Why do some companies just seem to stand out when we talk about Customer Service? If it’s not Chick-Fil-a and their natural, genuine, and polite way of saying – “It’s My Pleasure”; or being at a Disney Property and feeling like you are the only guest there, and everyone was hired just to serve you. What makes these companies any different than ours?
The list of things that they do compared to our businesses is probably not very different. But I would contest that these Outrageous Customer Service businesses, might just know their customer better. What do I mean by better?
Peter Drucker known as the Father of Management Theory; in his book the Five Most Important Questions (You will ever ask about your Organization) defines the customer as follows:
Customer: The one who must be satisfied for the organization to achieve results.
Primary Customer: is the person whose life is changed through the organization’s work.
Supporting Customers: individuals and groups who, in addition to the primary customer, must be satisfied for the organization to achieve results.
Can it really be as simple as that? Know your Customer both Primary and Supporting? Well, maybe it is one components that contribute to delivering Outrageous Customer Service. Regardless of your title or position in these businesses, they know who they are serving and what provides them (the customer) with Outrageous Customer Service.
So, what can we do to be more like these businesses and engage our customers with Outrageous Service?
First, we can survey our customers and ask them what they want from our business. This should be done on a regular basis. Second, we need to educate the entire team about our customer. Who they are, what they want, how we make a difference in their lives. Last, if the majority of our team never see our customer. In a very visual culture, why not take pictures of our customers (as many as you can) and post them somewhere in your office. Even give a snap shot biography of the customer, so the team can better know their story. This may be an impactful connection for the team to better know the customer.
Outrageous Customer Service does not stop here, but this can be a great beginning to transform your team to deliver Outrageous Customer Service.