You’re in your favorite jersey, stamping your feet and cheering loudly, that’s great if you’re watching a game or at an outdoor concert. Not so much if you’re at a wedding or your grandma’s 85th birthday party. Think about it, how did you learn what is appropriate for each situation? Some rules were pretty self-explanatory. For the other situations, chances are, at some point someone sat you down and explained the rules of social etiquette, you learned what was required of you, and in turn, you understood what you could expect from others.
Likewise, when customers visit your business there is an unspoken agreement that they can expect a certain level of customer service. Those standards will vary between businesses, for example, you anticipate a slower paced, more subdued atmosphere and individualized attention at your doctor’s office than at the lumber yard where the environment is more cut to the chase and get the job done.
I once heard a rather pompous comment ‘Employees that perform at or exceed your company’s standard for customer service are a beautiful thing…if you can get it!’ Well that’s true, but where is the disconnect? Often while a company expects their staff to deliver good customer service, they have not made it clear specifically what those standards are. It is frequently left to individual managers or department heads to interpret what they deem to be good or bad actions. To muddle things further, the rules are seldom the same depending who is in charge that day.
My point is every company, regardless of size, needs to have a ‘published’ level of customer service performance. Customers want consistent service. Employees need to know what the rules are. They need to have set expectations in order to live up to them.
As decision makers in your company you need to ask:
- What do our customers expect?
- What does company management expect?
- Are these beliefs reasonable?
- Can employees meet/exceed these expectations
Once your team has established these performance standards you can develop a customer service training program. A topic we’ll dig into next time.
Next month: Employees need it – Customers expect it.