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THE
LIST
AT YOUR SERVICE
The bottom-line importance of creating a service culture
When every employee in an organization understands that taking care
of a customer is the most important thing he or she can do, you
have a service culture that will drive your business. So says John
Tschohl, founder and president, Service Quality Institute, Minneapolis,
MN, and author of several books on customer service including “Loyal
For Life.” He adds, “Few companies understand the importance
of customer service in giving them a competitive edge.”
“When you do whatever is necessary to ensure the customer
has a good experience with you and your company, you will have customers
who are loyal for life and wouldn’t dream of doing business
elsewhere,” Tschohl says. “I’m not talking about
a media campaign that lauds your service; I’m talking about
providing customers with great service day in and day out. If there
is no consistency, there is no service.”
Tschohl is an international service strategist and speaker described
by Time and Entrepreneur magazines as a customer service guru. “Creating
that culture isn’t easy and it doesn’t come without
a price tag, but it will reap great rewards,” he says.
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6 Steps to Creating a Service Culture: |
1. Develop and drive a customer service strategy. In order
to be effective, it requires a long-term commitment by top management.
You can develop a customer service strategy right under the
noses of your competitors and have at least a 10-year lead-time,
because unlike pricing, they won’t copy your efforts.
2. Eliminate policies and procedures that impede a service culture.
Make it easy for customers to do business with you. Southwest
Airlines does not charge its customers when they make a change
in their reservation. Other airlines force customers to pay
substantial change fees or even purchase new tickets. In 2005,
Southwest earned $548 million.
3. Hire the right people, and treat them well. Look for people
who are intelligent, personable and who view service as a critical
element in any task they perform. Train them, treat them well,
recognize and reward their efforts.
4. Empower everyone in the organization. Employees must have
the authority to make a decision on the spot to bend or break
the rules in order to serve the customer.
5. Train the entire workforce every four to six months. If you
want high-performing, customer-driven employees, you must provide
the training they need to do the job. And, to be effective,
that training must be provided on a continuous basis.
6. Measure the results. When you breed a service culture in
your organization, it will become a way of life, and the bottom-line
impact will blow you away. |
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