A Sure-Fire Test
Want to run your own customer service test? The next time you’re at the supermarket, ask them for Knorr Spanish Rice Mix.
I did this recently at the store down the street, and boy, what a great litmus test I unwittingly discovered! Here’s how it went:
The first person I asked told me to try aisle five. Strike one: In any form of retail, always take your customer to the item they ask for.
The second person I asked had no clue on earth, but he very cheerfully guided me from aisle to aisle in the store as he explored for me. Strike two: if you don’t know, admit it – and then find someone who does know, fast!
The third person was a manager. She took me right to where it should have been, but it was missing – they were out. That’s strike three: don’t run out of stuff. This store was out of dozens of items, I noticed as I wandered the aisles. I can’t imagine how much money that must cost them.
Here’s the thing: fixing these problems is a cinch. So why doesn’t everybody do it? I have a couple of answers to that question. Here goes.
1. The people at the top don’t have any idea. Odd as this may sound, even well-paid executives often have no clue that a higher standard of service exists. “So nobody took you to the item,” they might say. “Big deal?”
2. Even when top dogs are familiar with great customer service, they often think it is the province of luxury hotels and ultra-retail stores. It isn’t for the masses who shop at their stores. “At our prices, what do you expect?” they might ask.
3. The company has a terrific training department with wonderful standards of service. It’s just that there aren’t enough trainers, and also managers aren’t given incentive to support training. So the winning practices that are on the books never really happen.
4. “Nobody’s perfect,” the bosses might say. “We do a pretty good job, over all.” Um… Well, as your customer, I’d beg to differ. If one company can do it right time after time, then any company can.
Excellence is a matter of will. If you want it bad enough, you will make it happen. If you’re content with mediocrity, you will just as assuredly make that happen.
