The Customer Is WHY!

Heard about any customer service nightmares lately? Probably. People love to complain about the airline that lost their luggage (Southwest knows all too well about this one!), the restaurant waiter who totally ignored them, or the rude clerk who took forever to fill their order, only to get it all mixed up.

While stories like these might be initially amusing, horrible service costs businesses billions of dollars a year in customer defections and negative word-of-mouth advertising. Poorly trained employees, inefficient business processes, and a lack of leadership commitment to excellence have teamed up to create a culture of customer service mediocrity in just about every venue.

Legendary service companies are becoming fewer in number while blaming the economy, a lack of people who really want to work, the government, and so on. Truth be told, there are some companies that just don’t care about their customers, and others that simply lack the skills to create a comprehensive service management system.

I want to share with you briefly a powerful six-step method (this article will only describe Step One) for enhancing the quality of service that a company delivers. Applying this method in any business will not only attract passionate team members and customers but will give organizations a sustainable competitive advantage in their market.

Step One: Obtain Leadership Commitment

Without committed leadership, legendary customer service doesn’t happen. Words and slogans don’t work. Gimmicks fail. And rah-rah pep talks fall on the deaf ears of disenfranchised employees.??The people at the top of your organization have to say,?“Service matters here. And not only will we commit our organization to serve our customers, but we will also commit to model to one another the type of service we will all deliver to our customers.”?Nothing less is acceptable.

Of course, “saying it” is one thing and actually “doing it” is another story. I recall working with a hospital administrator in New York who considered it a part of her vocation to visit patients often and assist on the floors if needed. One day I saw her serving lunch to employees and to patients’ families in the cafeteria. “Service matters here!” was more than a slogan for Elizabeth.

Unfortunately, most companies are looking for the quick-fix ---- those classes or seminars that are nothing more that pie-in-the-sky platitudes, soon forgotten and seldom reinforced by immediate supervisors and middle management. Unwittingly content to pay the cost of mediocrity, these companies are continually plagued by high employee turnover and customer defection.?

Gaining leadership commitment to legendary service requires helping ownership and senior-level executives understand two major concepts:

1.?????The difference between?power?and?authority,?and,

2.?????The significance of the?organizational profit chain.

In most cases,?power?accompanies an organizational title. If I’m the Senior VP of Human Resources, for example, I probably have people reporting to me. I can manage them, schedule them, assign projects to them, and expect results from them by virtue of my role and responsibilities. I have the power by virtue of my role.

But power is an empty and meaningless commodity without?authority. Authority comes from the people. It is entrusted to organizational leaders who have impeccable character, integrity, and fairness. It is lavished upon leaders who respect their people and who value their opinions., appreciate their differences, and trust their abilities.?Servant Leaders ---the ones like Elizabeth who are continually responding to the needs of their people--- are incredibly rich in authority.?

So, when it comes to creating legendary customer service, authority gets results --- results that are long-term and profitable. Because authority, as opposed to power, creates employee buy-in to service-related goals. When rank-and-file employees witness outstanding customer service happening?within?the company, they begin to view?legendary service?as much more that a trite slogan; they begin to see a “do as I do” attitude from their managers and supervisors rather than the customary) and de-motivating “do as I say” directives.

Moreover, when authority rather than power governs the organization, the?Organizational Profit Chain”cements company leaders’ commitment to an effective employee and service management system.

The?Organizational Profit Chain?is simple, yet powerful, and it all begins with creating Exceptional Employee Experiences, which then drive Sales and Service Value, which yields Exceptional Customer Experiences resulting in Long-term Profitability and a Sustainable Competitive Advantage.

Employee loyalty and satisfaction comes first. It’s not rocket science that knock-your-socks-off service begins with rank-and-file team members taking care of the customer’s needs. Loyal and satisfied team members are more likely to demonstrate passion and enthusiasm for creating quality customer experiences than are disgruntled employees.?

The?Organizational Profit Chain?presupposes that great service happens inside the company as well, and that team members and departments build the same quality of service relationships with one another as they expect to deliver to their customers.?

So, what happens when the chain is broken? Organizational profits and customer loyalty gradually disappear. Period. Often, businesses will focus on one section of the chain while ignoring the others. For example, mailing out discount coupons to attract new customers may bring additional revenue to your stores temporarily. But will those customers ever come back if they have a disastrous experience with one or more of your employees? Not likely --- the aggravation isn’t worth it.

So, there’s Step One in creating legendary service in your organization. If you’re interested in the other five steps for your company, please contact me here on Linked-In or email me at [email protected] and I will gladly send you the entire package. Many blessings and remember --- The Customer Is WHY!