Consistency in service delivery
DOES PROVIDING EXCELLENT SERVICE MEAN BEING CONSISTENT?
Before we can identify how to be consistent, we must first answer the question “does providing excellent service mean being consistent?” My answer to this is yes and no, and here’s why. Consistent is defined as not contradictory; uniform in thought and action.
Consider the definition for a moment in relation to customer service. It is important for customers to get a sense of business integrity, to feel that the employee they are talking to is knowledgeable, and to feel that there is a sense of understanding and information sharing between departments. It’s also important that customers feel a sense of value every time they interact with you. In these regards, here are some areas where it is important to be consistent:
Processes and standards, which create a consistent first impression (i.e. greeting the customer, transferring calls, putting callers on hold, standards for follow up with emails, voice messages, general follow up when we are working to find solutions , etc.).
Understand and execute policies (flexible policies and non-flexible policies).
Information exchange (it is important that the customer does not get one answer when dealing with employee A and a different answer to the same question when dealing with employee B).
Common understanding of the company’s customer service philosophies (and how to execute them during daily interactions).
Consider the Disney experience. Everyone knows the philosophy of customer service, each employee plays the role of it to provide an exceptional experience and every time you visit again, you will have the same experience. Consistency is important.
Now we have to explore the other side. When should we not be consistent? Isn’t it excellent customer service to treat all customers in exactly the same way? Customers want to feel valued in their interaction and are concerned with how you are going to meet their needs in the moment, not how you are trying to meet everyone’s needs in the same way. After all, a customer’s intangible (motives) and tangible needs are not the same. This is where we need to use our business understanding and skills. The inconsistency really relates to your mindset and how you execute. If you set out to treat everyone exactly the same, with the same responses, running all policies the same way, etc. you may ignore or miss what this client is saying at the moment (words, tone, body language). What are you asking for and, through questioning, why are you asking for it? The result will be one transaction versus one interaction, leaving the customer feeling undervalued.
Here is something else to consider. Whether or not your business has done this formally, there are different valuations for your customers. Some of your customers may be long-term, with many transactions, they provide feedback and referrals to your business. Other customers may have a lot of growth potential within your business, and some may only do business with you once or twice a year. Are you going to treat each of these different customer groups the same way? You want to apply different strategies to different segments to meet their different needs. Examples: whether a customer has a dedicated account manager, how often and how they communicate, whether a customer goes through the regular phone queue or has been assigned a priority line, return guidelines for higher volume customers vs. customers single purchase.
HOW IS CONSISTENCY GUARANTEED?
Determine the areas in which you want to provide a consistent experience.
Document your philosophies, standards, processes, and policies.
Train employees so they have an initial understanding of what the philosophies, standards, processes and policies are AND WHY. Reinforce daily application through training and mentoring.
If you will have different strategies for different types of clients, document them and communicate what and why to the employees who will be responsible for execution.
CONCLUSION
Set the foundation for a consistent experience by documenting your operation.
Enable “inconsistency” by treating customers as unique human beings.