Last May I was asked by an Eastern upstart magazine, “what’s wrong with Customer Service (is it diminished or trimmed out of budgets)?” This is the last in a three part series outlining my response. I hope you enjoy it.
And, in the event you missed parts 1 and 2, you can download the entire article at my site, *Star In The Margin.
SOP’s- While not necessarily intended to do so, systems and procedures often limit the passion and creativity of the best people in the organization. Standards and SOP’s should allow people to focus on building memorable experiences by serving as reminders or taking the guesswork out of recurring tasks, in essence minimizing left brain processes. Procedures shouldn’t stifle the artfulness of service or take anything away from a person’s ability to think on their feet. The right brain should be left free to infuse character and emotion into the guest experience, allowing those wonderful people you hired to really exercise their passion and build customer relationships.
Another problem…systems and technology are too often implemented to serve the Chiefs vs. the Indians. Terms like efficiency, cost savings, productivity, etc., rule when these processes are developed. If you’re serious about creating balance between consistency and freedom to think, start with some reflection with questions like this one…Why are people paid to perform functions instead of providing memorable experiences?
Caring for Employees- There’s always a lot of talk in this area, and usually far less action. You hear it from HR managers and read a lot of mission statements referring to “the employer of choice”. But, in many cases, it’s the same companies who are doing the head scratching when it comes to lost market share and increasing customer complaints. If you have service problems, the underlying issue and root cause usually begins with how you hire and look after your people. Strategically, it’s relatively easy to solve. Partner with the best talent available (see my post, The Robin Williams Effect) and then bend over backwards to take care of them. In practice, it’s very difficult to pull this off. But, the rewards of hard work are exponential when it comes to selecting and retaining the best people. The intricacies of this subject are well covered by people much smarter than me, like Dr. Gerald Bell and his Selecting Achievers Program.
It’s easy to tell if you have a problem. Look at three things: 1) How hard is it to attract people to work with you?; 2) How quickly do people leave?; and, 3) Are you losing or gaining customers? In essence, if you care about your staff, it will show where the “rubber meets the road”.
When there are service issues, start with some serious reflection on how employees are treated, not on what they are doing wrong. My guess is that companies who are recognized for superior service truly put their people first, even ahead of their guests. On the contrary, if sales are suffering, the employees are probably doing so as well.
