#NoBullshitCX

When dealing with difficult experiences, respect costs nothing but delivers a lot.

The Dutch tax authority has been using a brilliant slogan for years: โ€œ๐“๐š๐ฑ๐ž๐ฌ: ๐ฐ๐ž ๐œ๐š๐งโ€™๐ญ ๐ฆ๐š๐ค๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ž๐ง๐ฃ๐จ๐ฒ๐š๐›๐ฅ๐ž, ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ž๐š๐ฌ๐ข๐ž๐ซ.โ€ I think this is a very healthy view of unpleasant events. Some things in life are never going to be fun โ€“ paying taxes, filing complaints, settling debts. But even when the situation is unpleasant, you can still make the process simple, clear, and respectful. In other words: ๐๐จ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐š๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ข๐ง๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฒ.

We used to have a debt collection agency as a client. By definition, if you are dealing with a debt collector, you have a problem, and often a serious one. It would be easy for those interactions to become tense, aggressive, even hostile. But this company chose a different path. They made a clear commitment: treat every debtor with dignity, be transparent, and make it easy to resolve the situation.

And it worked. Their CX metrics were among the highest scoring we had seen; not because anyone loved paying off debts, but because people felt respected, understood, and supported while doing it. I cannot say I enjoyed reading the comments to those surveys as much as I enjoy reading those about sparkling wine or grilling sets. But I did learn that customer centricity is not about sugar-coating tough moments. It is about making life easier โ€“ particularly when life is hard.

Stefan KolleSource