CustomerLINK...customer service from the “Inside-Out”

by Hal Morgans

During the past, a service revolution has changed the way America does business. Business analysts refer to the decade of the 90's as the Technology Age. Never before has the quest for service "quality" been greater. The decade of the 2000's has been labeled the Service Age in the United States, is defined by the rapid growth in service related industries and, jobs within the U.S. and the widespread focus on service quality.

Delivering good service is important to everyone involved. The value of good service may be, measured in three ways: the value to the customer, the value to the company in dollars and cents, and the value to the service providers. In most businesses there are two types of service. External service is service provided to those customers who are outside the organization. In a customer-focused company, all employees are highly responsive to each external customer's unique situation and needs.

Another characteristic of customer-focused companies is service provided within the organization. Internal service is the service that people within the company provide to each other The value of internal service is best described with a quote from Karl Albrecht and Ron Zemke in their book Service in America: "If you're not directly serving the customer, you'd better be serving someone who is."

How many American workers hold service jobs? It is estimated that 75% of American workers are employed in service companies and 86% of American workers have actual service jobs. Sixty percent (60%) of the gross national product is produced from selling service. Service today is big business and we are a vital part why service businesses succeed. Business analysts at Harvard have discovered that quality of service has a direct impact upon a company's profitability.

All departments and functions within an organization are interlinked. Each one depends on the others to meet and exceed customer expectations. These interlinked activities form a "service chain." Every employee is a vital link in customer's satisfaction, and the company's success. However, the service you provide to external customers can only be as good as the weakest link in the chain! When one link breaks, service to the external customer suffers. Usually the customer does not know or care where the weak link broke. He or she only concludes that the company provided poor service.

At the heart of all successful customer relationships is a service provider who fully understands his or her customers and their expectations. Without this understanding to guide all interactions and transactions, the relationship will suffer and the customer may poorly evaluate services or products delivered. Service providers who understand customer expectations and how customers evaluate service are one step closer to achieving quality service.

The next step is translating this knowledge into actions, which will delight customers and will present you with an assertive, customer focused approach to managing customer interactions. We should be committed to the idea that 99% quality isn't good enough for our customers. We continuously strive to improve our performance, and our relationship with our customers.

The quality of procedural and personal service that employees provide to both internal and external customers will create the service image of your company. That service image is projected throughout your region, across the nation and perhaps around the world. We live in a fast paced and sometimes hectic business world. Seldom do we have the luxury of sitting back and evaluating the personal and procedural service we provide. At times, it is easy to lose sight of how valuable each and every interaction with our customers truly is. In the Service Age, service must be our first focus.

Although we have many common expectations of good service, service is very much an individual experience. Sometimes what one customer thinks is good service may differ from what another customer believes is good service. As children, we heard of the Golden Rule -" Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This rule may work in service situations if the service provider and the customer have similar expectations. However, in service, it is best to follow the Platinum Rule - Treat others as THEY want to be treated.

It is reported that 68% of customers leave for INDIFFERENCE. Customers always win in the end because they have choices. They don't have to do business with those who fail to assist them, can't solve their problems, or treat them poorly with indifference.

Professional communications is essential to the success of any company. Each contact is an important moment of truth with your customers, whether it is on the telephone, in person, or in written form like email. Because each contact is so significant, every employee who interacts with customers has an important customer service role and responsibility to respond with a "sense of urgency" and to project a consistently friendly, professional, and service oriented image when interacting with customers.

In today's business environment more and more companies are using the telephone as a means of serving customers more efficiently. The telephone has become a powerful tool but must be used with care to avoid customer mishandling. Some things, which are appropriate for informal telephone discussions with friends and family, may not be appropriate in the work place. Some terminology or speaking styles may be familiar and popular in one section of the country but inappropriate or easily misunderstood in others. If the telephone is not used positively and professionally, communication problems and service failures may occur.

Listening is the most important customer service skill. Effective listening increases understanding and rapport with customers. It is especially necessary for those who serve customers by telephone because visual cues are absent. Most people assume that they listen well because it is something they have been doing all their lives. However, effective listening is a skill, which can be used to increase understanding.

On any given day, many internal and external customers are affected by what you say and do during telephone or face-to-face encounters. For many customers, this brief interaction may be their most memorable contact with your company. During each contact you have an opportunity, within a short span of time, to create a positive service image that may be long remembered. In return, you will receive positive responses from your customers. Contacts will be handled faster and easier. You may even feel a sense of personal achievement when difficult situations are prevented or resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

When asked to describe the most difficult part of their jobs, most service providers cite two major obstacles: customer problems and angry customers! Let's face it —these types of conflict are a part of service and an inevitable part of the job. Service providers don't look forward to encountering difficult customers, but they should because the difficult customer provides an obvious opportunity to resolve a problem. Conflict gives us opportunity to show the customer that we are a responsive company.

Only one in twenty dissatisfied customers complain. The other nineteen don't complain or become difficult. They just walk away and tell ten to twenty other people about their negative experience. This kind of advertising can be deadly to a company's service image. This is why those of us who provide service should welcome customers who voice complaints and be prepared to solve problems and restore their good will.

In his book, The Magic of Conflict, author Thomas Crumm suggests a different, more positive and assertive view of conflict in human relations. His outlook is that conflict is natural, evaluated by actions, not a contest to produce a winner and a loser, a learning experience, about understanding differences, and an opportunity, when handled well, of possible winning outcomes are for the customer, the service provider, and the company.

Conflict can serve as a valuable learning experience. Remember, customers judge us more on the basis of how we solve the conflict, than on the fact that the conflict exists. The moment of truth between a service provider and difficult customer presents a special challenge. How the conflict is handled makes the difference.

Abraham Lincoln once said about someone he did not particularly like, "I don't like that man. I'm going to have to get to know him."

If you, like Abraham Lincoln, learn to use new skills to get to know your difficult customers, you may be surprised. They may not be so difficult after all!

Interested in creating excellent Internal and External Customer Service at your organization? Click here.