Why You Need a Customer Bill of Rights
Your company “Creed” is a brand promise that is simple, concise and easily understood by both employees and customers. A Brand Promise lays out generally what customers can expect when they deal with your business.
Your Brand Promise is not specific about what rights you are guaranteeing a customer will have during their visit to your company website or social media pages. Your Customer Bill of Rights is where you will spell out the specific rights that customers can expect during their visit.
Seattle Sets the User Experience Bar High
Recently I was surprised to read about what the city of Seattle, WA calls their customer bill of rights. It is a brief but comprehensive list of rights that a customer can expect from their user experience when dealing with the City of Seattle. We can learn quite a bit from a city government that is focused on their customers, who happen to be their citizens and guests of the city.
Seattle believes in taking care of the cities customers.
Seattle’s User Experience Promise
The City of Seattle promises that their customers are entitled to prompt, efficient and easily accessible services. No matter what city department they are dealing with, whether it’s from water and power to roads and public safety. Customers who contact any city department or employee of the City of Seattle can expect excellent service. The Seattle Customer Bill of Rights is guided by four principles.
First, Seattle wants to be accessible to all of its citizens. The first of their four rights say they want to be, “Easy and understandable, City products and services should be easy to locate and access.”
Second is that Seattle wants to be responsive to citizens, meaning that, “City Employees should be helpful, connecting customers with others who can help if they can’t help.”
Third, Seattle wants to be fair in their dealings to all people. They state, “There should be no economic, social and cultural barriers to accessing City products and services.”
Finally, their fourth item in Seattle’s Customer Bill of Rights says they want to be, “Results oriented, Customers should get results, not just process.”
With their rights listed. Seattle has covered all the bases covered, to deliver an outstanding customer experience.
Do Your Customers Deserve Seattle’s UX?
Does your organization have a Customer Bill of Rights? This isn’t in a vision or mission statement. It is a simple set of rules that help guide your customer service. Quick return of phone calls and easy accessibility to upper management might be two you want to include.
Create Your Customer Bill of Rights
It’s time for you to go to work. Create four or five customer service expectations that your customers’ expectations are for you and your organization. Then make sure that every employee knows and understands it is their obligation to deliver on those expectations.
