The Banana Syndrome
Mom, peel my banana!
I often cringe when I see the tasks B2B customer service teams are asked to perform in support of their internal company colleagues. I once witnessed a mid-level employee standing behind a CSR while she told the CSR what to type onto a form (a form unrelated to the external customer)-- a task for one turned into a task for two. Some companies fall into the trap of believing that ERP transactions = customer service and consequently the customer service team becomes the internal administrative assistants for nearly everyone. As the lowest level of the organization, it's hard for customer service to say no to anyone. Once CS owns a task, it's usually theirs for good. This can be difficult to identify when it's been happening for years and gets baked into a company's DNA. I call this the "banana syndrome".
Who can't peel their own banana? Anyone who's always had it done for them. Who can't peel and cut up a butternut squash? Well... lots of people. It's a large, hard vegetable and I would recommend watching a YouTube first. It may make sense to buy butternut squash already cut up by someone who knows what they're doing-- it's faster and much, much safer that wrestling with a sharp knife and thick skinned squash the side of my chihuahua. The grocery store is clearly adding value here. But a banana? Who would think of not peeling and slicing one's own banana? Anyone who never, ever had to peel it for themselves.
So it goes with B2B processes, especially after many years. In the produce analogy here, a grocery store is adding value by selling pre-cut butternut squash-- saving the consumer time and ensuring no knife related accidents happen at home. No value would be added doing the same with a banana.
Is your B2B customer service peeling bananas for other functions? Or are they focused on expertly cutting up butternut squashes for your customers, something only customer service can do? If your processes haven't been reviewed recently, bananas are likely taking up some time of your customer service group. And that's costing your business money and irritating customers who are waiting for answers. Service Evolution can help identify these non-value added workstreams and make your customer service group more efficient-- and get them back to focusing on their customers.
Contact me today: Ellen@serviceevolutionllc.com
