Why is it something so simple appears to be a forgotten art?
At MSE, we have been in the service industry for many years and from the very beginning had it drilled into our DNA that the “customer is king”, however, now when I ask the question on customer service training courses “when did you last receive outstanding service” or “when did you last receive poor service”, the response to the latter is deafening, whereas the examples of outstanding service are few and far between and, in some cases stretching back decades in the distant memory of our delegates.
So, what has changed?
Is it that online purchasing has dominated customers buying habits, and is therefore more transactional and robotic that companies invest less in training their people to stand out in the service arena?
Is it that retailing has become so fast paced and profit driven that there is no time to engage with customers?
Is it that customer service is less of a priority, compared to marketing campaigns, health & safety, compliance, GDPR and other processes that stifle people’s ability spend time building rapport with their customers.
Investment in customer service will lead to increased loyalty, improved customer satisfaction, higher reviews and more customers choosing service over a slick website that doesn’t step up to the plate when customers really do have a minor problem.
From our recent surveys, over 70% of customers felt they had received average service, with less that 2% saying they had received outstanding service – is this a statistic that companies are proud of or would they like outstanding service to be the norm?
There are many ways to ignite the passion for delivering outstanding customer service, the passion to do so is the only limitation that companies face.
Together let’s relite the fire.