Creating Devoted Customers with Imaginative Service

Imaginative Service: I am Spartacus

“Spartacus” was the story of an actual slave who led a massive grassroots uprising against the Roman Empire.   The movie was a major hit with a cast of silver screen giants like Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Jean Simmons, Lawrence Olivier, and Peter Ustinov. 

After the severely outnumbered slaves were defeated in a bloody battle by the Roman Army plus several of their allies, the Emperor coveted the head of the person who started the slave revolt.  Surveying the field of defeated survivors, he announced that if anyone would reveal which slave was Spartacus, all (but Spartacus) would be freed.  If they did not, all would be crucified.  One by one each of the hundreds of survivors stood and proudly proclaimed, “I am Spartacus.”  

The essence of imaginative service leadership is to create in others such clarity of purpose, boldness of spirit, and unanimity of action that customers derive confidence, trust and identification.  Leadership is not about what leaders do, it is about what an organization accomplishes when many unite and engage in the courageous work of providing inventive, memorable experiences for the customers they serve.   

What steps can you take to create among all employees a oneness of mind about your customers?  What is your unit or organization’s shared vision of your customers’ experiences?  What can you do to get everyone to wear the customer’s hat every day and for every transaction?

Imaginative Service: Two Very Powerful Words

“Thank you!” These are arguably the two most powerful words in the English language. Customers love to hear and feel a sincere “thank you”. Imagine what would happen to your business if everyone increased their use of these two words with associates and customers. This tactic can set an organization apart in an era of “take-you-for-granted” service.  The goal is not simply the expression of a statement but rather the conveyance of a feeling.  We have all heard “thank you” directed at us, knowing full well there was little sincerity behind it.   In imaginative service, thank you means communicating gratitude in a fashion that makes customers feel your authenticity.

What are you doing to improve the authentic communication of gratitude to your customers?

 

We sincerely thank all of our readers and especially our clients. Our best wishes for a very happy and prosperous Thanksgiving holiday!

                 Chip + John

                                                         

Imaginative Service: KISSing Customers

ETA, SOP, MRI, EST, AM & PM…we live with acronyms.  But, one we all know is KISS.  And, it provides a great lesson in an era of economic cutbacks.  Too many organizations make decisions to reduce customer service when keeping it simple is not only a better financial choice, it is what customers want.

Simplifying service means figuring out the points of angst for customers and then finding ways to reduce stress.  Instead of making steps sequential, look for ways to overlap steps to more quickly get customers to the outcome they seek.  What is the focus of most customer complaints?  Are there patterns and trends to service breakdowns?  Fix what pains your customers.  

Simplifying service means reducing wait.  A few years ago hotels set up a lobby “express check-in” stand.  They believed customers wanted to by-pass the front desk and go straight to their room.  But, many customers, while appreciating the focus on reducing wait, still wanted to form a bond with a front desk clerk--a useful way to get room upgrade or that room with a better view.  Now, most hotels have put express check-in with the front desk.  Give customers speed, but remember to give them options.  

Simplifying service means reducing mistrust.  How much complexity is put in the service encounter out of customer mistrust?  Too many returns policies, for example, are crafted to catch the .001% of customers who can’t be trusted while irritating the other 99%.    

What would customers say was your inclination to trust?  Trust customers and they trust you back.

 

 

Imaginative Service: Looking Good Versus Acting Smart

Few things are more foolish than a teenager with a used car—especially when it comes to investing in vehicle maintenance.  I’d spent weeks trying to get a date with a popular high school cheerleader.  She finally agreed to go to the movies.  The ritual in most small towns was to gather at the local hamburger joint right after the movie.  She and I were parked in front of the teenager watering hole—along with all the really cool people--when it came time to take her home.  My car would not start.  I was totally mortified.   

The cheerleader was less than impressed--especially, when a friend had to take her home so I could deal with getting a wrecker.  It was our last date!  The next day the mechanic diagnosed my car problem—I’d skipped two oil changes and spent the maintenance money on flashy hub caps.     

Customer service can be a lot like a foolish teenager.  We want to spend our funds on the really cool, new stuff and not on preventive repairs.  Showing off might get you noticed but service maintenance gets you home.  What are you doing to take proper care of your service delivery processes?  Are you opting for the latest gizmo when preserving and updating what you have might be much wiser?

Imaginative Service: Awakening Invisible Servers

It happened in the Atlanta airport—one of the busiest on the planet.  I was sitting in the Delta gate area waiting to board my flight.  A slightly stooped Asian woman with a droid-like expression and robotic movement was making her way through the waiting areas cleaning up trash left by passengers.  She would have been one of those invisible and taken-for-granted maintenance people who serve in airports, hospitals, and office buildings except for an unexpected occurrence.

A young man more than half her age got up from his seat, walked over to her and warmly thanked her for work.  Then he put a five dollar bill in her hand and said, “This is my tip for what you do that helps all of us.”  She lit up gate area with her Steinway smile as she thanked him.  As if awakened from a long nap, her gait was now faster, her expression focused and her manner livelier.  What can you do to awaken the undervalued and unappreciated who serve you every day?

