What is “Good” Customer Service?

When you see good customer service, you just know it, you can feel it. There doesn’t have to be explicit metrics that tells you how good your service has been; metrics help you to improve certain areas, but customers don’t care about your metrics.

Many times I have come across organizations, teams and leaders who want to improve on customer service. So they begin and do a whole bunch of things and you see some movement in the right direction, but it isn’t complete.

What are the dimensions of “Good” customer service?

1. First of all, you already know what “Good” customer service is but you may not practice it.
2. Good customer service is a behavior.
3. The desired effect is what the customer perceives as being good not what you as the provider of the service think is good.
4. Good service does not have gimmicks. You have to mean what you do, not just pretend based on some training you received. For example,
• Smile because you want to. People will know you are faking it; you are only fooling yourself.
• Solve problems because that’s what you know you are there to do.
5. The training is rigorous – organizations with consistent good service train their staff anywhere from 10-16 weeks. You can’t change behavior with a 2 hour or 1-day session!
6. Handoffs are seamless because they have been thought out and are well designed. You aren’t told to go find someone else to help you i.e., “We don’t do that here, go to xyz department…”
7. There is ownership! Own up to the fact that you are there to help someone else with their issues and that you have to carry the ball and coordinate with others if necessary. You can’t duck responsibility!
8. The employee sees himself/herself as a service provider and problem solver and understands that he/she has to step outside of his/her position description/role from time to time. People will sense and know that you are boxing yourself to a “Role”.

In summary, good customer service can be sensed, if you fake it, you are only fooling yourself. Don’t just talk the talk, be willing to walk the walk or go the extra mile because that’s what you are there to do and the issue/problem requires you to do so. If you do, customers will know what you are doing is “Good”.