Can I Help You?
Have you ever found yourself in an awkward situation where you finally had enough time to tackle your To Do list but an untimely accident left you incapable of completing any task that required mobility? I found myself in that precarious position when I broke my ankle last December. During my immobile phase I was dependent on the service of others to do even the most mundane task. I was faced with people daily who were not listening to my requests. I had to make numerous phone calls to get minor things done. I heard complaints from company representatives about their co-workers that I thought were inappropriate since I was calling the company for a service I needed. My experience prompted me to think about customer service in business today.
In the book Customer Service for Dummies authors Karen Leland and Keith Bailey talk about three basic ideas that companies need to incorporate into their customer service plan.
- Expanding your definition of service
- Reconsidering who your customers are
- Developing a customer friendly attitude
Without these three elements in your company customer service plan you are missing the mark of excellence. Consider your everyday dealings with any company. Do you want your interaction to be adequate or are you more impressed and inclined to do return business with a company that exceeds your expectation? Have you ever noticed the interaction between employees at a company where you are the customer? Does the atmosphere appear congenial and respectful or adversarial and disconnected? If the later is true then the company management may not stress that their employees are internal customers of one another. The company success depends on positive interactions between all customers both internal and external. Friendliness builds relationships that translate into profits.
Every year business magazines highlight companies that supposedly provide “excellent” customer service. In 2008 Business Week hailed Amazon.com, USAA, Publix Supermarket and Zappos.com among the top 10 best customer service providers in the USA. I couldn’t help but wonder as I read about the factors that made these companies a success why only three companies that appeared on BusinessWeek’s top ten also made it onto Fortune magazine’s best places to work? If according to Jim Collins in the book Good to Great “…Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of choice”, then don’t great companies make a conscious effort to be good to their employees to create a company culture of providing excellent service? Shouldn’t the best places to work also be the places that provide the best customer service? It seems to me that the two business strategies go hand in hand. Have the concepts my professors taught in Business 101 changed?
When you think about premier customer service does your company come to mind? If you can honestly answer yes, can you name five attributes that your company has that would put it in the superior category? Try the following markers on for size:
- The company mission is clear to all employees.
- Company culture, customers and profits are integrally linked.
- Fair treatment of internal and external customers is a priority.
- Management is a combination of top down and bottom up because profitable ideas emanate from all areas.
- Evaluation of customer service is a constant process.
After a few months of limited movement I now have a cast on my ankle. This has been an eye opening experience. I will continue to depend on the “kindness of strangers” as Blanche Dubois said in a Streetcar Named Desire, but with a critical eye for companies that provide great customer service. In a time where we have to tighten our belts I can no longer be cavalier and accept less than superior customer service. I want to spend my dollars with companies that exceed my expectation. And I have made a commitment to my customers that APLS Group will continue to balance the value of relationships with profit to insure excellent customer service.
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