Your advantage is delivering consistent customer service

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/06/2024 (504 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When a company mentions “our service is our difference,” you will notice they rarely give you an example of their customer service difference. They just claim to have it.

Countless poor customer experiences leave me believing the concept of “trust me” is seldom true.

This article is the third in a series discussing the current state of lazy sales and marketing.

Leading companies know their winning game plan includes a combination of superior experiences throughout the customer-buying process. Customer service expectations can vary according to the industry you compete in, types of customers you serve and image you are consistently trying to present. Remember it is the customer, not you, that will define if the quality of the service they receive is good or not.

Based on countless poor customer service interactions, I am sure you want to know why so many companies fail to focus their attention on the quality of customer service they provide. The answer is because humans are involved.

Humans create the corporate policies and procedures intended to guide the interactions with customers. Humans also developed the technology that created automated phone systems and chat bots. This means if you do not have a customer-centric focus from the outset, your procedures and tools are not setting you up for success.

I want to dissect a great experience I recently had, rather than look at one of the many examples of poor service quality. While you can learn from both scenarios, I believe building on demonstrated strengths is a more powerful approach to delivering customer service that customers will actually appreciate.

My wife and I recently celebrated a special occasion by going to one of our favourite restaurants. We aimed to get there as close to opening as possible and joined the end of a long line that stretched from the entrance to the end of the building. As soon as we joined the line, we noticed how quickly people were moving inside.

Once in the building, we were seated within three minutes. Yes, the restaurant was bustling with customers, and the staff were hustling, too. Since this was a dim sum restaurant serving several hundred people, the servers bringing the carts with the various dishes are key to product success.

Both of us noted how everyone was moving quickly but not seeming panicked or rushed.

Carts rolled down each aisle, empty plates were cleared promptly, and water and tea refills were the norm. We know many of the staff by name and got our share of hugs and greetings and questions about the rest of our family. The owner’s son also made the effort to stop by and say hello.

Based on the consistency of our visits over the years, here is the summary you can adapt to deliver a great customer service experience every time.

First, make sure that your actual product, in this case the food, is always at a level of quality your customers expect. In those infrequent times when your product falls short and does not meet your customers’ expectations, take the necessary steps to quickly make things right.

Leading companies know their customers must have a positive experience with the product they purchase, and it must do what the customer expects it to do.

Second, ensure all your employees know the scope of their responsibility in terms of the level of service you are striving to deliver.

The restaurant owner has high standards and this is evident. Many staff members are long-term employees who we have come to know well. From properly and promptly seating people, to smiling and looking customers in the eye, to cleaning and refreshing quickly and not being bothersome, this is an approach that takes a while to master but stamps great customer service as the standard.

Third, offer something special or extra by being attentive to everyone. We feel like we receive terrific, personalized service. And when I look at the experience of the other customers, I see them getting the same high quality, personalized service, as well.

Finally, embrace the consistency.

This process repeats every day when this restaurant is open. We know because we have dined at different times and days. How consistent is your service delivery every day? Leading companies know their winning game plan ensures they have built a strict service standard that the entire organization operates on for consistent customer service delivery. This is a legitimate competitive advantage that your customers will share stories about.

Tim’s bits: People want to be treated with respect and like individuals; not just a number. Do this and your reward is loyal and repeat customers who refer others to you. And remember that it costs approximately six times more to acquire a new customer than to keep one. You do the math.

Tim Kist is a certified management consultant, authorized by law, and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultantsof Manitoba

tim@tk3consulting.ca