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Saturday, July 18, 2009

Doing What No One Else Does

There has been a lot said and written about the importance of consistency in the area of customer service. Often cited as a model of consistency is McDonald’s, who strive to ensure the customer experience (and the food) is exactly the same, wherever in the world one should choose to dine on a Big Mac and fries.

McDonald’s operates under the premise that customers want to know exactly what to expect, and to have those expectations consistently met – full stop. A good model for them perhaps, but that is not to say that all customers want that same level of consistency and that all companies should operate like McDonald’s.

When it comes to 'level 1', or the basic 'hospitality' service standards, like using the customers name and thanking them for their business, consistent delivery is incredibly important; but, I’m not so sure this means that every customer experience should be quite as predictable as the ‘Big Mac’ experience.

If your objective is to become the #1 service provider in your marketplace, you'll need to go well beyond simply meeting customer expectations. To really stand out from the pack, you'll need to change up your service proposition and occasionally step out of the box and do the unexpected – things that pleasantly surprise, if not “WOW” your customer’s.

Consistency in delivery of your core service standards will take you a long way, but to be #1 and to get the results that no one else gets, logic tells us you’re going to need to do some things that no one else does.
  • Have you ever had a service experience that far exceeded your expectations? If so we’d love to hear about it.

  • Are you currently doing anything in your service delivery that you believe no one else does?

  • What could we all do as service providers to really WOW our customers?
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3 comments:

  1. Good piece again Jim (wouldn't expect anything but). Informative and speaks well to your value added proposition.

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  2. Personally, I think this whole 'consistency' thing is being way overplayed. I'd far rather be treated as an individual with unique needs and wants. And every once in a while, I would like to be pleasantly surprised, even at McDonald's.

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  3. Where did great service go? I tried to think of the last really positive service experience I had and sadly, could not come up with anything. At this point, I'd even settle for a little consistency, but even that is getting hard to find.

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