Provide Excellent Customer Service
The task assigned to Apex and Mosaic during the fourth episode of season two consisted of being given a chef and an empty restaurant property. Each team had to open for dinner the following night, and the teams would be judged based on their review from Zagat, a leading provider of consumer survey-based dining information. The three categories the teams were judged on were food, service and décor. Chris, who was later fired for his negative attitude, readily admitted that, while he knew how to play the game with customers, he “hated” the public. That is not really the kind of person you want working for you and interacting with people who will be filling out service surveys. Fortunately, Chris did not lose it for Mosaic. In the end, Apex lost the task. Apex’s Zagat scores were: Food 22, Décor 16, and Service 19. Mosaic’s scores were: Food 22, Décor 18, and Service 21. Apex’s service was considered “slow” and “uneasy,” while Mosaic had, “waiters that were clearly anxious to please.” Apex Project Manager, Jennifer C., faced Trump, Carolyn and guest observer Bill Rancic in the boardroom. Carolyn, after seeing the women unable to work together, said she was embarrassed to be a businesswoman. She told Jennifer C. that they failed because of décor and service. Trump agreed and Jennifer C. was fired.
The first episode of season three had the two teams running Burger King restaurants, and promoting special new burgers that Burger King was launching. Net Worth, the street smarts team, thought they would have an advantage over Magna, the book smart team, because they were street smart and working at a Burger King was something they could all relate to. In the end, this proved correct when Net Worth sold 182 Western Burgers for a profit of $596.96, while Apex only sold 139 Triple Cheese Burgers for a profit of $553.22.
One of the reasons Magna lost was their promotion. Carolyn called Magna’s promotion “horrific.” However, another key element that contributed to their loss was the lack of people trained at the point of sale. There was much discussion regarding the point of sale and the fact that Magna only trained two people on the cash registers while Net Worth had three people trained. George stated in the boardroom that the reason Magna lost was they did not have enough people at the point of sale. Scenes from the restaurant showed long lines and impatient customers being waited on by the two Magna team members, while Net Worth’s restaurant seemed to have smoother flowing lines, with more upbeat customer service. This task boiled down to customer service. People want fast food fast, and do not want to wait in long lines. People want competent and friendly people to wait on them. Just like the earlier task from the previous season, customer service played a major part in the outcome of this task. Customer service can make or break a business. Great customer service can increase profits and carry a company to greater heights. Bad customer service can sink a business faster than the Titanic. The remainder of this chapter will address some important customer service considerations and how you can incorporate them into you business.
Consumers have more choices than ever before, and they will choose and pay for good service, just as they will choose and pay for a good car or a good digital camera. In the classic bestseller, In Search of Excellence, Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr. identified eight basic principles or attributes they found characteristic of large companies having a history of profitability. They called one attribute “Close to the Customer.” They wrote, “In observing the excellent companies, and specifically the way they interact with customers, what we fond most striking was the consistent presence of obsession. This characteristically occurred as a seemingly unjustifiable overcommitment to some form or quality, reliability, or service.” Peters and Waterman noted that IBM was no longer a technology leader, but still dominated due to its commitment to service.
Today’s business environment is ruthlessly competitive, making great customer service essential. This vitally important component is more than just having employees say, “How may I help you?” or “Thanks for your business.” According to Ron Karr and Don Blohowiak, in their book The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Great Customer Service, competing in service means:
· Possessing a deep understanding of your market
· Organizing and running your business in a special way
· Hiring people in a certain way
· Training them to behave in certain ways
· Operating to standards
· Using technology to its fullest
· And much more
In The Complete Guide to Customer Service, Linda M. Lash has even a longer list of what customer service encompasses. She lists,
· A department that receives telephone call and letters from dissatisfied customers and answers them,
· A front-line service employee who is pleasant and helpful to customers,
· A repair engineer who arrives promptly and fixes a problem with a machine, computer, or device,
· A waiter or waitress who delivers the correct order of food promptly and pleasantly,
· A hospital out-patient clinic that efficiently and pleasantly moves patients in and out of the clinic,
· A government agency that promptly and pleasantly offers the advice needed by a taxpayer,
· A bank clerk who promptly and efficiently processes check reorders,
· A pharmaceutical sales person who promptly and pleasantly supplies pharmacies with the latest products and is able to provide accurate information about them,
· A car manufacturer that promptly and efficiently supplies its dealers with new cars and the right parts,
· A training department that effectively supplies its company or organization with training programs that solve performance problems,
· A switchboard that promptly and efficiently handles telephone calls,
· A telecommunications company that promptly and efficiently installs a telephone system,
· A construction company that builds new homes on schedule, or
· A steel mill that promptly delivers the right products to its buyers.
The definition of customer service activities encompasses these and many more. Read through the above lists again and you should recognize that almost everything done by a business contributes to customer service. You also notice that good customer service is prompt, efficient, pleasant and helpful. Giving superior customer service, from all areas of a business, is an important ingredient toward your bottom line.
Customer Service is More than Being Polite
It is obvious that customer service should start with being polite and helpful. No one goes into a business expecting to be treated anything less than nicely, fairly and promptly. This is a given. Truly good customer service is much more than this. You can go into a business and have someone wait on you that is prompt, polite and nice, but unable to solve your problem or satisfy your requests. You leave unsatisfied, regardless if the person you came into contact with had a pleasant attitude.
