Love The Product, Hate(d) The Service

I am a big fan of Spotify. Wait, I may have understated that...I freakin' love it. I use it every day in my office; I plug my iPhone into my car and listen on my commute, and I pop the headphones in when I'm going on a run. I'm a die-hard, premium subscriber, Spotify-guy. I have to be their biggest fan.

Except for the time I was really pissed at Spotify.

Short Story - Short
For a period of time I was being double-billed, or so I thought, for their premium service. I reached out via twitter for help, and the good folks at Spotify responded quickly. I was hopeful to get a speedy resolution, but alas that was not to be. After being forced to jump through MANY hoops it was discovered that a second account had been set up which I was not aware of...ouch! My bad.

Except I was still pissed that I didn't get a straight answer in the beginning.

Despite my stumbling, and a bit of disappointment, I'm still a huge Spotify fan, and spread the word whenever I can about their amazing product.

I love the product.

HR Story - Long
Human Resources delivers a range of products too. Every person in the organization depends on us, and it is essential that we do our jobs well. So, do our (trapped) customers love our product and hate our service?

Do they like that benefit plans are there when they need them, but get frustrated trying to figure out what the fine prints says and which forms to fill out? Do they want to transfer and take advantage of an internal promotional opportunity but feel like they never hear back from anyone? Do new team members simply want some guidance as they come on board, but end up figuring out most things for themselves? Do our leaders feel this way too?

Reality-Check
I like to believe....um...convince myself that I actually deliver a product that not only has value, but is also considered to be high quality and done in a customer-friendly way (despite the fact that my customers are built-in.)

Has HR somehow become a bit lazy over the years? "If only those managers knew what we have to go through here in HR!" Oh wait, you've probably never said that before...ahem...I haven't either. #LyingThroughMyTeeth

The reality is that we need to critically evaluate our own performance, the products we deliver, and how we deliver them to ensure we keep ourselves at the top of our game.

Just imagine what those managers are saying about us right now. Do they love your product?

How About You
Is it time for you to get some feedback about you and your team's performance? Maybe you need to do something radical, something that would be considered a never-been-done-before-in-your-company approach...

Ask someone.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



pic  pic