Bridging the Gap: Shep Hyken on Handling Customer Situations Beyond Standard Procedures

In a recent LinkedIn post, Shep Hyken discusses the critical challenge businesses face when customer situations fall outside their established standard operating procedures (SOPs). Hyken, a well-known customer experience expert, highlights the necessity of having processes in place for consistency and efficiency, but questions what happens when the unexpected arises.

The core of Hyken’s discussion revolves around a pivotal question posed by Bryan Stoller, Global VP of Customer Care at United Airlines, at the Customer Contact Week (CCW) industry meeting. Hyken shares this question directly from his observation:

“What’s the standard operating procedure for things that don’t have a standard operating procedure?”

This question, as Hyken points out, cuts to the heart of customer service adaptability. While SOPs are invaluable for routine interactions, they can become a bottleneck when faced with unique customer needs or complex problems that don’t fit neatly into predefined boxes. Hyken emphasizes that the existence of SOPs is generally a positive, as they are designed to:

• Create consistency
• Drive efficiency
• Ensure predictability

However, the limitation arises when these very processes fail to account for the outliers – the situations that deviate from the norm.

The Need for Adaptability Beyond SOPs

Hyken’s article, which he references as being published in Forbes, delves into the implications of Stoller’s question. The implication is that companies must cultivate a framework that allows for flexibility and empowered decision-making when standard procedures are insufficient. This doesn’t negate the value of SOPs but rather suggests a need for a complementary approach.

As Hyken implicitly suggests, the answer to Stoller’s question lies in empowering front-line employees and establishing guidelines for handling exceptions. This might involve:

• Providing clear parameters for when an SOP can be deviated from.
• Granting specific levels of authority to customer service representatives to make judgment calls.
• Establishing escalation paths for complex issues that require higher-level intervention.
• Fostering a culture that prioritizes problem-solving over strict adherence to potentially inadequate procedures.

Customer Experience in the Face of the Unexpected

The ability to navigate situations that fall outside of standard operating procedures is a key differentiator in customer experience. According to Hyken’s framing of Stoller’s question, companies that rigidly adhere to SOPs even when they don’t apply risk frustrating customers and failing to resolve issues effectively. Conversely, organizations that equip their teams with the tools and autonomy to handle exceptions often create more positive and memorable customer interactions.

Hyken’s post serves as a reminder that while structure is important, true customer-centricity requires a degree of agility. The challenge, as highlighted by the United Airlines executive and shared by Hyken, is to build systems that are both efficient through standardization and effective through thoughtful adaptation.

The underlying message Hyken conveys is that the most successful customer service operations are those that can maintain consistency for the majority of cases while possessing the mechanisms to gracefully and effectively manage the exceptions that inevitably occur.