It’s Groundhog Day, where you’re living the same day over and over and over again.

You have heard basically the same complaint from 4 different customers in the past week.  The bill is incorrect or confusing, and you’re having to spend a ton of time explaining things to the customer.

You’ve had several account holders in the past month contact you because they were expecting certain benefits – including some free services – and they haven’t gotten any communication about the benefits.

A bottleneck of customers forms in the lobby seemingly every day between noon and 2pm, and you find yourself being the only person at the front desk either addressing their need or directing the customer to another department.

What Groundhog Day Feels Like

You can probably relate to at least one of these situations in some manner, and whether it’s a specific situation or just the fact that you’re dealing with the same issue over and over and over again, this can be a stressor.  This can create more work for you.  This can be as frustrating for you as it is for the customer.

Instead of us feeling like it’s Groundhog Day every day, let’s talk about how to eliminate these stressors.

Addressing the Recurring Issues

First, be clear on the issue.  Is the bill incorrect, or is it confusing?  Are they complaining because they haven’t received the benefits, or they haven’t received communication about the benefits?

Second, don’t assume you know the solution just because you know the problem.  The easiest way to waste time fixing a problem is to address the symptom without knowing the cause.  Why are customers streaming in just as employees are streaming out for lunch?

Finally, address the underlying cause.  If the bill is confusing, identify what makes it confusing, and the solution will be more apparent.  For example, if they can’t find the owed amount on the bill, add a big box that makes it abundantly clear what’s owed and why that amount is owed.

If they don’t know when they’ll receive the benefits, when the sale or account renewal occurs, immediately give customers a schedule of when they are to receive benefits and how those benefits will be communicated and provided to them.

If customers are usually arriving at your office from 12p-2p because they don’t realize there are times of day with shorter waits, add information to the website so customers know the best times to go to your office.  If the backlog occurs because staff all have lunch scheduled at the same time, adjust staff schedules to better match customer walk-in volumes.

When you find yourself living Groundhog Day, be clear on the issue, find the true root cause, and specifically address it.

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