CHAPTER 1
Introduction to Service Excellence
We all know what good service is, don’t we? We certainly know bad service when we encounter it, which sadly happens all too often. Bad service leaves us feeling disappointed, frustrated, and undervalued. The likelihood that we would seek out that experience again is remote, so we do not return to the company; we feel aggrieved and need to sound off about it. Time was, we would have done so to a few friends and family (research says up to 20 people (ACSI survey 1994), and our grievances would have had a very short half-life. Today, we are more inclined to do our complaining online, via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or a host of other social networking sites, or on a personal blog. The potential for damage is greater than ever; the electronic record, once created, acquires a life of its own and will come up in searches for years to come. The digital world has extended the decay of disgruntled customer stories into eternity.
So much for poor customer service; the new kid on the block is service excellence. What does that mean from a customer perspective? Well, outstanding customer service for sure! But, that is a small part of service excellence. In fact, a better name would be simply excellence. It can apply to organizations, large and small, and in service or in manufacturing sectors; it works across all functions and all levels of personnel. Unlike earlier service and quality initiatives, service excellence blends process and philosophy and imbues companies that espouse it with a charming sprinkling of magic dust that makes them a joy to do business with and creates loyal customers who act as advocates for your organization by telling friends and family how good you are!
When the words service excellence are mentioned, the usual response is “Oh, of course, we have been doing that for years, all of our staff have regular customer service training.” People hear the word service; they miss the concept of excellence. Yet, there is a world of difference! Customer service is, of course, a vital aspect of excellence, but, in exactly the same way as advertising is the tip of the marketing iceberg, customer service ...
