Caring for Your People
"You can't take care of your customers
unless you take care of your
people."
--Paul Orfalea
It doesn't take much to make customers happy
these days. We've gotten to the point where
any company that simply does what it says it
will is considered to provide good quality
service. We expect deliveries to be late,
cashiers to be unfriendly, and sales clerks
to ignore us. With the bar set this low, the
good news is that it doesn't take much to
become known as a company that delivers good
customer service.
Happy Employees = Happy Customers
It shouldn't be a surprise that the best
customer service comes from those companies
that have happy employees. The worst
customer service experiences I've had have
been at stores or restaurants that treat
their employees as if they were
interchangeable. The culture at these places
seems to be "If you aren't happy, you know
where the door is. You can be replaced."
I worked for a state agency some years ago
where this "replacement-attitude" was
rampant. Any time anyone tried to make a
positive change or provide excellent service
to our clients, he or she was told that
everything had to be approved by the manager.
Approval didn't come without massive amounts
of justification, which made it difficult for
the employee to get anything else done.
A friend and I were at a chain restaurant for
lunch recently. Both of our meals were less
than what this particular restaurant usually
delivers. When our waiter asked how our meal
had been, we explained nicely that it had
been lower quality than we expected. Our
waiter was a trainee, but knew enough to go
to the manager. The manager came to the
table and asked what had happened. After we
told him, he offered to provide a discount.
We thanked him. When we got the bill, he had
discounted our meal by half. He didn't have
to fill out massive paperwork or call the
chain's management before he could let us
know he valued our business. What better way
to make sure we return?
The case could be made that state agencies
and restaurants are very different
situations. But the common experience is not
the customer in these situations. It is the
employee, the person who directly attends to
the needs of the people served by the
organization.
Being The Best
There are some companies that are legendary
for providing customer service (San Antonio's
own USAA, the Four Seasons Hotel,
Nordstrom's, Starbuck's). These companies
not only work hard to meet their customers'
needs; they provide a working environment
where employees feel valued, respected, and
are given some freedom to meet a customer's
needs. They are provided with training that
helps them understand the customer's situation.
During the employee's orientation, the Four
Seasons Hotel provides a room night and free
dining for the employee and a friend as a
perk to the employee, but also so that the
employee can experience the hotel from a
customer's viewpoint. If the employee stays
on with the company, additional room nights
are supplied.
