Delivering Excellent Customer Service as Part of a Service Culture

Delivering excellent customer service as part of a service culture has become a pivotal determinant in the global competition between organizations. As the world has gotten smaller because of geopolitical changes, trade agreements, personal mobility, and connections via technology, the way that companies provide customer service and business has morphed. Customer retention and the establishment of customer service as a differentiating strategic policy is crucial in gaining and maintaining market share, especially for small businesses. Instead of just mouthing the words customer service to employees, they must ensure that the concept becomes part of the organization’s service culture. In order for any organization to deliver excellent customer service, it must adapt and embrace the new paradigm by investing in technology, attracting the best-qualified employees and then training them effectively.

In order to achieve customer satisfaction and reduce the customer churn rate, everyone in the organization must adopt a customer-centric approach in the way that service is provided. A paramount point for every employee to remember is that while vision starts at the top of an organization, it is the point-of-contact person who the customer reacts to and remembers. What that person says and does will often determine the outcome of interaction and what the customer says about his or her experience after it is over. Delivering anything less than excellent customer service during each customer-provider interaction can lead to the demise of customer service representatives and their organization.

All employees are involved in customer service today and must be open-minded and flexible when dealing with customers. They must embrace change, continually seek customer service training and upgrade their product and service knowledge while seeking to identify new, more effective and efficient ways to deliver service on a daily basis. This need is driven by the fact that the world is more diverse, automated and people move with a 24/7/365 (24 hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred-sixty-five days a year) mentality. Customer needs wants and expectations have changed dramatically. People expect things instantaneously and if they do not get it, they can become agitated or take their business elsewhere. Their desertion can often be accomplished with just the click of a computer mouse.

For additional articles and ideas on customer service, examine two of my books: Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures, Customer Service Skills for Success. You can also take the American Management Association self-study course, How to Be a Great Call Center Representative. All are available through the website www.robertwlucas.com.

What Is Customer Service?

People often ask, “What is customer service and why is it important?” To answer this, you have to recognize that customers come in many shapes, sizes and types, and from a variety of diverse backgrounds. Each customer has his or her own values and beliefs and comes with specific needs, wants and expectations based on their perspectives, background, and lifestyle. The following is one definition of customer service:

The ability of knowledgeable, capable, and enthusiastic employees to deliver products and services to their internal and external customers in a manner that satisfies identified and unidentified needs and ultimately results in positive word-of-mouth publicity and return business. – Source: Customer Service Skills for Success

The concept or practice of customer service is not new throughout the world. In fact, customers are the core of every business, and as such, should be the top priority. In reality, if organizations have no customers, their reason for existence goes away. This is why it is essential for companies to attract, hire, train and retain the most qualified and capable employees they can find. It is equally important that employees at every level of the organization take ownership of delivering stellar customer service.

For more answers on what is customer service and why is it important, explore the term “customer service” on this blog and check out: Please Every Customer: Delivering Stellar Customer Service Across Cultures, Customer Service Skills for Success and How to Be a Great Call Center Representative.