Two simple words that exude a caring message and one that make us all feel appreciated.
Go to any Chick Fil A in the country and you will have the entire staff using these two magic words. There are high school sophomores who are looking you in the eye, smiling and saying, “my pleasure.” How many parents out there can proudly say their kids are so polite at home?
You will definitely be back. You are valued and appreciated. You can get so overwhelmed with their customer service that you miss incredibly clean and well run restaurants. The food is always fresh, hot and delicious. If it is not or you need something, it will get fixed with pleasure.
With this model clearly out there for all of us to see, why is customer service, as a whole on life support?
How often do you hear, “I’m sorry” when you are disappointed in service or a product?
How often do you hear, “Thank you” when you purchase something?
When you bring forward your dissatisfaction, do they defend the poor service or quality with excuses rather than accepting the feedback and fixing the problem?
In business we routinely hear that employees deeply value work culture, respect and teamwork more than they value the paycheck.
Customers also put a high value on the feel of the people they are doing business with. If you have a good, clean place and have a great atmosphere that presents a fun experience, you will accept food that is just average. You will continue to go back and frequent places that make you feel good.
We need to spend a lot more time in our businesses on developing a culture that is inviting and accepting of errors. It is okay to make a mistake as long as the effort is put into fixing it. When you embrace failure you invite those who have struggled to raise their hands and admit that they need help. In a culture that fears failure, mistakes are hidden and never truly fixed and eliminated.
I became a restaurant manager at the age of 19. I was taught that my focus was in the kitchen so that is where I spent the majority of my time. Monitoring the cooks to make sure food was both high quality but also that the flow was right so all customers received a great, hot meal. I was also taught that the minute the kitchen rush was over, I was to grab two coffee pots and walk the entire dining room to see how we did. I was 19 and facing dozens of tables where I had to walk up with a smile, offer coffee refills and ask, “how was everything?” Talk about experience in working with adversity. I was not trained on how to react to the customers, that learning took place from thousands of interactions. It didn’t take me long to enjoy these interactions, good or bad.
Later in my career, I worked at Bennigan’s, a now defunct fun restaurant with scratch made food, drinks and great music. Our credo there was that every interaction with a customer was an opportunity to earn their business for life. We were told to “blow them away.” Don’t leave the table unless they were fully delighted in their experience at Bennigan’s. “Sorry,” was where we started. Replacing the food was mandatory. Offering a free dessert on top of that was standard practice. If you didn’t fully feel that they were with us for life, you would take their meal off the check. Still not there? We would buy the entire check for the table. We would also hand out a business card so they could reach us with any other concerns. I’d often see these people on future visits and they’d ask to see me just to say, “hi.”
We need to understand the importance of our customers being “delighted” with our business. If they are not, we shouldn’t make excuses but fix their concern. As leaders in the business world, success is within our grasp. Customer satisfaction and loyalty goes a long way to helping to deliver to the bottom line.
Customer Service basics:
1. Employees, when told “thank you” by a customer should never return that with “you’re welcome,” “no problem” or just a smile. That “thank you” is returned, with a “No. Thank You for your business.” That customer is responsible for funding that business and the employee’s paycheck.
2. Customer perception is the more important than reality. How many times did we cook a perfectly medium rare steak for a table that was sent back as overcooked. With a smile we said, “oh, I’m so sorry. Let me fix that for you.” We would recook that steak, give a fresh baked potato and sides and never challenge the customers perception.
The customer is always right, even when they are wrong.
Finally, we need to have a clear and easily understood process for customer service steps and escalation.
1. Basic language on how to greet our customers, how to answer the phone and proper email etiquette.
2. Role play with key people how to handle a dissatisfied customer in a professional manner. How to defuse the situation and how to get to a solution.
3. Outline an escalation process where every employee knows when to hand the issue up the org chart for more definitive resolution.
Customers are the blood running through the veins of our companies. We need to treat them like the gold that they are. This is a business fundamental that, once established will provide a solid foundation that you can grow on. Get this right and your company culture will also benefit.
It has been “my pleasure” in putting together my thoughts on Customer Service. I hope that these stories will cause change in your business and life.
We all need to DO BUSINESS BETTER.
© Do Business Better. All Rights Reserved
Jay David
Founder
DO BUSINESS BETTER
This article was written by Jay David, the founder of Do Business Better. Jay is a problem solver and fixer. He specializes in Manufacturing Excellence , Turnarounds, Leadership Mentoring, Consulting, Business Improvement, Fractional Operations, Leadership, Project Implementation and Innovative Cost Management. He has led turn arounds for individual production processes, factories and distribution centers that have led to full company resets.
Do Business Better specializes in strategic and tactical leadership. Providing perspective built from years of experience in multiple enterprises to help guide your company toward new horizons. Whether in need of defining and implementing a long-term vision or business turnaround, they can assist.