Putting customer first is more than a slogan
A regular customer took a pair of slacks to the cleaners and asked that a missing button be replaced during the cleaning process. No problem, a simple pair of chinos, standard button, easy to meet his needs. Susie’s Laundromat on Monroe gets this kind of request all the time. So often, in fact, they ran out of the standard chino button the customer needed. Solution? One of the employees removed the button from her slacks and met the customer’s needs. He never knew just how far that business went to fix his pants. And that’s where customer service goes from good to great.
I overheard this anecdote and thought about the quiet way some businesses put the customer first, and the customer may never know it. Excellent customer service is almost a sixth sense in many cases. How? From the top down. I am still amazed at the companies who spend thousands of dollars training front-line staff on service delivery only to have it all undone by an uncaring supervisor.
If you want to establish knock-your-socks-off service, start with the leadership. Specifically:
“Employees treat customers like they are treated. Don’t expect over-the-top service when your culture diminishes human worth. If you treat employees like a number, or like robots, that’s the kind of persona they will take on when they come to work.
“You get what you reward, and encouraging great service without recognition or reward is short-sighted. Make examples of your folks who do things right, reward in public and make it clear you expect this kind of behavior.
“Shop yourself. See just how it feels to be a customer of you. Sometimes you may need to hire a shopper, but family members and even other employees are great eyes and ears. Call your phone system, and find out how well you measure up.
“I have always been a fan of “management by walking around.” Here’s why: I recently dined at a popular restaurant on one of its rare off-nights. Our server was obviously new and the small things the restaurant normally excels at didn’t happen. But the manager was walking through the dinner crowd most of the evening and when our entrée plates were cleared, a complimentary dessert arrived at our table. Keep in mind, we have never said a word about the service, the manager just knew.
Risking the perception that all I do is eat in restaurants, another dinner story: I owed a friend a meal to make good on a football bet, and he chose a restaurant that serves a special early dinner. He is battling cancer and yet his physical appearance minimally indicates something is going on. Without being condescending or overly concerned, the restaurant staff gave us an experience that I will never forget. They went out of their way to make sure we had the best time. We hung out for almost three hours and never did we feel rushed, just nurtured, even though the aim of the early dinner is to get folks in and out of there. That sixth sense told that staff we needed to be coddled and we were.
People mirror how they are treated, so when you interact with your staff, keep that in mind. If you insist on great service but treat your people like second-class citizens, they will never deliver anything more than third-class service to your customers.