Zimpapers Logo

Zachary Aldwin Milkshake in the Boardroom
If I mention the words ‘customer service’, there is an almost universal chance that you automatically think of the worst experiences you have received in that department.

Like me, I am sure you can think of a dozen times that you have left some place of business going “Darn, but their customer service could do with a real revamp”.

This experience is often so memorable because it occurred when you ran into a problem. Most organisations’ idea of customer service is reserved for how they deal with complaints and problems.

When a client makes a rumpus, they bring out the smiles and deals to calm them down and make them go away (a hint here, do not smile sweetly at a client while they are in mid tirade, it annoys them and is rather creepy).

Their limited view of customer service is to shut you up. That sort of attitude is to mistake customer support for customer service.

True customer service is integrated into what you do. It is a means of relating to your clients in a predefined manner that achieves the goals you set out to achieve.

Each organisation will have its own idea of what customer service should be like and achieve.

Imagine going to a doctor for a minor illness. You groggily drag yourself into a bright reception full of comfortable chairs and a pile of up-to-date magazines; there are even real flowers in the corner.

A pretty receptionist greets you. You are too sick to notice how beautiful she really is, but she efficiently helps you through the paper work.

She offers you tea or coffee that you are too sick to taste. You plonk yourself into a chair next to a sniffling old man and wait.

You wait more, and more, and even more. The sniffling next to you grows in intensity. The doctor does not seem to be around.

At that point all the ‘plus-ones’ in the world; the extra magazines, the pretty receptionist, the comfortable chairs, little things that we could consider ‘customer service’, do not matter.

All you want to do is see the doctor on time. The extras are misplaced; they are not achieving the company goals in any way.

In this case I would rather walk into a more austere, clean and tidy environment with a plain-looking secretary and see the doctor in five minutes because the receptionist had called me to warn the doctor was running late and rescheduled my appointment for half an hour later.

Tea and coffee are unnecessary because you will not be there long enough to drink them. Do what you do so well that when people leave they grab a handful of friends and bring them along to show how well you have done it.

The lollipop mentality of customer service (giving a kid a sucker at the doctors to shut them up after an injection) fails because it only placates you for a short time.

The integration of service into everything you do is a preventative measure to minimise the chances of someone encountering a problem and then going beyond it to create an experience that keeps them coming back.

Google’s customer service is to give you the results of a search quickly, but also to make sure they are relevant to you. You get what you want, hence you keep going back.

Customer service is about creating an experience for people that they will rave about. That experience will depend on what you are trying to offer.

If you are a fast food company, then the experience is to keep the queue moving and deliver fast.

If you are operating a fine dining establishment, then serving quality food in a quality environment where people are able to enjoy your offerings without the pressure to leave really matters.

There are multiple ways to create a service that works and that offers something unique which ties in with your organisational goals.

There are also a number of reasons for doing so; cutting costs, building a brand name, attracting new clients, satisfying old ones, increasing turnover.

There is one reason that really truly matters and it is so rare to find that when you do it stands out head and shoulders above the rest.

That reason is “because you can”. To do unto others as you would like done unto you, not because it is a client’s right or some legal obligation to be fulfilled, because it is the right thing to do.

To create an experience of delight and wonder and fulfil it time and time again is truly offering a service that counts.

• For feedback, e-mail: [email protected]