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Customer Service Excellence:
Attitude or Skill?
T
Companies that really put
extraordinary service at the top
of their priority list establish
the ground rules for good
service while also working to
build a genuine
customer-friendly “spirit” in
all employees throughout the
organization.
Practically every organization
in today’s hyper-competitive
marketplace claims that it “puts
the customer first,” and every
year we hear more slogans from
companies trying to convince
their customers—and
themselves—that they really do
believe in service.
But the reality is that few
companies have a clear,
comprehensive plan to achieve a
high level of service quality in
their organizations. Most are
long on platitudes, short on
practical solutions. And those
with specific plans tend to
focus on compliance – requiring
employees to adhere to specific
standards and policies – rather
than developing an
organization-wide attitude of
service.
Skills AND Attitudes
The companies that really put
service at the top of the list
of operational priorities do
both: They establish and clearly
communicate the ground rules for
good service while also working
to build a genuine
customer-friendly “spirit” in
all employees.
This is why companies like IBM,
Marriott Hotels, Disney, and
Federal Express are so
profoundly better at customer
service than their competitors:
They understand that customer
service skill development is
useless if there isn’t also a
general customer-friendly
attitude throughout the
organization.
Attitude Begins At The Top
A company-wide customer service
attitude begins with the
organization’s attitude toward
its own people. Unfortunately
many managers, consciously or
unconsciously, treat front-line
service people as if they were
insignificant to the overall
operations of the organization.
They typically don’t see service
workers as critical to success
or in need of support and
development. They tend to accept
high turnover as a fact of life.
But in truly service-oriented
companies there is a deep
understanding that these people
have the most impact on the
perceptions of the customer. And
this emphasis on the people of
the organization doesn’t start
or stop at the front line.
Service-oriented companies
create a service attitude that
prevails throughout the company
and says, “Whether you serve the
customer directly or not, we’re
here to help you.” The service
culture is locked into the
environment of the organization.
Even people who never see a
customer can do everything they
can to help those who do. The
clerical worker in the Shipping
Department may never talk to a
single customer, but he or she
should know that the salesperson
looks bad if the order doesn’t
get out on time.
The Systems And Processes Of A
Service Culture
There are also practical,
operational aspects of
developing a culture of service.
Everything from physical factors
like building lay-outs, traffic
flows, waiting areas, and
facilities to procedural systems
and processes the customer has
to go through.
There are also the systems that
work unseen, but which can
affect the customer’s perception
of service. What happens to the
dishes after they are taken back
to the kitchen is of little
concern to the customer because
he doesn’t see them anymore.
Yet, how they are cleaned and
readied for new customers is of
critical importance if you are
to provide good service at your
restaurant. These unseen parts
to the service system are just
as essential as those that the
customer sees.
Systems that make it difficult
for them to help customers with
problems are very damaging to
the attitude of front-line
employees. More importantly,
they communicate to the employee
in highly practical terms, the
companies REAL attitude toward
customer service. Successful
companies put everything a
front-line employee needs to
complete a positive transaction
at his or her disposal.
Clearly it takes time, money and
tremendous energy to develop
systems and processes that are
consistently customer friendly.
Creating the strategy and making
the daily operations of the
organization helpful to both the
employees and their customers is
not easy. The whole process
doesn’t happen overnight and
surely not after a rousing
speech by the CEO or top
management.
The entire effort requires
planning, training, re-training,
and most importantly, a
commitment from the leaders of
the company to support and
manage each step of the plan.
But the good news is that all of
this effort gets noticed: These
factors communicate to both
customers and employees that the
company has made a genuine
commitment.
And there is more good news: The
outstanding service companies
who effectively manage these
critical elements of customer
service will gain and keep the
competitive edge in their
industries
Whether your training need is
small and focused, or
enterprise-wide, you can count
of Frontline Learning to
deliver. For more than 20 years
we have been helping
organizations achieve their
business objectives with
targeted training initiatives.
Resources
Customer Service Skills
Assessment
A powerful online tool to assess
and develop customer service
skills. More…
Customer Service Training
Program
This training program has helped
many organizations drive growth
by creating an exceptional
customer experience. More…
Phone Skills TrainerTM
For anyone who is responsible
for customer service over the
telephone. More…
Whether your training need is small and focused, or
enterprise-wide, you can count of Frontline Learning to deliver.
For more than 20 years we have been helping organizations
achieve their business objectives with targeted training
initiatives.
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