Leadership and Customer Service

Forum Corporation, in its “Customer Focus Research” project (1988), identified leadership factors that set customer-focused companies apart. This research concludes that managers set the tone for the outcome of delivering excellent customer service—what we call WOW Customer Service…every time. As a leader, you are the model for your staff. The
following actions can enhance the customer service climate in your environment.

Customer Service

1. Setting customer service performance goals and standards

• Hold discussions about what putting the customer first means to you and to the
• organization.
• Communicate clear goals and standards that support high-quality service.
• Communicate what you expect your staff to do when serving customers.
• Develop customer service goals and standards for performance reviews.

2. Providing leadership to help solve customers’ problems

• When there is a conflict between a customer and an employee, listen to both sides of the story.
• Let the employee know that you appreciate the thought that went into his or her response.
• Explain your decision and why you made it.
• Decide together how a similar situation might be handled the next time it occurs.
• Make an effort to help remove obstacles that hinder serving customers well.
• Set a personal example of good customer service, using excellent communicationskills with internal and external customers.
• Take some time to interact with customers directly. See how you would solve problems in the kinds of situations that your staff encounters. Discuss your interactions with staff and ask them how they would have handled the circumstances.
• Help an employee solve a problem with another staff member or by getting information from other departments.

3. Finding better ways to obtain customer loyalty

• Ask employees who have contact with customers for information on customer needs or expectations.
• Seek opportunities to try new ways of doing things to serve customers better.
• Ask and consider team members’ ideas about improving the quality of products and services.

4. Helping employees enhance their customer relationships

• Give honest and direct feedback about how well team members are serving customers.
• Help employees learn from positive and negative experiences with customers.
• Be sensitive to the “contact overload” syndrome and provide ways for employees to relieve stress.
• Observe employees’ skills to see if they are in the right role.

The Internal Environment

1. Using the systems approach to serve customers

• Identify policies and procedures that interfere with serving customers well, and change them to achieve better customer satisfaction.
• Provide the support and resources that are needed to serve customers well.
• Use the company’s market or customer research to improve service.
• When asked, always help staff with customer problems.
• Provide staff with the resources they need to serve customers (equipment, tools,and physical space).
• Insist on cooperation rather than competition within the company, and model cooperative behavior.
• Keep all staff informed about customer needs and expectations.

2. Increasing the ability to serve customers

• Cross-train staff to maximize use of talents, keep learning interesting, and encourage people to assist other departments.
• Encourage employees to feel that being responsive to customer needs is their personal responsibility, and not someone else’s job.
• Function as a team in serving customers.
• Ensure that customer relations skills are an important factor in deciding who is hired to work with customers.
• Reward employees for doing a good job of serving customers.

3. Valuing excellence

• Resolve customers’ problems to their satisfaction.
• Personally provide high-quality service to customers.
• Meet the goals and standards for the level of service quality the company expects.

4. Relating with customers

• Regularly ask customers about their needs or expectations.
• Regularly collect feedback from customers about the quality of the service received.
• Employ a “whatever it takes” policy to remedy the situation for a dissatisfied customer or one with a special need.
• Use information about the needs or expectations of customers to identify ways to serve them better.
  

Categories of Customer Expectations

Len Berry and his team of researchers at Texas A&M University have determined that the following five categories are most critical in showing that you care about customers and in meeting customer needs.

1. Reliability: Capability to deliver the service that was promised in a dependable and accurate way.

2. Responsiveness: Eagerness to help customers and deliver prompt service.

3. Assurance: Skill, knowledge, and courtesy of employees, and their ability to solve problems confidently and convey trust.

4. Empathy: Caring, individual attention, and relationship building extended to customers.

5. Tangibles: Products, services, and the appearance of buildings, facilities, and equipment.

How do we show that we care? The questions below will encourage you to consider customer needs and what it takes to meet those needs.

Instructions: For each scenario below, write the evident customer need (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, tangibles) in column A. In column B, write “Yes” or “No,” depending on whether you think the need was met. If the need was not met, write down what could have been done to meet the need.

Answer Key:
1. Reliability 3. Responsiveness 5. Empathy and assurance
2. Assurance 4. Tangibles 6. Empathy