Exceptional Customer Service in the 21st Century

Ask any CEO of a company, president of a bank, manager of an office, minister or staff and they will tell you HOW IMPORTANT the customer is to their operations and success. In meeting after meeting, heads of industry, the service sector, utilities, and government try to convince the audience how much they believe in customer service.” It is our mission, it is our number one priority, it is our goal, it is why we are in business...,” often prove to be mere epitaphs. Unfortunately, these same “customer friendly” executives go back to their offices, de-employ office staff, fail to initiate a customer service improvement plan and send memos out saying customer complaints are unjustified and overblown.


It is a contemporary mantra of service-oriented economies throughout the world that the customer is the key to success. Yet, how many of these same people are just miming what others say or think without ever actually considering what customers want, how to deliver good service, how to develop systems that enhance customer satisfaction and create a service friendly environment. The reality is that customer service around the world, with a few notable exceptions, is either declining or stagnating. Technological developments have dehumanized service while economic pressure and high employee turnover have left customers wondering when they will receive proper service at a fair price and in a timely manner.


Why is customer service in such a “funk” – what is causing this service malaise despite the “lip service” being paid to the significance of the customer in contemporary business, government and public life? If customer service and contact with a customer or client are so important for the success of a company or organization, then why are some companies and organizations failing in this critical department?


Moreover, can a company offer good services/products at low or reasonable prices but still not meet customer demands and suffer financially as a result?

Can a company know the needs and problems of customers without having contact with them and without listening to them?


These three fundamental elements must exist and be cultivated in order for good service to flourish:


1. Expand your idea of service

2. Consider or reconsider who your customers are

3. Develop customer friendly service techniques and systems


If you master these three fundamental elements, your customer service is bound to improve and mature.

EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE, THE KEY TO WINNING LIFETIME CUSTOMERS

Providing good service is not enough, in order for transactions to be successful, the customer must perceive that he is receiving good service. Customers come to you because they have a need, it is up to you to determine what the need is and then meet it according to their expectations.

Customers will remain loyal to your company as long as they believe that the level of service being offered meets their needs, if however they believe the level of service no longer satisfies those needs, they will go elsewhere.

Regardless of the product or service, generally customers can choose to do business with several different companies; most of these will offer similar products at comparable prices. Often, the only thing that separates one company from another is service.

Every one that deals with customers on day-to-day basis-influences the way the customer perceives the company. If you are friendly and helpful, the company is perceived as a pleasant and easy place to do business. By the same token, if you are surly and uncooperative, the company is perceived as unfriendly and a place where it is difficult to get what you want.

Based on our attitude and actions, customers will make their judgments on:

• What kind of people the company employs

• The company’s value system

• Whether or not the company practices what it preaches in its advertisements

Service people are the most important people working in an organization, without them there is no product, no sale, and no profit. Infact, they are the product! and Quality service keeps current customers satisfied, ensures a better reputation, gains new business, and increases market share.

ACHIEVING CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE, it more than just being nice!

Excellent customer service should be a normal occurrence, yet in most businesses today, you will, more than likely, not receive  exceptional service. Though you might receive the product or service you came for, and you may even come in contact with someone nice to you, but customer service that exceeds expectations does not occur often enough.

No matter how much we talk about it, the delivery of excellent customer service seems to elude even the most dedicated businesses. Yes many businesses believe in the importance of providing high levels of customer service and even deliver it on a reasonable consistent basis; however I think you will agree that positive customer service experiences have become the exception, instead of the rule in businesses across the country.

Providing excellent customer service takes planning and execution, and for some, it is more than they are willing to do. But great customer service can be the most exploitable difference between you and your competitors. Virtually anyone can carry the same brand as you, and many are willing to sell for less. However, customers who receive excellent customer service spend more and are typically more loyal to a business than those who receive mediocre service. You will also have fewer customer complaints and spend less time resolving those occasional complaints you do receive.

“Customer Service” is a phrase full of promises, but it often becomes just empty greetings and filling orders. It is interesting that the active world here is “serve,” which means to attend to, wait upon, or to be servant to another. In our fast paced society today, we find fewer people willing to submit to each other; however when it does occur, it is noticed and appreciated.