I happened to attend the workshop “Up Your Service College” designed by Ron Kaufman around the year 2010. I got inspired from the workshop and want to archive my learnings as part of this post.
I am sure, most of us are working in service industry and want to offer service excellence to our customers in whatever line of business we are in. Our organizations want to cultivate service-oriented culture so that we can service our customers to the best of our capacity. But the fundamental question is “Do we all understand what we really mean by service?”
Service means “You understand and take action to create value for some one else you work for”. Service culture in an organization means, every person in the organization understands what the service really means and are waiting for the opportunity where they take action to create value for someone else to whom they work for.
Singapore airlines was leading the airline sector where every other airline provider was struggling to survive in the airline industry. What made them to the number one position? They operate the same air bus as that of their competitor between the same origin and destination route and in exact the same duration. What made them to be preferred airline provider by the customers…
1. Their commitment to provide 120% service to their customers in everything they do to their customers right from their first touch point to last touch point in the airport”.
2. They do what is desired for their customers, not just required. There exists a big difference between doing what is expected and what’s appreciated, between answering a question and solving a problem, between completing what’s required and what’s desired
3. They stretch their sense of service contemplating “How far my service can go? How much farther can I stretch it?”
To be distinctive, be different: There are many ways for a business to “stand out form the crowd”.
One approach is to give your customers more of what they ask for. If others are faster, you go faster. If others are clean, you be cleaner. If others are cheap, you can discount deeper. If your competitors offer a lot, you offer more even more. This approach has obvious problems. First, you top position can be over taken by anyone else offering “even more”. Second, you cannot offer more as your profilts suffer definetly in this race. Third, you cannot sustain your business for long in this process.
You need happy customers but healthy profits too. For this, we need a different approach worth our time and effort. We need to find out completely new and different ways to surprise, intrigue, support, nurture and delight our customers.
For example, international airlines compete on big seats, quality service, good wine and movies. But Virgin Atlantic was first to offer neck and shoulder massages on all their long-distance flights, they stand out in the airline crowd.
Most quick-service restaurants provide clean counters, fast delivery, and low prices. But McDonald’s French fires are made from potatoes, much like everyone else’s. Their play space stands out in the fast-food crowd.
The Garden Café in Dubai serves many customers who are busy bachelors, always on the move and short of time. So the Café provides a lunch and dinner buffet of good food, but also irons your shirts and shines your shoes while you eat.
Reliance Oil, India offers the same petrol, diesel, and gas at price 2 rupees more than their competitors for every liter they sell. But they ensure 120% cleanliness, positive ambience, and space in each of their outlets. More importantly, they train their staff to greet the customers with true care by revealing the fact that they charge 2 rupees more than their competitors on their first touch point. The fact that remains is that customers still come to their outlets for their reliable oil and the value enriched experience at their clean and spacious oil outlets on their busy highway drives.
Key Learning: Anyone can compete by doing “more” of what is already expected. But there’s another way to be distinctive. Be different. Be different with your true care for your customers. Be different with true service mindset through institutionalizing service culture within your organization.
To institutionalize service culture within organization, we need service education and not the service training. Training tells your employees to do right things in certain specified situations. Whereas education teaches your employees how to think and figure out what’s the right thing to do in most of the situations. Thus, we need fundamental service-oriented education that is continuous to our employees, whey they reflect their customer needs time to time and solve their new and ongoing needs in innovative manner.
Six Servcie levels and their characteristics: Ron Kaufman recommends below 6 levels for service education
a. Insulting or offending a customer
b. Intentionally over charging
c. Damaging a customer’s property
d. Delivering the wrong thing to the wrong place
e. Breaking your promises to customers or colleagues
f. Making a mistake and not correcting it promptly
g. Keeping your workplace in an unhealthy, unsafe, or illegal manner
h. Complaining about your organization in front of a customer
i. Incorrect or misleading signage
a. Providing bare minimum service
b. Delivering something later than promised
c. Inappropriate grooming or attire
d. Answering the phone without any greeting
e. Service without a smile
f. A messy desk or workplace
g. Not acknowledging customers who have been waiting in line
h. Signage that is hard to read or understand
3. Expected Service: It is like normal. In this scenario, as soon as you get into a taxi cab, the cab driver is well groomed, the cab is in good hygiene condition, but asks you the route directions on how to reach the destination. It includes below typical characteristics
a. Welcoming customers with smile
b. Saying “Thank you” to colleagues and customers
c. Dong what you say that you are going to do
d. Deliveries arrive on schedule
e. Providing information on request
f. Attractive grooming and clothing
g. A well-organized workplace
h. Adequate and accurate signage
4. Desired Service: It includes below typical characteristics
a. Going the extra mile for service
b. Answering the telephone promptly with a warm and friendly greeting
c. Managers show appreciation for work well done
d. Providing helpful information to colleagues or customers without being asked
e. Delivery staff help unpack a customer’ order
f. Recognizing repeat customers
g. Saying “Thank You” to complaining customers and quickly resolving their problems
h. Signage that is attractive and easy to follow
5. Surprising Service: It includes below typical characteristics
a. Proactively providing helpful support to customers even before they askb. Calling a customer after you serve them to ensure they are happy with your servicec. Colleagues volunteer to help you with a large or important projectd. Giving customers an unexpected bonus, special deal or discounte. Going to another location or organization to help your customers get what they needf. Receiving a personal “Thank You” note from your bossg. Signage that provides useful suggestions and extra information
a. Going WAY beyond the extra mileb. Doing things above and beyond the call of dutyc. Following up on your personal time to make sure a first-time customer is well served.d. Your company writes a letter of appreciation to your familye. Signage that anticipates your questions, provides value-added answers and makes it easier for you to get exactly what you want.
