I think pretty much every business understands that giving great customer service is important. However, it confuses me why so few businesses actually deliver consistently good (not even great – just good) customer service when they know it is critical to their success. In my opinion, I think it’s because they have skipped some of the fundamental elements of creating a culture of great service, they simply talk about how important service is, but do not do the things necessary to achieve a high level of superb customer service. Here are a few questions to get you thinking about how well you have prepared your employees to consistently deliver an absolutely delightful shopping, buying and owning experience for your customers.
- Does your company have a written Customer Service Credo that clearly explains exactly how your business and employees should be treating customers?
- Has everyone been thoroughly trained (with plenty of on-going training) on all of the things they need to do in order to meet or exceed your Customer Service Credo?
- Do they have all the resources they need to deliver the level of service you have promised your customers?
- Do you specifically hire people that enjoy giving great service?
- Do you assess your current workers by their ability to deliver superb customer service?
- Are people who do not deliver great service removed from your company?
- Do you do a minimum of two customer satisfaction surveys per year?
- Do you have an awards program for employees that deliver superior customer service?
- Do you benchmark against other companies that are recognized for customer service excellence?
- Has your company won any awards recognizing you for great customer service?
If you can say “yes” to all these questions, then you are likely one of the few companies that can actually claim outstanding customer service as one of your unique differentiators in the marketplace. If you answered “no” to several of these questions, you’ve got some work to do.
A great article with spot on points. Simple.
Hi John,
Another great article!
There is another question I would add to this list that falls under your question, “Do they have all the resources they need to deliver the level of service you have promised your customers?”
But I believe this question should be separated out because it’s so important. “Are your leaders trained and incentivized to sustain a positive emotional climate in the workplace?”
I’ve never seen a workplace culture that is toxic and still has people consistently delivering even “good” customer service.
All your employees should be ready to provide great service to anyone seeking assistance. A pet peeve of mine is the “It’s not my job” comment. If someone taps you by phone or email or snail mail, you need to take it seriously. That person just might have gotten your name from your boss, the company president, or an important client. You don’t have to do everything yourself if it’s not your job. You just need to make sure that someone handles it. Anyone and everyone in the company or organization has to be ready to offer great service all the time.