Service... the new high ground

Service. Defend it with a smile

In a world where standards of service seem to be degrading fast it's important not to surrender this high ground.

A few things happened recently that made me think about service. Customer service to be precise. This is not a rant. It is however, a reasoned argument why those who thrive on giving great service should not easily, and not without great thought and consideration, give up a hard earned reputation for treating customers well and delivering on promises.

I am not talking about the fawning sales reps at high end retail who fall over themselves to simply make you feel special because you are investing (often heavily) in their brand, That's less about service and more about brand management. I am talking about good old fashioned customer service where you get (often slightly more than) what is promised and it makes you feel good about your decision.

So what happened recently that started this line of thought... a number of things that comprise serial broken promises, denied or careless failures, bad attitude, and intolerable and ineffective process. All of which were avoidable - if someone just cared. These were organisations with reputation for great service. We don't need to dwell on the examples.

They simply serve to underline my contention that service no longer matters to many organisations. Which undermines the well-worn adage that "your call is important". Because it's not always the case. If judged by the level of customer service typically provided then, often, neither is your business or patronage. What a sorry state of affairs.

Do the recipients of great service, even if things don't always go so well, stick with the relationship - yes, mainly they do. Because relationships and reputation matter. Because if something goes wrong you know that someone will care about it enough to prevent it or alternatively fix or mitigate the consequences.

Therefore, whilst great service might have a cost (more or better people, better process, more training etc) it also has a clear payback in retention or loyalty of customers and higher revenues (because people will happily pay for great service - for knowing that someone is fighting their corner).

Reputations are hard won over many years. Defend them as one of your most valuable assets (even if the balance sheet doesnt always reflect this asset). But, please don't discard them on the alter of cost savings or rationalisation or careless recruitment or process design. It's not the consequence-free utopia that it appears. Short term savings can masquerade as long term value erosion if not carefully considered and approached with caution.

Before you discard these thoughts as "not something that applies to us".... the same concepts work in not for profit sectors as they do elsewhere. Good service, great people, great process. brilliant attitude are as valuable in education, healthcare, and goverment where outcomes rather than profits are the common currency.

So, the next time that you either encounter service levels that jar with the reputation of the brand or are tempted to dilute your own investment in service, remember how tough it will be for thr brand to recover its failing reputation. Hard won advantage is all too easy to lose when investment or care is critically lacking.

Service is new high ground. Defend it. With a smile.