The genesis of our consulting practice is actually based on this question. One of our observations as we studied customer service across many industries, small, medium and large, public and private, had everything to do with this question. We noticed (and I’m sure many of you have as well) that as the customer, our experiences are typically very inconsistent when we interact with the SAME company or organization. Why is that? How can it be that we can have a great experience, and the next time, and the next, and the next, very poor ones? Also, what is different about the very, very few companies that deliver a great experience EVERY time? How do they do it?
Our studies led us to the epiphany that the very few companies that deliver a great experience every time, or almost every time, have created a CULTURE of service excellence, where every employee understands why it’s important, and what their role is in exceeding the customer’s expectations, every time.
On the other hand, the vast majority of companies out there do not possess this culture. Rather, the have some employees we refer to as “heroes”. These are the people who go above and beyond for the customer because it’s in their DNA, it just comes natural. If you are fortunate enough to be served by one of these employees, you have a wonderful experience. However, if your next interaction with the same company is with what I will call a “non-hero,” you will be disappointed by the experience.
Recently we had the good fortune (one of us) and the bad fortune (the other one of us), to feel this first hand. We were in the final stages of getting our book published and we needed to print the manuscript one last time to do a final edit and approval step for the publisher. We live about 25 miles apart so we decided to go to two different Fed X offices to get the manuscript printed. Our desire was to experience reading the book as the reader would.
One of us went to a Fed X office where he was greeted warmly, and it was explained to him how much printing would cost, and how long it would take. He actually waited for the print job to complete, was thanked for his business, and left the Fed X store with the manuscript, printed properly, in hand.
The other one of us went to a different office. After waiting in line for about 10 minutes, it took about another 10 minutes for the employee to determine how much it would cost to print the manuscript. This was at 10 a.m., and he was told that it would be ready around 6 p.m. Really – 6 p.m.? Anyway, he went back at 6 p.m., and the manuscript was ready. However, the employee told him that the price quoted was incorrect, so he had to go and speak with his supervisor. About 5 minutes later he came back, and told the unfortunate one of us that he would have to raise the price. And he did. Additionally, the book was NOT printed correctly, which totally discounted our attempt to have the reader experience.
What’s the point? Companies have cultures. One of the most valuable components of that culture would be one where every employee strives to exceed customer expectations every day, every time. And this culture can exist at the individual store, unit, or divisional level, as we see in this story. There is no question that the second store did not have a culture of service excellence. Regarding the first store, was it a hero, or a culture? And this is the same question you should be asking about your own company or organization.