers to serve them better.

Of course this doesn’t only apply to retail. The biggest difference in customer service across many industries is that there are fewer face-to-face interactions. That tends to make some people uneasy because it feels like a loss of personalized service. But I disagree. I believe technology makes personalization stronger and in-person interactions more valuable.

The key is applying technology and reducing that data to action, which can drive the customer experience of today and tomorrow. 

To meet these changes and promote stronger connections at Otis, our service approach has evolved with new technology.

Still, commitment must come first. I’ve always believed that people do business with people regardless of the size of a deal or experience. 

Otis has tremendous reach, but what I have personally witnessed is the depth of local commitment. With over 1,000 branches across approximately 200 countries and territories, Otis service teams are the nucleus of hundreds of thousands of customer relationships, including over 100,000 visits on a daily basis globally. 

In fact, the mechanics I meet in the field often reference the building they service not by its name or address, but as “my building.”

Today our challenge is applying technology to facilitate this kind of personal engagement to be more effective, safer, efficient and valuable for our customers in a world exploding with data. 

So as we evolve the way we provide customer service through technology, we remain focused on the people we serve.

What are their needs? Pain points? What are they looking for and what is each step it takes for them to get there?

To improve the customer journey, we’re aligning every touch point in a single ecosystem to better meet their needs. Maintenance history, account details and more will be managed in real time so when customers ask about a support issue, we can confidently provide solutions that are transparent and accurate up to the minute.

This same information will be tied to apps used by mechanics remotely in the field.

Instead of receiving a service call and arriving with no information, mechanics will be notified about the issue and parts needed before setting foot in the building.

Even better, we will enable our teams with predictive technology that can help prevent shutdowns and technology that will also remotely address and fix certain issues.

Every customer expects problems to be resolved quickly and efficiently. To forge more meaningful relationships, we will use technology to be proactive. Customers also need advocates. That’s why we are empowering our teams with digital tools to make decisions in real time, anticipate problems and present solutions before they’re asked.

However, you can’t predict every problem yet, and not every customer will be thrilled. Even in a very large organization, it’s not uncommon for people to reach out directly to me despite our local teams and communication channels. I welcome this and immediately engage our teams to respond whether in New York City or London or anywhere around the globe.  In today’s connected world, leaders need to be just as accessible and responsive as our colleagues and team members. 

In the first weekend after I started my position as President of Otis, I was copied on an email from a hotel assistant general manager. He needed his elevators back up and running, and I could feel the challenge he was facing. I ensured that our team responded quickly because everyone should provide customer service no matter their role in the organization.

Whether it’s a problem with billing or maintenance or collections or sales, the important part is how we respond. When we all share the same commitment, we build trust.

Anyone can collect data. Having the confidence to act and ability to improvise and engage is something very different. What truly makes a better customer experience is when you have technology that creates seamless service and your people feel empowered to deliver on your company’s promises.