Leading Customer Delight

Christmas Eve, and I notice that my family’s flight home from our holiday travel on the 26th is incorrect. Somehow, my son and husband are on a different flight than I, making me feel quite Grinch-y. I sighed audibly as I began collecting my documentation to do battle with the airline to get the flight changed. Just as I’m dialing Alaska Air, I receive a phone call – from Alaska Air. The call is from a customer service supervisor, who found the error herself while reviewing phone calls to monitor service from her staff. After I picked myself off the floor, I thanked her, and of course posted this outstanding service story on Twitter.
 
We know that going above and beyond, delighting customers and truly connecting as human beings earns businesses loyalty and extremely valuable word of mouth. Unfortunately, today, we’re more often met with apathy, distraction and bureaucracy than true service. Companies like Alaska Airlines, Chick-fil-A and Costco consistently outperform their competitors in service rankings, and not surprisingly, in profitability. These companies demonstrate that terrific service is possible, that loyalty still exists, and that exceptional service has a material impact on profits. No matter your business, you can create similar results. A strategic plan, well executed is key; here are some tactics that will ensure your success:
 
People:
Your team is key to great service, of course. While much can be automated these days, true human connection is the key to a long-term customer relationship. You can’t fake engagement (How many customers have converted to online shopping thanks to the “Hi! Welcome in!” shouted from an employee buried deep in a store who doesn’t even bother to make eye contact?)

• Hiring: Is a service orientation part of your hiring process? Just asking the right questions indicates to applicants how important service is to the business. Some of my favorite questions for hiring service are:
  • When have you broken a rule for a customer?
  • What was the best customer compliment you’ve received?
  • How do you stay happy through a long shift?
  • How have you helped an unhappy customer?
• Engagement: Could you give great service if your boss was a jerk? Probably not. Your efforts to create a great place to work deliver real benefit to your business as your employees come to work happy, and pass that along to your customers.
  • Survey: Whether formally or informally, listen to your team and address their concerns. No matter how small the issue, addressing it builds loyalty and appreciation.
  • Recognition: McKinsey has found that praise from managers is more valued by employees than money. If you really want fantastic service, make a big deal about employees who break your rules for a customer – and then change the rule. Read here for more ideas on how to recognize and motivate for exceptional performance.
  • Growth: whether their goal is to get promoted or to get a raise, most employees are looking for opportunity. Investing in growth, through manager coaching meetings, training, or external coaching pays dividends in employee commitment and customer service.

• Create Meaning: We all want to feel our work is meaningful. The best customer service comes from a place of authentic connection. Help your team make that connection by establishing the link between helping others and their work. Do you sell inexpensive clothes? You’re helping people save money and feel good. Do you sell software? You’re delighting people by providing solutions to their problems. Do you sell healthcare? Well, that’s just too easy…

Process and Policy:
Inspiring your team will only get you so far; the best people can’t deliver terrific service with bad policy. Costco is known for an easy return process; Alaska Airlines actually does review calls for quality. Great service requires listening to customers for any opportunities, and then using the power of your team to find solutions.

• Review customer service calls and emails for trends; what is driving people nuts? What can you fix immediately, and what requires investment?
• Solicit your team for ideas, and reward those ideas handsomely.
• Do the math: in your policies, you are making strategic trade-offs. Are you certain that those trade-offs are correct? An example of service vs. business policies is fitting room try-on limits in retail stores. Having unlimited items allowed for customers to try on increases the risk of theft, but significantly increases sales and customer service. Test and measure, and treat every decision that impacts customers as if it will make or break your business, because it will.

Reap the Rewards:
Investing in service will deliver a significant competitive advantage. Businesses often under-invest in this area because the return on the investment is difficult to prove. Here are some good reasons to differentiate with service:

•  Gallup has demonstrated that businesses with high employee engagement deliver higher customer service results and higher profitability.
• 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.  (McKinsey)
• 55% of consumers would pay more for a better customer experience. (Defaqto Research)
• A 10% increase in customer retention levels result in a 30% increase in the value of the company. (Bain & Co)

 
Customer delight is not only possible, but highly profitable. Here’s wishing you the success that comes from putting your team and customers first. Now, I’m off to make another flight reservation, I’m sure you can guess which airline I’ll choose.