Customers want their problems solved, and they want them solved with no hassle, no run-around, and no delay. If you are hungry and go into a fast food restaurant, a friendly face and attitude when you get to the counter may ease the irritability from waiting longer than you expected. However, if the politest person in the world gets your order wrong, gives you the wrong amount of change, or forgets to bring you an item promised to be delivered to your table, your experience is not going to be as positive as it should be, and your evaluation of the restaurant’s customer service will be lower than if everything was done right. Great customer service is a lot more than saying “have a great day,” at the end of the transaction. A business should create an experience where the customer feels better after the interaction than before it began. Employees should have the information, authority, and the capacity to serve customers to create such an experience. When the customer feels the business exists to serve them and their uniquely personal needs, the business is on the way to achieving great customer service and realizing a competitive advantage.
Make Customer Service Everyone’s Job
Everyone’s job description should list customer service. Have you ever been ignored by an employee at a business because it “wasn’t their job” to wait on you or assist you? How did it make you feel? Irritated? Every position in every business exists to help the company serve customers better. Without customers, a business would not last long, and every employee from the top down would be looking for new work. Customers make the jobs possible, and it is everyone’s responsibility to help the company prosper by satisfying and delighting customers.
Managers should draft job descriptions that emphasize the job and the skills required to do it. When doing so, one should ask, “why does the job exist?” Each position should have an element of how that job affects customers, and what skills and requirements are needed to ensure the customer’s needs are met. Jobs that sometimes are thought of as non-customer service positions still impact customers. An IT (Information Technology) person must analyze and program software to specifications so the customer will receive the greatest benefit from the company’s product or services. A housekeeper in hotel must ensure cleanliness so the guests feel comfortable and will want to stay in the hotel again. The person in the kitchen must prepare the food so customers enjoy it and want to come back again. A friendly and polite waitress will not be able to overcome a terrible meal when a customer considers returning or not. Once it is determined what the job is, and how it affects customers, people that fulfill those roles should be hired, and they should be provided the training, tools, authority and resources to serve customers through their position with the company. Everyone’s job is to serve the customers.
The Customer Service Attitude
It is easy to state that everyone interacting with customers should be thinking of customer service and acting prompt, polite and nice. But what does that mean? In one sentence, we could characterize this as treating our customers as we would want to be treated. Going a little farther, here are a few components of a great customer service attitude to improve the interactions between employees and customers.
Use a pleasant tone in person and over the phone. Gestures and tone can convey more than the actual words used, and over the telephone gestures cannot be seen, so tone is even more important. Customers can identify the mood you are in by your tone, which can consist of your pace, volume, inflection, intensity and attitude. Notice how none of these have anything to do with the actual words you may be saying. Adjusting your pace to that of the customer and adjusting your volume to ensure the message is heard assist in communication and will present a more favorable response within the customer. Maintaining a positive attitude and using inflection and intensity in your voice can also help you “connect” with the customer and stand out as giving superior service. Remember, service is often measure by how the customer perceives the entire experience. Pleasurable communication with those waiting on you heightens the experience. Above all, smile as you communicate. Even over the phone, a smile does wonders.
Like your tone, gestures play a part in your communication, and thus your success with customers. How do you feel when you walk into a place of business and those working there fail to even look up and acknowledge your presence or greet you? Without saying a word, they have conveyed a message to you, and not a very positive one. Have you ever stood waiting while two employees continued on gossiping or discussing personal matters, seemingly not caring whether you did business there or not? How did that make you feel? Actions speak louder than words, and if you act badly, customers will remember it. Employees should be taught to treat every customer like the boss. Would you stand around gossiping if the boss walked in and wanted something? Would you be disrespectful to your boss? If your boss was on the phone, would you put him on hold to take another call, especially a personal one? Without customers, there would not be any jobs, and in that light, the customer really is more important than the boss and should be treated as such.
We have addressed tone and actions as important ingredients to successful customer service communication, but what about the actual words you say. Naturally you will not use foul language or belittle customers. However, many people politely and innocently use language that detracts from a positive experience. What is the difference you feel when someone tells you, “I can’t,” “I won’t,” or “I shouldn’t,” as opposed to someone saying, “Let’s see what we can do.” Which focuses on solving the problem? Which makes you feel more positive? Which would you rather hear, “I don’t think we can do this,” or, “This is what we can do.” Substitute the positive rather than focusing on the negative for greater customer service.
Finally, do what you promise. If you do not follow-up and do what you promise, you will be remembered for poor customer service. For a company to succeed, everyone must be accountable for their promises. Even if you cannot provide the final solution, you can follow-up to make sure no one has dropped the ball. Lack of follow-up gives the customer the impression that you do not care if his problem is fixed or not. The customer will consider you irresponsible and ungrateful for his business. People give their money to businesses and companies that make them feel good about spending their money. Never forget this. Customers have many choices, and they will spend money where people appreciate their business. The company that has a continuous commitment to provide outstanding customer service that is evident by the words, attitudes, and actions of everyone employed there will stand out above the competitors in the essential area of customer service.