CURING THE CUSTOMER CARE CANKER:
Remedies for an Ailing Service Delivery System
By J. N. Halm

Many business leaders will agree that the state of customer service delivery in the country is not up to standard. Many managers and directors admit that their businesses are not providing the kind of service that will place them in the same ranks as the Southwest Airlines, Marriot Hotels and the Starbucks of the West. That there is something lacking in the service delivery in this country is a fact many business people appreciate.

The customer care canker that has affected the system is unfortunately not restricted to particular individuals, localities or industries. It has eaten away into almost every facet of our business life. All over the country, we witness many signs of poor service delivery: from the fuel station attendant who directs your vehicle nonchalantly to the fuel pump, to the sales girl at the supermarket who does not even offer you the courtesy of looking into your eyes whilst talking to you and to banking officials who treat you like you are there to beg for their money. These scenarios and many more are played out daily all over town.

A number of business professionals, I have spoken to, have described the situation as ‘ailing’ (to put it mildly). This description is apt, as far as I am concerned, for two reasons: Firstly, ‘Ailing’ means there is a recognition that the situation is not in the best of states and therefore needs to be looked at. Secondly, ‘ailing’ means there is still hope since the situation is not totally dead and buried.

There is still hope for business interested in invigorating their service delivery system to begin offering the kind of service that would make customers go ‘WOW!’ There are ways by which businesses that are serious about super-serving their customers can use to provide exceptional customer service. Below are some of these remedial actions that can turn things around for customers as well businesses.

1. FACE THE PROBLEMS
The first step in solving a problem is to admit that there is one. It is important to do a thorough self-searching of the business or department. We are told that the first step in properly solving any problem is to clearly define and analyse the problem. It is by admitting that the business or department has a service delivery problem that you can take ownership of the business’ undesirable condition, re-orient it with the mission and vision of the organisation, and begin to revive the ailing system. The problem facing many businesses is that top management is too concerned with the bottom-line. The desire to churn out a good profit that will keep shareholders happy prevents many business leaders to come down to the level where “the tyres actually meet the road.”

2. ASK THE CUSTOMER
One does not need to have an advanced academic qualification in customer service to be able to treat customers exceptionally. To know what your customers want from you, ASK THEM. After realising that there is a problem with the quality of service you are delivering, the next step is to find out what the customer actually wants. Interview your customers. Ask both good and ‘bad’ customers what they expect from you. Organise focus group discussions. Conduct surveys. Send out questionnaires. Collect and collate data. Interpret the data dispassionately. Within the limits of practicality and ‘commonsense’, adopt the information to make changes in your delivery system.

3. SET THE STANDARDS
Excellence must be the standard. Mediocre performance must be outlawed from the company. Service standards-those quality and performance benchmarks that define what customer service means, and what behaviours are expected of the members of the organization-must be instituted. Standards inform any service delivery programs management might have in mind. Service standards are best when staff feel a part of their creation, therefore they must be involved every step of the way.
Service standards are the foundation on which any promises can be made to customers. The standards must not only be in people’s minds or on paper but must be lived daily. Service standards must be enforced. Standards are better left alone than to be set without being enforced. Inspect what you expect. If there is a standard for the number of times an incoming call must ring before being received it must be adhered to. It is important that anyone who flouts this standard is made to answer for their inaction.

4. HIRE THE BEST
I wholeheartedly believe that customer service is not the job of the customer service personnel alone. From the Board Chairman to the cleaner on the office floor; we are all involved in the delivery of customer service. I am of the opinion however that by our individual make-ups; there are some people who do not do too well when it comes to serving customers directly. Such people are best kept ‘away’ from customers.
The job of handling customers on a regular basis demands certain skills and attitudes. I know of a number of businesses that have lost huge contracts because they sent operations personnel to do the job of marketing or customer service person. The right people with the right skills and attitudes should be employed for customer service positions.

5. TRAIN THE PROVIDER
It is not enough to just institute customer service standards and enforce them. To instil in staff the need to provide good service, it is vital that you offer them the appropriate training and guidance. Many of the people who do not treat customers well are just not aware of what they should do. They have not been taught any better. I also believe in offering cross-training for staff so as to be able to create a well-drilled team where one person can sub effortlessly when another person is not available. It is not a sign of a good service delivery system when customers notice a drastic change in the quality of service they are receiving because of the absence of a single individual.

6. CUT THE RED TAPES
One of the reasons given by employees as to why they are unable to serve customers well is the burden of unnecessary bureaucracies. If employees have to pass through “the eye of a needle” before they are able to serve customers, then there is a problem with the system. If a single document has to be signed by three or four managers before the customer is served, it becomes difficult (not impossible) to provide exceptional service. Management should make it a priority to smoothen the way for customer service personnel by eliminating roadblocks along the way to delivery of great service. A key concern for many customers is time. Therefore customers will not be happy about any service that delays their time, even if the quality of the service is of the highest standard.

7. EMPOWER THE PROVIDER
This step is closely linked with the one above. It is not necessary to breathe down the neck of the staff to ensure that the right things are done. To provide exceptional service, staff must feel empowered to serve. It is the job of management to set the rules and standards and stay out of the way of staff. Micromanaging is a thing of the past. The fastest way to eliminate enthusiasm and kill innovation among staff members is to be constantly breathing down their necks. Customer service delivery is best when staff feel ownership of the standards; not when they feel they are doing it for management.

8. FORM THE TEAM
As indicated earlier, customer service is a joint responsibility of every member of staff. No single employee should be left out in its creation and implementation. You never know which staff member the customer might interact with on a particular day. If the security man treats a customer badly, it impugns on the image of the entire organisation. Great internal customer service delivery is a prerequisite for a great external customer service delivery.
Management must ensure that there is bonding among individuals in different units and departments through the organisation of joint training programmes and social gatherings. Disaster strikes when individual units and departments start to blame each other for service delivery problems. When the cleaner does not do a good job in cleaning the reception area but puts the blame on the refusal of logistics manager to provide him or her with the necessary resources, then there is a problem with teamwork in the company.

9. CELEBRATE THE CHAMPION
If you want exceptional customer service to become second nature to members of your team, it is important that you celebrate those who do the right things. Celebrate the behaviours that you want to re-enforce. If it comes to your attention that one person has done something exceptional for a customer, you must celebrate that action. It does not have to be a gold medal or a trip to Sun City. A simple but well-designed plaque or card pasted on the company’s notice board will do wonders for the morale of staff. In a recent research I undertook for a corporate client, it came to light that lack of recognition by sales executives was the Number 2 reason why they were leaving the company. The Number Reason being money.

10. INSPIRE THE TEAM
Monkey see, monkey do. Sometimes we learn best by observation. The best way to cause the desired change in customer care is to be the change. Business leaders must know that they are the walking messages of what is expected. No matter how well you speak, if your body language says something else, we might get a different message.

Exceptional customer service is no more a luxury. It is being demanded by today’s customer. Smart businesses that are aware of the potential competitive advantage of exceptional service are investing in strategies and techniques. We doff our hats to business leaders who have realised the devastating effect of the canker and are ready to seek a cure-starting with their respective organisations. Go ahead.

J. N. HALM is a Sales and Customer Care Coach with Exsellers International.