Looker’s name for its customer support department, the “Department of Customer Love.”
What’s in a name? Sometimes changing the vernacular within an organization can have a huge impact on behavior and mindset. For example, the receptionist may be called the Director of First Impressions, a clever title to describe the person who answers the phone on behalf of the company. Apple calls its in-store service and support technicians “Geniuses.” Talking to a genius seems much cooler than talking to someone in product support. In our company, Shepard Presentations, we all get to come up with our own titles. We have a Director of Reputation, a Manager of Many Things and a Director of Details. My title is Chief Amazement Officer. These titles are fun descriptions that establish the mood of our culture.
Along the same lines, some organizations refer to their customers by a different name – guests, clients, members and more. One of my clients uses the term “neighbors.” When customers walk through the doors, they are greeted with an enthusiastic, “Hello, neighbor!” This helps to establish a positive mood and build rapport with the customer. You can hardly call out, “Hello, customer!” when someone walks through the doors. That sounds weird.
Then there are clever department names, especially in the customer service and support world, such as Customer Success Heroes, User Support Gurus and Customer Relationship Builders, just to name a few. One department name caught my eye recently and inspired me to write this article. That was Looker’s name for its customer support department, the “Department of Customer Love.”
Looker is a data platform company that helps its customers use information about their business, including their customers, to gain better insights and make data-driven decisions. When Looker’s customers have a problem, they don’t contact customer support – they contact the Department of Customer Love. And what they get is an experience that lives up to the department’s name.
What exactly does “customer love” mean? “Love” by itself can be hard to define. Ask 10 different people and you’ll get 10 different answers. But you may start to notice some trends. Many would agree that transparency, intimacy and communication are key factors in any loving relationship. These three qualities drive Looker’s customer service and support the department name. In reality, they should be central points in every customer support department, whether or not the word “love” is in the name.
Looker’s bold naming decision demonstrates that they value their customers’ feedback and want to build strong relationships. While this has always been the case, Looker feels the name gives it more emphasis. This creative title serves both employees and customers alike. “Putting customer feedback and relationships first has been the goal at Looker since day one,” says Frank Bien, CEO. “Making our customers feel loved through exceptional levels of service is how we’ve often been able to move beyond just being a vendor to a place where we become an extension of our customers’ team.” Even though it’s just a title, it helps define Looker’s culture.
If you’re not convinced of the power of a name yet, try this. Imagine what the opposite of the Department of Customer Love would be. What would the Department of Customer Hate be like? In that (hopefully) hypothetical department, customers might spend an eternity on hold, have to repeat the same information multiple times, and never even get an answer to their question. And yet, customers experience these Moments of Misery all the time! What message does that send the customer about his or her relationship with your company? If you want your customers to love doing business with you, you have to love them first. Let this be your wake up call. Don’t let your customer service department be known as the Department of Customer Hate!
All this talk of customer support and customer love boils down to one question: Does a creative – almost whimsical – departmental name change affect the customer experience? Maybe or maybe not, but what it can do is emphasize the importance of customers to the company and expand the desire to deliver an exceptional customer experience. This is the foundation for a mutually beneficial relationship. It’s still going to take good hiring practices, ongoing training, listening to customers and many other best practices deliver an amazing customer experience. But when you use the word “love” to describe what the customer might expect, you set the standard for an experience that the customer will … love.
