Definitions
When customers think about service, they tend to focus on the 4 basics expectations. Was the service timely, accurate, professional, and friendly? Beyond those 4 basic expectations, what it means to provide excellent service can mean different things to different people. When we are providing excellent service, we are going beyond those 4 basic customer expectations to show our customers we care deeply about what we stand for and how we want to interact with others. As an organization or a team, come to a collective definition on what it means to provide excellent service. Ask for feedback from people across different levels, not just leaders. Consider creating a team to specifically tackle this definition, what your organization’s standards might look like, present their ideas to the greater organization, and collect feedback.
Understanding
Now that our definition has been collectively agreed upon, how do we build greater understanding of service excellence? Think about how you can get the conversations around excellent service happening. Examples include a communication piece such as a poster or a bookmark with the organization’s standards of service excellence, quarterly presentations focusing on only one standard at a time, or a video series depicting the right way to live the standards and the wrong way to behave.
Commitment
Making a commitment to living the standards of service excellence sets the stage for an employee’s work with an organization. We recommend creating a service excellence standards document for all new employees to sign as they join your team. Some organizations ask potential employees to sign even before an interview. This document can outline how the organization has defined service excellence and explains to new employees what is important.
Building Capacity
Building capacity refers to training our front-line employees on how to implement the right customer service tools and tactics. While it’s important to for everyone to use the standards of service excellence, it is often our front-line employees who are closest to this work. Plan for reoccurring training in key customer service areas. Implement the following tactics, for example: AIDET®, 5”10” Rule, Handover, Managing Up, and Service Recovery.