The ultimate leadership challenge is to consistently deliver exceptional service to your customers. Sure, you can create that “wow” once or twice or maybe even three times, but to do it consistently across the organization, throughout the customer’s journey, requires a special kind of passion and dedication by everyone involved. Here is a recent story to illustrate the point.
Recently, my girlfriend, Shab, went to the store of a major communications company to exchange her phone. We’ll call the company XYZ Corp. She was very pleased with the service as the person assisting her went “above and beyond” to tend to her needs. The service rep was actively checking in to ensure she was happy in a process that ended up taking about an hour.
At the end, Shab left the store with her new phone and happy with the service she had received. Being a service aficionado, she wanted to give a good review to the store and the person helping her. When calling XYZ Corp several times, the line was busy. Finally, she got through a half hour later and to her surprise, there was no system in place to submit her feedback. A busy line and no feedback system: So much for being a communication company.
At this point, Shab was a bit frustrated with her service provider. Of course, this is not a major breakdown but she was a bit disappointed. XYZ Corp had failed to acknowledge great service on the store level by a lack of process on the corporate level. How would you reinforce great service among employees without a process that recognizes and rewards them accordingly?
Perhaps more importantly, how is a company learning to improve if there is no way of processing customer reviews (positive or negative)? If you are not looking to improve or at least making it appear that you are, chances are you are losing loyal customers.
This example illustrates 3 key points about delivering service:
1. Some people value great service
2. Some people enjoy giving feedback, and most likely they are your loyal customers
3. Service is a continuous journey, not just a one time in-the-store or on-the-phone conversation
In this example, the individual at the bottom of the corporate hierarchy had done his job in delivering great service; he displayed leadership while the organization as a whole had failed to follow through. What if the company had a system where they received Shab’s review and forwarded it along directly to the leader of that store, who then paid positive remarks to the employee. How would such a system impact the store’s performance? How would that make shab feel as a customer, that her voice was heard and appreciated? How would she respond to her friends when asked about the company? There are social implications to great service and it starts with leadership.