MEDALLIA
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“Welcome to Chick-fil-A. May I take your order?” Like the majority of those who fre-
quent this popular fast-food chain, I have come to expect and even anticipate those in-
famous two words from their associates, “my pleasure”. Although I am grateful at the ex-
uberance in which those words are spoken, I also understand that customers appreciate
a personalized response which gives a special touch to their experience. That is exactly
what Medallia allows its users to provide their customers with: the information that is
gathered and the ability to customize each reply.
Medallia has changed the way we not only view the customer experience but respond
to it as well, the good and the not so good. The feedback allows us to see how our
members truly view our operation from their perspective. Is the customer always right?
When I asked this question of a prospective employee, she surprisingly responded no.
“Customers cannot dictate your policies and procedures, BUT their perspective is right
because it is theirs”, she said. That is advice that I will always remember and use when
answering surveys. We believe in personalizing each initial response even though our
team has the option to use the standard templates. We have learned that a standard
reply doesn’t give our members a sense that their experience truly matters to us.
By looking at the particulars of their scores along with the times they regularly check-in
to the gym, we can tailor our emails and/or conversations around all of the valuable
data that is gathered. If a member scores us low in cleanliness and comes in the gym
consistently at 5 am when we normally do not have housekeeping staff, we know that
we may need to evaluate the hours of our team. An extra level of care would also be
to make our front desk attendant aware of this member’s concerns. Equipped with this
information, instead of just saying “good morning” or “have a great workout”, the front
desk can also thank the member for his or her feedback, and let them know that we are
working to improve cleanliness during their time at the gym. Once this issue has been
addressed, we then take advantage of Medallia’s word usage feature to search for those
members who also mentioned cleanliness neutrally or negatively in their survey and
update them on any improvements we have made.
“I hope that you enjoy your sandwich!” That statement personalizes my Chick-fil-A
experience. That is our intention every time we respond to a Medallia survey. That
special touch can make a difference in a member’s perspective on the level of service
and care that we offer our customers.
Toya Jordan
General Manager, Gold’s Gym Lawrenceville
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