Clint Maun, CSP
- Customers want perceived satisfaction. Actual satisfaction is required to be continually successful, thus it's very important to develop a strategy where you're involved in moving toward customer excellence.
- You won't develop perceived satisfaction using excuses as the basis for delivering service excellence. Excuses only work 11% of the time (down from 51% a few years ago). You must strategize to implement a "no excuse policy" for use by all individuals in the organization.
- Implement the Service Excellence Strategy using a 5-step customer satisfaction model:
- Empathy
- Honesty (to a point)
- Initiative
- Responsibility
- Involvement
By developing this five-step process in the training of all co-workers and associates, you have a positive alternative to a difficult customer service situation. - When you make changes related to employer choice of service excellence, there will be four attitude types exhibited: They'll be:
Ones: excited about it.
Twos: cautiously optimistic
Threes: fence sitters
Fours: negative about the change situation - Everyone can be a situational four at one time or another. The key is to not allow chronic fours or BMG's (bellyachers, moaners and groaners) to control the change cycle. It's very important to use Twos and Threes on sub-teams so they can move up one position related to the change effort. If you try to involve Fours, they may institute secret meetings with the Twos and Threes to convince them to go to the "side of darkness" (being a Four). It's important in service excellent and employee retention strategies to raise the bar and let the chronic Fours (BMG's) decide if they're on board or not.
