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Customer Service is one of those unique phenomena is business. Everybody knows what it is until you ask them to define it. Then you are plagued with anecdotes, examples and stories to rival any teen's excuses when faced with a pop quiz. "I mean, it's like, well, you know". A good business definition should lend understanding. For example, the definition of a balance sheet practically instructs somebody on how to create one: "a statement of the financial position of a business on a specified date consisting of a tabular listing showing the credits and debits to be equal in a set of accounts". But for customer service such is sadly not the case. I started researching customer service in the 80's. America's productivity was failing. Consumers were unhappy. While it was pretty clear that Kruschev would not bury us economically, Japan looked like it already had. Everybody bemoaned service. Government studies were funded, and soon consultants and business books on service sprouted like weeds. But in the six service bestsellers and the 183 major articles I reviewed, nowhere--not one--suggested a cogent definition that even a college freshman would dare offer in a term paper. Today, the problem is worse. Now customer service has blurred into public relations, marketing, competitive edge and (god forbid) "dominating a space" in cyberland. It's all smoke. Innocuous, smelly stuff. Ad-campaigned like "In our continuing efforts to increase customer service, your call may be monitored. Please continue to hold." Now if I was going to leave clients cooling their heels for eight minutes after having punched phone buttons through four voicemail tree-structures, the last thing I want them thinking about is my customer service. You see what "everybody knows" about customer service or client focus is useless. It doesn't produce value. Current banalities, examples and 'best practice' tactics don't give you any choice or power to make and measure change that makes a difference. If you want evidence, look at everything people are doing to serve themselves from gas pumps, to ATM's, to Costco's to web buying. Why? Nobody else is serving them! If you, as a manager or executive, cannot adroitly define customer service, you cannot make or measure changes in serving customers. You have no edge. So, here's a definition and discussion with a little more fire and a little less smoke. Customer service is a human being's EXPERIENCE of HOW a provider DELIVERS product during specific TRANSACTIONS. That is only and all that it is. Here are first lessons from the above definition. Service has more to do with your customer's perception of your activities during transactions than with the activities themselves. It is not what you do, but how you do it that carries the weight of service. Finally, service is all about product and delivery. And here's a useful, biting edge. A company's product is never customer service. Do not let any member of your staff drift in that laziness. Abuse that fantasy of "Our product is our service." No. Nyet. Cancel. Delete. Any company's product is either a tangible thing or a specific set of behaviors (simple or complex) offered to a buying market. How you deliver that tangible thing or set of behaviors to each individual human being is the arena of customer service. And do not get huffy with B2B. For every business ultimately has got a bunch of Homo sapiens stuck in it somewhere. Even if the computer program automatically notes needs and places orders, sooner than later a bag of skin, bone, blood and muscle has to say 'yes' or 'no'. First steps that can make a difference. Get precise about what your enterprise's every staff member's products are and where and when your customer transactions (deliveries) occur. Precision works. The product of a restaurant is not simply food. It is a dining event. Whether Chez Panise or Dunkin Donuts, when, where and how that dining event is delivered to each individual establishes customer service. Laziness and/or ego at this step can create customer service disasters. Look at our medical establishments. Almost all MD's and every hospital I've researched draw no distinction between 'patient care' and customer service. Patient care is the product of medical practice. How that product--patient care--is delivered to each person forms the basis of customer service. And the perception of most hospital customers is that the product of modern medicine is often delivered late, with little understandable information, requiring massive amounts of effort to obtain it, and with little or no respect for the individuality of the receiver. Ergo, lousy service. Sorry, doctor, we know you job is difficult. But saving life or limb and disappearing the pain are only your products. They are great products, and usually your customer service stinks. Please note that the customer seldom draws the distinction between product and service. It is all part of their experience. Often a customer complains about what they term service when the complaint is actually about product, or vise-versa. They don't need to make the distinction. But your business does, if you are to gain an edge. Also, most customer survey questions and focus groups do not distinguish between product and service. Therefore, they have less value than they could at indicating needed and cost effective changes in delivery practices and product features. In another article, we will ponder that illusive construction, human experience and the four factors that govern a customer's evaluation of service. In the meantime, a simple challenge. If you say that you are customer focused, then take a few moments to answer the following. What is your individual product (hint: it's usually a set of behaviors)? Who are your customers (hint: specific, individual human beings)? When and where are your transactions? And, how's your product delivery going? In customer service, "How's your delivery, precisely?" is your executive edge. (NOTE: Allies Consulting offers Customer Service programs that can meet or exceed your expectations; they are designed to deliver real results. They also leverage our other programs, magnifying your ROI!)
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