Return to Sender: Responding to Customers.

How long does it take you to e-mail customers back?

By Scott Hornstein

Almost everyone sends an e-mail to a company at some point. Almost everyone would like an answer within 24 hours. And the number one reason people switch to a competitor is poor customer service.

Every year, our organization conducts a customer service survey by sending the following one-sentence e-mail to our list of respected and admired companies: What is your corporate policy regarding the turnaround time for e-mails addressed to customer service? The subject of the e-mail is "Customer Service." The goal of the research is to see who actually answers the question, which is different that simply responding and how long it takes them. The database consists of the Financial Times World's Most Respected Companies and Fortune's Most Admired Companies. This includes the likes of Microsoft, GE, Toyota, Coca-Cola, IBM, Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, Costco, FedEx, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Berkshire Hathaway and more.

Here are highlights from this year's survey:
• 33 percent of companies answered us within 24 hours, down almost half from a high of 63 percent in 2002.
• 51 percent answered us, regardless of time frame from 2002's high of 86 percent.
• My favorite response: "Thank you for your inquiry. [Our] corporate goal is to respond to ninety-five percent of all inquiries within twenty-four hours. I know that seems strange as I'm responding to you seven days after receiving yours…I apologize for that."

This is not a game and we were not trying to trick anyone. We are simply looking at companies through the eyes of a humble customer, because the proof of dedication to customer relationship management is what happens to one individual's e-mail; it's where the rubber meets the road. So what's going on here? Did half the companies accidentally delete our message? Did we find the loophole in the CRM framework?

Companies have more CRM technology than they know what to do with. At some point a myth was started that you buy technology and all your customer relationships are managed—whatever that means. What is lacking is a comprehensive strategy that starts at the top and says that the individual customer is the basic building block of our success and we must treat her as a guest in our house. And we must measure and reward how that customer is treated based on our definition of quality.

Based on the dismal results of our annual e-mail survey, the common thought seems to be, "We would have a great business if it weren't for all those annoying customers." This begs two important questions: How responsive is your company? How do you know?