| Businesses have been trying for decades to | | | | It's just common sense, right? Maybe - but it's |
| import good service practices and graft them into | | | | certainly not common practice. Ever see the sign |
| their own work settings. They use training | | | | that says In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash? |
| programs or other means to try and | | | | Or the cartoon of the four little men rolling on the |
| "regimentalize" key service behaviors-an outside-in | | | | floor with laughter, over the caption You Want It |
| approach that seldom makes things any better, | | | | When? Everywhere you look, you see businesses |
| and often only makes things worse. | | | | making it painfully obvious that they consider their |
| Truly customer-focused businesses deliver | | | | customers unreasonable intruders, potential |
| outstanding service from the inside out. The key | | | | criminals, annoying interruptions of the "real work" |
| is to get employees coming up with their own | | | | the business is trying to get done. |
| ideas for delighting customers, and then letting | | | | In your employee brainstorming session, get the |
| positive feedback from happy customers | | | | group thinking about ways to make customers |
| motivate the workers to continue implementing | | | | feel welcome and appreciated in each step of the |
| more of their own innovative service strategies. | | | | transaction. The ideas that emerge often cost |
| This is the Flashpoint Effect, where employee | | | | nothing to implement (like smiling more, or |
| motivation and customer satisfaction fuel each | | | | addressing customers by name), and yet these |
| other in a chain reaction of contagious enthusiasm. | | | | are the little things that can make such a big |
| Easier said than done, of course - unless the | | | | difference from the customers' point of view. |
| organization has an actual process in place to | | | | Third Customer Focus Principle: Tailor the |
| keep the chain reaction bubbling. Such a process | | | | experience to fit the customer. |
| does not have to be complicated. Follow these | | | | Where one supermarket invests in metal |
| three guiding principles to help your employees | | | | barricades to prevent the theft of shopping carts, |
| generate their own ideas for improving the | | | | its customer-focused competitor chooses instead |
| customer experience, and watch how quickly | | | | to invest in carts that are even more appealing. |
| these service enhancements give your business a | | | | Mothers with infants can use carts outfitted with |
| powerful competitive edge. | | | | a baby seat. Shoppers with older children can use |
| First Customer Focus Principle: Exceed the | | | | a cart designed like a toy car, so the kids can |
| customer's expectations every step of the way. | | | | pretend they're driving while the parent proceeds |
| Shoppers at Ireland's Superquinn supermarkets | | | | along the aisles. There are even self-powered |
| experience the wow-factor at every turn. When | | | | sit-down carts for the elderly and the disabled. |
| they first arrive, they encounter a supervised | | | | Flashpoint businesses recognize they deal with |
| play area for young children. In the aisles they | | | | different categories of customers, and each |
| encounter a multitude of signs encouraging them | | | | category can have unique expectations. These |
| to report "goofs" (such as fruit that has | | | | businesses abandon the one-size-fits-all mentality, |
| over-ripened), in return for which they're given | | | | and look for ways to provide something special |
| free lottery cards. They discover bags of free | | | | for each major customer category. |
| vegetables they can bring home for their pets | | | | Invite your brainstorming employees to list the |
| ("Make Your Hoppy Happy"). At checkout the | | | | major customer categories in your business, and |
| store provides umbrellas to keep shoppers dry | | | | to come up with ways to wow each category |
| while they watch attendants transfer their | | | | individually. These are often the kinds of "personal |
| grocery bags from cart to car. | | | | touch" ideas that deliver the biggest impact. Even |
| Set up a brainstorming session in which your | | | | customers from different categories will be |
| employees break a typical customer transaction | | | | impressed with the efforts your business is |
| down into its individual steps, and then challenge | | | | making to improve the overall customer |
| the group to focus on each step one at a time, | | | | experience. |
| and to uncover ways to add a wow-factor | | | | Try applying these three principles in a |
| element of delight in each step. They'll probably | | | | brainstorming session with your own employees, |
| come up with more ideas than you can | | | | and discover for yourself how creating a |
| implement, but afterwards let them choose the | | | | customer service culture from the inside out |
| best ones, and help them implement these ideas | | | | really can be as easy as one-two-three. |
| successfully. | | | | Customer-focus consultant Paul Levesque's latest |
| Second Customer Focus Principle: Make the | | | | book is Customer Service From The Inside Out |
| customer feel important. | | | | Made Easy (Entrepreneur Press, 2006). |