“Become A Rockstar” James Dodkins
Speaking with former SpeedTheory heavy metal band guitarist turned renowned customer service trainer James Dodkins is not unlike attending a rock concert. Same energy. Same passion. A clear vision. The #1 best-selling author of “Rockstar Revolution,” James took a few minutes off from his global tour to chat with us about his work as part of our series on inbound call center management.
Q1: What are the top “must do's” when it comes to improving customer service?
There are six key elements to really great customer experience. Or what I like to call “Rockstar Customer Experience. The elements are: convenient, easy, fast, trackable, personalized, and predictive. When advising a client looking to improve their service, I had them include as many of these elements as possible is a great step forward.
Q2: What will make 2019 stand out?
I think the biggest trends in 2019 will focus around hyper-personalization. That is, making each customer feel like every experience has been designed specifically for them.
Q3: What was James Dodkins “BIGGEST WOW” moment in 2018?
Hearing about the insurance company Lemonade breaking the world record for paying out an insurance claim. They approved and paid a customer’s claim in just 3 seconds! This was because they trusted their customer. We spend far too much time administering the effects of our distrust and could learn considerably from Lemonade’s approach.
Q4: Should companies aim to be above average or over the top amazing?
While it’s important for businesses to go the extra mile and be mind-blowingly amazing – in some cases, they just need to do what they do best! Sometimes the most underwhelming experiences are actually the best ones. It’s down to individual companies to decide where they need to operate and how they can better serve the clients.
Q5: What the number one customer support mistake made by businesses?
The biggest mistake I’m seeing is putting too much faith in technology. Customer experience should always drive the technological and never be driven by it. Technology is just a tool to help us deliver the ideal customer experience, so first, you need to know what the ideal experience is before you even think about adding technology
James Dodkins is a West Midlands, UK-based customer experience “Rockstar” is known for entering the stage playing his electric guitar! He translates his passion for music to what he believes are the core elements of the customer experience: Impressions. Impact. Purpose. Direction. A best-selling author for his book 136 Ideas for Rockstar Employee Engagement, James works with companies to help turn their customers into fans! As one of the world’s top customer experience influencers, he has featured in Forbes and has been described as a ‘CX luminary’. View his "Rules For Rockstar’s" intro video or follow him on Twitter @JDODKINS.