Imaginative Service: Everyday Service Grace

“Thank you for being my customers,” the shop owner said to a group of prospects who seemed to be loitering in his small mall-based store.  The uniqueness of his statement was that it was directed at three teenagers each with very loud dispositions, extremely baggy pants, and earphones hooked to their IPods.  Out of earshot of the owner, one young man remarked to his buddies, “Man, we gotta buy something!”  As they left the check-out counter, the proprietor shot point blank one final blast of benevolence: “Please visit me again.”

Grace is typically used in a religious setting —it means “unmerited favor or love.”  Applied to customer service it is generosity expressed in an unlikely context.  It is an assertion, not a response; an attitude, not a tactic.  We get a glimpse when we witness a “random act of kindness.”  Only service grace is not random it is perpetual.  It causes customers to act their best.  Like some chemical mixture, when compassion meets caustic all acidity disappears.  It tames hostility, enriches ordinary, and adds “a story to tell” to “I got my money’s worth.”  Are you delivering service grace to your customers?

Imaginative Service: Where’s Buster?

Every small town in America had a Buster.  Buster Seecoy sold Grit newspapers on Main Street and knew the birthday of everyone in town.  He worked part-time as a stocker at Moore’s feed store, the watering hole for the agricultural community.  And, when you met Buster on the street, he greeted you with your whole name, always with “Mr,” “Mrs.” or “Miss” in front of it—“Good morning, Miss Nancy Rainey,”   When the circus came to town guess who sold balloons.  Buster Seecoy made everyone smile!  

Social media like blogs, Facebook, and Twitter provide evidence we are changing the way we define marketplace—in some ways a return to the village.  Only the new village is a global community but with old village features.  In a small town merchants knew you and catered to your specific needs.  They acted on history, patterns of previous purchases.  They relied on neighborly practices.  They’d even opened the shop after hours if you needed something.  Over the last fifty years commerce has been distant, impersonal, and one-size-fits all.  Social media is helping connect customers with businesses in ways more tailored, personalized, open, around-the-clock and valued.    

But, villages need a Buster.  A village without Buster is a boring town.  Be the Buster in you commercial village.  

Does your customer service make your customers smile?  Does it have a unique imaginative twist that makes it distinctive?  Do you create experiences for your customers they would describe as lively, fun and positively memorable?  How many customers did you make laugh this week? 

Pass-I-on: Key to Imaginative Service

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”  The line is often misinterpreted to favor some macho sentiment.  The real meaning has nothing to do with being strong and everything to do with being feisty.

We are in an era of subtraction and reduction.  Those who succeed embrace such times as an opportunity for investment and generosity.  “Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you,” goes the familiar adage.   This is particularly true of passion. 

Passion is all about feistiness.  It is the source of initiative, drive and growth.  It gets people out of bed and off to work early despite the gloomy news on the tube.  It turns sleep walking and indifferent service people into joy carriers.  It puts a smile on your face and a skip in your step even in moments of uncertainty.  And, it is the expression of who you are to all around you. 

Dissect the word—it is three words in one.  Pass-I-on.  It is you passing you on to others.  When you pass on your best, you change the equation from less to more; from worry about the denominator to excitement about the numerator.

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin in boldness,” wrote philosopher Johann von Goethe.  “Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”  Passion is the antidote to pessimism and fear.  So, get going!  And, when you “pass-I-on,” let others see your feistiest best.

IMAGINATIVE SERVICE: HAPPY PROCESSES

What is a service process?  A service process can be defined from two perspectives.  From the inside looking out, it is a collection of procedures and practices that govern a complete operation.  Bottom line, it is the means that organizations use to deliver service to customers.    From customers’ viewpoints, however, it is what an organization puts them through to get what they need or want.  Given the high level of importance that customers today place on their experience, making certain your processes are “happy” is critical for service success.

The term “happy process” originated with one of our international clients.  We were grappling for a way to explain the meaning of process alignment as a part of developing company wide service standards and norms.  Our client thought about the end result and suggested that one outcome of alignment might be “happy processes.”  The label proved to be a powerful metaphor that vastly contributed to understanding and efficiency in the company-wide alignment effort.  

Customers do not generally desire a service process.  Most would prefer to simply snap their fingers and instantly get the product or outcome they desire. Granted, some organizations have created processes so delightful customers look forward to going through the hoops.   Yet, the primary rationale for installing processes is to insure that service is delivered consistently, efficiently and productively.  

My wife and I recently encountered a very unhappy process from our cellular provider. I have been generally pleased with our cellular provider’s customer service so the recent experience was a bit surprising. As so often happens, the company changed a policy that impacted the customer but failed to effectively communicate the change to customers. The result?  An extreme inconvenience for my wife and I.  When I spoke with a manager about the policy change the situation got uglier. The manager instantly threw the organization “under the bus.” “I am sorry for the inconvenience,” he began. “They changed the policy and I don’t know why. It doesn’t make sense.”

The secret to maintaining processes in a state of “happiness” is to remember they are means, not ends.  They are the ultimate servant in the quest for customer loyalty and devotion.  Treating them as a common slave may give you process acquiescence and ultimately customer disdain.  But treating them as a contributing partner will yield you process alignment and customer devotion.

In this case the front line and the customer agreed on the degree of unhappiness of the process. Where’s leadership? What other processes have been turned into unhappy ones? Have you analyzed your processes from the employee and customer’s perspective?  Are your processes in sync with the type of experience your organization strives to deliver?