I called the landscaping contractor who is
handling the work at my new house for some
information. I left a message.
A day passed without a response. I left
another message. Another day passed. I left
another message a modestly more
annoyed message this time. Another day,
another message.
By the time the contractor finally returned
my call after five days, I was so angry I could
barely conduct my simple business with him
with a civil tongue.
Any of you could tell a similar story about
lousy customer service. And, like me, you
undoubtedly have made a point to tell everyone
you know about your bad experiences
with one company or another. The failure to
provide good service is the fastest way to ruin
the reputation of a company.
The most common excuse for poor service
is that someone is too busy to listen to customers'
needs.
That's lame.
Often, the best customer service is provided
by he owners and top executives of
the busiest companies in town. They're the
folks who unfailingly return phone calls, listen
carefully and empathetically and follow
through. I'd bet that impeccable customer
service skills account for the rise of many
local executives. I'd bet, too, that their companies
are busy as a direct result of the
excellent service they provide.
But that's not the reason that the claim that
a business owner is too busy to provide good
customer service is lame. Business owners
who say they're too busy to take care of customers'
needs are without a clue about the
reason they are in business.
Customers are the only reason that we're
in business.
Stop and read that sentence again out
loud and more slowly this time. We hear so
much about the need for excellent customer
service that it becomes white noise. But successful
business people and successful companies
are those that manage to get the message
of customer service ingrained into their
very souls, from the company president
through all the ranks.
How do they do this? By doing it rather
than merely speaking about it.
Make this commitment to yourself: Today,
I will do at least one thing that demonstrates
impeccable customer service. I will blow
away at least one customer by providing a
sort of service that far exceeds anything he
might have expected.
At the end of today, I will have given no
one a reason to doubt my commitment
to service.
Then do it again tomorrow.
Will superlative customer service guarantee
your success in business? No. There are
no guarantees. But there's nothing we can do
that will greater, more consistent dividends for
our careers and our companies.
