Finding the Serve in Service
In my business, I hear a lot of complaints about customer service. Unfortunately, I have received a lot of poor service, too. Mistakes are understandable, but surly attitudes and lack of care for the customer are not. Instead of writing about who is doing it wrong, I want to share about some experiences I have had recently of people doing it right.
The Element Seattle Sea-Tac Airport is a Bonvoy Property at SeaTac airport. I stayed at a fabulous hotel the last time I was in the area (Silver Cloud Tacoma Waterfront) and I was a little disappointed to be at the airport instead of the coast. However, the disappointment did not last long. I was greeted at the front desk by some lovely staff who smiled and welcomed me, checked me in efficiently and tried to answer all of my questions about my destinations in the area. They didn’t know all of the answers, but that was o.k., because they were friendly and tried to help anyway.
The room was spotless and well-appointed with everything I needed. It was obvious that house-keeping had taken great care in preparing my room.
The experience got better. I was speaking at this hotel and when I entered the conference room, there were a couple of adjustments I needed. About that time, the sales manager, himself, showed up, introduced himself and immediately provided what I requested at no extra charge.
When I left, I received a fond farewell that matched the warm welcome I received at check-in.
Many restaurants have shortened their hours and closed altogether more days than usual. This was not the case at Duke's Seafood Seattle Lake Union.
We were fortunate to make an on-line reservation and they were
ready for us. Our server was all smiles and more than happy to
describe the menu items to first-timeguests. Our meal arrived timely
and beautifully prepared. And yes, we received a fond farewell.
Discover eBike Port Angeles in Port Angeles, Washington is a rather new family-owned business. Brandon and Jess were serving numerous riders at the same time, but made us feel like we were there only customers that day. I made a mistake with our reservation and did not show on the date scheduled. No problem for Brandon. It was his pleasure to reschedule us for another day. He made sure we had clear instructions on the bike, took a test ride and offered water. He went the extra mile by personally leading us through the busy city streets to the bike path we desired to take. He even paused to take a group photo for us.
Closer to home is the Rock Salt Milk Bar, Peachtree City. (Don’t judge - I go for the service! Ha!) While other businesses in the area do not have enough employees, this one always has smiling faces behind the counter ready to quickly serve guests, even if there is a line out the door. They know their products well and always offer a sample to try.
All of these examples cause me to pause and think about why I have excellent customer service at these businesses and not at some of the others. I didn’t have a chance to talk to any of the managers, but I know why.
Organizations who offer outstanding customer service generally do three things:
They create a remarkable organizational culture. They have a purpose, mission and core values that are lived out at every level of the organization.
They select extraordinary talent . . . even in these difficult times. Their culture attracts a better applicant and they look for employees whose character matches the organization, whose competency matches the role and whose chemistry matches the team.
They teach their talent to go above and beyond customer expectations to create emotional connections with guests that lead to amazing customer experiences.
Are you looking for the blueprint on how to do this in your organization? You can find it in my book, Bet on Talent: How to Create a Remarkable Culture that Wins the Hearts of Customers.
In my long career, it has never been more difficult to find and keep great talent, but if you use the right tools and stay committed to your goals, you can achieve the same kind of results that the Element Seattle Hotel, Duke’s Seafood, Discover eBike and Rock Salt Milk Bar are achieving. Then, somebody will be writing stories about your organization in their book, their blog or on your social media!
