Taking Customer Service From Good to Great (Or Better)

Last year I wrote a blog noting the difference between good customer service and great. The book by Jim Collins, aptly titled Good to Great, states this matter-of-factly when he says, "good is the enemy of great."

To share more context from my own experiences, when I worked at The Ritz-Carlton Corporate Office earlier in my career, our philosophy was very similar. When advising a hotel leader to look for opportunities to enhance their hotel's customer service game, the advice was not to "look for examples of poor customer service and fix it." Because, let's be honest, hopefully there were no examples of "bad" service to find at any of our hotels. No, it was, "look for examples of good customer service and see how you can make it even better. Make it great."

One way we encouraged this behavior was through the company's commitment to full service problem resolution which was only made possible by giving the power to the people most equipped to handle a guest's problem: the employees. "I own and immediately resolve guest problems" is one of the service values of The Ritz-Carlton brand.

On the surface, it may be easy to overlook something fairly significant about this concept. Because many companies, most in fact, probably claim to have this part down pat as well. You buy something from a grocery store, get home and see the "sell-by date" has expired. No big deal, run to the store, show them and swap it out or get a refund. But this is an example of solving a problem that the store itself created or, at least, is partially responsible for - having expired food on the shelves. Thus their service value would also be "I own and immediately resolve guest problems" but with a disclaimer attached that states "but only problems that we caused."

The difference with The Ritz-Carlton, and other companies who get it right, is to adopt a more holistic approach to problem resolution and to encourage and empower the company's employees to take full ownership of it, even one that is not due to anything that the hotel or that individual was responsible for to begin with. Any Ritz-Carlton Lady or Gentleman can tell you this was one of the core philosophies of their orientation and one of the key components of their training - look for and identify these opportunities.

A guest checks in late because of a canceled flight and enters the hotel after midnight, having not eaten since noon. Everything around the hotel is closed, including the main dining outlets at the hotel itself. Sure, you could say something along the lines of, "there is a 24-hour convenience store up the road that has snacks and grab-and-go items. I can give you directions if you'd like?" That would probably be considered good service. You noticed a problem and provided a solution. Done.

Or, you could say, "our kitchen is closed but I'll have in-room dining deliver something made just for you and it'll be at your door in the next 30 minutes, on us. I am so sorry you had such a long day, but we will make sure you are taken care of and are as comfortable as possible."

One may argue that this level of service is only reserved for luxury hotel companies. And perhaps when it comes to the proactive nature of the resolution process, maybe so. But still, the concept of owning and fixing a problem not caused by you is something any company in any industry can adopt. After having spent so many years in hospitality, especially those spent at Marriott International (including my years at The Ritz-Carlton brand), I have noticed I find myself paying more attention to how the companies and brands that I engage with as a consumer the most handle and approach customer service. Probably more than I would had I not spent my career in this industry.

In fact, when I went back and reread that blog I mentioned at the top of this post, I noticed I used the word "scrutinized." Which is perhaps a bit of a stretch, but, I do hold companies to a higher standard because of my experience working for companies who get it right. Or make every effort to. And every once in a while, I find myself amazed at the ones who nail it. Here is one such instance.

Last fall, I also wrote a blog about Legos, specifically how my 9-year-old son has shown a keen aptitude for assembling complex sets that are suggested to be more suited for 16-year-olds (according to the box). Nevertheless, as strong as his assembly skills are, they are no match for his ability to also lose or misplace key pieces. Any Lego assembler or jigsaw puzzle builder knows this feeling all too well. You find yourself on a roll, then it happens. You look around to grab the next (and in the case of puzzles - the last) piece and nothing.

"Where's that piece that was sitting right here?" You then start looking in places where it would never in a million years be found, but it doesn't stop you from looking anyway. Under couch cushions, when you were nowhere near the couch when you were building. In a kitchen drawer, the bathroom, the pockets of the clothes you wore yesterday, the fridge. Alas, it's gone. Sure, it may turn up. And probably will.

The other day, Noah was putting together a new set he received for Christmas - a Statue of Liberty that is part of the "Architecture" series. He was on a roll when, like clockwork, this happened. Not to get too off tangent but if I could go back in time to where my biggest problems in life were a missing Lego piece, well, I'd call Marty McFly tomorrow (how about a fourth reference to BTTF via my LinkedIn blogs). In any case, I assured him we would find it.

The obvious question is, why not grab a brick from another set or an extra one that was laying around? Well, this of course happened to be a piece that I'd never seen. Not one that was part of most standard sets. Nevertheless, in the meantime, I started to research. where to find a replacement. I knew there were sites and places online where they do this kind of thing. But I was somewhat surprised to discover that the best place to get a new piece - for free - to replace one that went missing, was to reach out to Lego directly.

Upon seconds of doing what I do best, googling it, I found an entire section of the Lego website dedicated to this. You punch in the product number, locate the missing piece from the ones included in that set, select the quantity needed, and enter your address and a few other details then voila. One will be in the mail and scheduled to arrive within seven to 10 business days. Yes, sometimes it is that easy.

Of course there are probably those who will take advantage of this. "Go to the well" one too many times. And Lego states that the team will review the request and respond if more information is needed before sending the missing piece, so perhaps that is the way they filter those who seem to be writing more frequently than reasonable. But in my case, nothing other than another email 12 hours after the original request with a shipping confirmation and tracking number.

Lego could easily say that they'll replace damaged pieces but if you needed to replace one you lost, they'd charge you - at least for postage. In fact, that's what I was hoping for when I went searching for solutions. Well, maybe you can buy just that one piece for a couple bucks. And I would have. That would be the "good" customer service I mentioned at the start.

But Lego would rather have a satisfied customer for life, one who will continue to give them their business for years to come (potentially thousands of dollars worth) in exchange for a couple bucks right now.

And that is the point. Knowing that creating loyal life-long customers means you may have to be willing to invest in them first as a sign of good faith. A stark contrast to the furniture company that assessed a $35 late fee when I was two hours, yes two hours late for a monthly payment last fall. When I called to ask for a one-time exception to have the fee waved, since I had been a customer in good standing for a few years and have bought several items there, the customer service rep told me they would be glad to refund me $15 and assess only $20. Neat. "So, 10 bucks per hour for every hour late is what that comes down to."

If you think business is about squeezing every penny out of your customers right here and right now, you're going to find yourself standing idly by when they spend thousands with your competitors tomorrow as a result.