until there was a series of symptoms or test results that would lead the Doc in the right direction. If those were not present, he/she would have a tough time making a recommendation other than “come back in if it reoccurs.”

However, if you had the same burning sensation for 4 days in a row, you noticed it occurs right af

When looking at a Customer Service organization, it’s hard sometimes to sort through all of the dynamics involved to get down to the areas you can work with to get the best results in the shortest amount of time.

One way to narrow the choices down is to work with the 3 P’s.

Perception, Procedure and Personnel.

It’s important to make sure you are working with Trends in an organization, not one time incidents. One time incidents are generally the result of long term deficiencies somewhere in the Organization. They bubble to the surface after being cooked for awhile by a Perception, a Procedure or a Personnel issue. They are usually dramatic, are remembered forever and brought up at parties and company get togethers. What you are looking for is a Trend. A series of one time events becomes a Trend.

You can treat Trends. It’s difficult to treat a one time event.

Think of it this way. If you went to your doctor and told him that you had a burning sensation in your chest one day last week, and it never came back, lasted only 10 minutes, and had never happened before in your life, his/her chances of finding the root cause are very slim. He/She would recommend a battery of tests, interview you in depth as to foods eaten, liquid intake, family history and generally probe and poke until there was a series of symptoms or test results that would lead the Doc in the right direction. If those were not present, he/she would have a tough time making a recommendation other than “come back in if it reoccurs.”

However, if you had the same burning sensation for 4 days in a row, you noticed it occurs right af

t’s important to make sure you are working with Trends in an organization, not one time incidents. One time incidents are generally the result of long term deficiencies somewhere in the Organization. They bubble to the surface after being cooked for awhile by a Perception, a Procedure or a Personnel issue. They are usually dramatic, are remembered forever and brought up at parties and company get togethers. What you are looking for is a Trend. A series of one time events becomes a Trend.

You can treat Trends. It’s difficult to treat a one time event.

Think of it this way. If you went to your doctor and told him that you had a burning sensation in your chest one day last week, and it never came back, lasted only 10 minutes, and had never happened before in your life, his/her chances of finding the root cause are very slim. He/She would recommend a battery of tests, interview you in depth as to foods eaten, liquid intake, family history and generally probe and poke until there was a series of symptoms or test results that would lead the Doc in the right direction. If those were not present, he/she would have a tough time making a recommendation other than “come back in if it reoccurs.”

However, if you had the same burning sensation for 4 days in a row, you noticed it occurs right af

matic, are remembered forever and brought up at parties and company get togethers. What you are looking for is a Trend. A series of one time events becomes a Trend.

You can treat Trends. It’s difficult to treat a one time event.

Think of it this way. If you went to your doctor and told him that you had a burning sensation in your chest one day last week, and it never came back, lasted only 10 minutes, and had never happened before in your life, his/her chances of finding the root cause are very slim. He/She would recommend a battery of tests, interview you in depth as to foods eaten, liquid intake, family history and generally probe and poke until there was a series of symptoms or test results that would lead the Doc in the right direction. If those were not present, he/she would have a tough time making a recommendation other than “come back in if it reoccurs.”

However, if you had the same burning sensation for 4 days in a row, you noticed it occurs right af

tion in your chest one day last week, and it never came back, lasted only 10 minutes, and had never happened before in your life, his/her chances of finding the root cause are very slim. He/She would recommend a battery of tests, interview you in depth as to foods eaten, liquid intake, family history and generally probe and poke until there was a series of symptoms or test results that would lead the Doc in the right direction. If those were not present, he/she would have a tough time making a recommendation other than “come back in if it reoccurs.”

However, if you had the same burning sensation for 4 days in a row, you noticed it occurs right af

until there was a series of symptoms or test results that would lead the Doc in the right direction. If those were not present, he/she would have a tough time making a recommendation other than “come back in if it reoccurs.”

However, if you had the same burning sensation for 4 days in a row, you noticed it occurs right after you eat chicken on a stick with extra sauce, lasts for 45 minutes and had been repeating with more and more frequency, your doctor would have something to go on. He/she would be able to focus on the symptoms you described and recommend a correction in your diet, liquid intake or even a medication to treat the condition. Customer Service Management and Diagnosis is just like that.

So now that we have established that one timers and Trends are different and require different methods, let’s look at what we can address.

Perceptions are wispy, nebulous and sometimes hard to get pinned down. It’s because it is a “personal experience” with your store, office, department, personnel, receptionist, cashier, advisor, counter person, etc… And it’s influenced by the weather, the Customer’s spouse, children, work, how long the line is, did you have it in stock, where the Customer had to park, how much time they had on their lunch break, etc… Are you getting the picture here? There are so many factors that go into Perception.

This is where having a large sample of in house personal observations, returned surveys, personal interviews, interactions with Customers and company Personnel will guide you in the direction of what needs to be addressed in changing the Perception. And your source material