16 April 2001

Darwin Online - Read Darwin -Nice Guys Finish First - Customer Relationship Management QVC has also changed the job descriptions of customer service reps to make it clear that they are "customer advocates" who are rewarded for uncovering glitches and suggesting new processes—not just "complaint handlers" who respond to one gripe and move unthinkingly on to the next. It was fairly easy to get the reps to make the shift. Call center managers were another story and had to be encouraged to listen to reps. "Unfortunately, some people had to leave," Hunter says. "They didn't get it."