Provide "Customer Service"
As businesses discover, "customer service" cannot be left to chance or to antiquated tools. Clearly marked pathways for stating needs and securing information are critical for retaining current members.
People need help & information
In any organization, especially in busy times when people participate in multiple organizations, people need help in navigating institutional life, obtaining information, making specific requests, voicing complaints and concerns, and accessing services.
What seems simple to some can feel awkward and foreign to others. What "everyone knows" usually proves to be known by only a few (such as how to donate flowers at Easter). This is especially true for unusual needs (such as relocating an aging parent), for needs that arise in traumatic periods (such as after death), and for needs that tend to be invisible to the congregation's mainstream (such as dealing with sexual abuse.)
Complaints matter. They matter to the members, for a negative experience that isn't voiced or heard can fester and come out later as passive-aggressive undermining. Better to provide avenues for transparent and direct voicing of issues. Complaints matter to the congregation, too. They signal unmet needs, inadequate performance, or hurtful situations. Those negatives need to be addressed. The congregation needs to be known as responsive, not defensive or resistant.
"Customer service" requires size-sensitive planning
All congregations need multiple avenues for seeking help and information. Informal conversations on Sunday aren't sufficient for even the smallest congregation. Nor is it sufficient to depend on a brief comment to the pastor or a lay leader.
The larger the church, the more comprehensive its customer service system needs to be. The available tools need to be clearly identified and easy to use.
That means, first, Web-based tools: links on the congregation's web site that open an e-mail form, a "frequently asked questions" section, a listing of contact persons for various situations, and an invitation to telephone or make an appointment. The e-mail form should identify a trusted person (pastor, church secretary, senior lay leader) as recipient for sensitive inquiries, or a relevant person for informational inquiries.
E-mail should be acknowledged immediately and answered the same day.
Telephone calls during normal business hours should be answered by a person, not a machine. Businesses with a strong commitment to customer service are abandoning automated systems. The church should do no less. People don't call the church to deal with menus, to punch telephone buttons or to leave messages on voice-mail. They call to talk to someone.
Personal contacts should be encouraged but managed. If the clergy are going to have time available for pastoral calls, for study and preparation, and for their families, they need to manage on-site time effectively. Certainly, in an emergency, a drop-in visit is appropriate. Otherwise, members should be trained to make appointments and told why. Best practice is to design a transparent system that is fair to all and doesn't expose the clergy to charges of being aloof or unavailable.
Prompt response is essential. Whatever tool is used, best practice is to acknowledge immediately and to respond within the same day. The response might be a promise to reply later, but some response must be made.
Tracking system can be helpful, especially in larger congregations. Keeping track of requests and responses made and promised can exhaust the memory of even the most devoted staff members. Tracking also signals patterns, suggests need for more available information, and indicates adequacy of staffing. Any decision to add or to eliminate staff positions needs to have data behind, not just vague impressions.
Clear accountability is critical for nurturing trust. Every organization makes mistakes. So does every person. People are highly tolerant of faulty systems or fallible persons, as long as the "customer" doesn't encounter denial, defensiveness or hostility.
