The customer experience of Santander web security

Online fraud is a serious concern with lives conducted through digital channels and little paper trails left to reflect our interactions. As a result of this digitally enabled existence security of web sites and digital data needs to continually develop to remain ahead of the hackers seeking to exploit this environment. Looking at the Santander configuration they have now developed 6 layers of authentication for new customers to ensure they protect their consumers banking details. While this is highly laudable the ancillary support services to their site is extremely poor as any issue that occurs with the site leaves the customer dependent on domestic mail to reset their account.  Advanced authentication is great when you can match it with support services in line with this, email, SMS and intelligent voice as potential options. Falling back on the post to inject major delays in availability is simply not good enough in modern customer experience engagement. Epic fail. 

The customer experience of failed deliveries

Following the privatisation of Royal Mail we can expect to see a shift in the business model for this backbone of UK infrastructure. The company has survived the digital age so far better than many had predicted as futurists plotting the death of the letter as email and instant message services dominated communications. While this digital transformation for many communications has taken place so too has the world of e-commerce with a dependence upon parcel delivery to receive your goods. This upturn in parcel deliveries including the many eBay addicts that have turned a website into a vocation means that while letters have declined parcels have seen an increase helping to position Royal Mail as a desirable business proposition having been floated on the stock exchange. This has lead to ever increasing pressure for parcel services with many smaller firms looking to undercut Royal Mail and take a slice of this action. These smaller firms often using Mum & Pop local people to make the local delivery reliant on these freelance individuals to represent their brand. A necessary evil to make the numbers work and cut costs but these local agents don't rely on every delivery to make their worth and merely dump and run. A recent experience where I was unable to receive the goods saw the tell tale slip left in my door with no address details for the courier service merely a local number that when called was never answered. As a customer therefore leaving me stranded and at their mercy. Where is the online tracking, the customer portal, the 24 hour contact number. None of these just a slip and a hope that one day in the future our paths may cross. Epic......fail. 

The Volvo customer experience

Love them or hate them but Volvo's are hard to ignore (www.volvocars.com/UK ) and have evolved from the boxy estate monoliths that dominated the 80's motorways to mainstream unisex appeal. A classic example of the changing face of Volvo was the product placement in the recent Twilight series of movies that captured media attention and delivered some serious value to shifting perceptions about the customer base for the cars ( http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/06/twilight-fans-root-for-team-volvo/ ). But owning a Volvo is still rooted in the traditional values of safety and reliability. Yes they have sprinkled innovation in the mix and design flare too helping soften the 4x4 haters on some levels but at their heart the cars are dependable and cocoon you in safety. It struggles to feel like a premium brand such as a BMW or Audi but it certainly feels a tier above the mainstream brands. They have enjoyed extremely long product life cycles with cars such as the XC90 lasting over a decade which in modern terms is phenomenal meaning the payback on research and development has been long since achieved making these big buses the classic cash cow for the company. The experience of these cars is one of being cosseted and safe while not setting the world on fire. But when I'm driving down the motorway with the snow falling that is no bad feeling to have. 

BMW car servicing - a customer experience

The prospect of a car service fills most of us with dread and to be looked forward to in the same manner as a trip to the dentist. We have to plan ahead booking our car in and then working around what this impact on our mobility will mean while certain in the knowledge it will cost more than we would like and we won't know what the big number is until we are presented with the keys to our car after the event. BMW certainly work to make this as pain free an experience as possible by having informed staff answering the phones to book you in and working in the dealerships to take your details and your car. Indeed the general environment is not the worst place to spend a few hours with wifi and refreshments available. So have they done enough to turn around what is at its heart a negative experience and make it better?  Not quite. Why when booking in do I even need to pick up the phone?  Why can't I do that online or even better why can't my car be constantly communicating with the dealer and alerting then ahead of time of any servicing that then prompts the dealer to call me at a time they know I tend to be in the car doing longer journeys based on my driving record from the telematics data they receive. Additionally when I arrive because you know I am coming and my car registration number crossing the forecourt gives you all my customer information can you not be ready?  Welcome me by name, have everything ready and be looking to have me on my way in under two minutes?  Equally when my car is being serviced why can't I have a constant feed of information with video links that allow me to keep up to date with the progress?  I think car dealers have progressed hugely but there is scope to so so much more and make the experience more of an epic one.