The Greatest Customer Service
May 5th, 2008 Posted in General, Leadership, NewsletterSmiling is important. Eye contact matters. Patience is essential. Being warm and friendly is a must. And providing a positive emotional experience for your customers is a priority. But, these are not the greatest customer service strategies ever. Ironically the greatest of all strategies has nothing to do with customers and everything to do with employees.
The Greatest Strategy is this: Great customer service beings with being employee focused first and customer focused second. If you treat your employees well, they will treat their customers well.
Too often businesses, hospitals, restaurants and organizations focus all their energy on the customer while ignoring the very employees that serve their customers. This may work in the short run but eventually employees become tired, burned out, negative and resentful.
Just the other day I was speaking at a hospital and was told that they were doing patient satisfaction surveys as a way to improve nurse performance. “What about nurse satisfaction surveys,” I asked. “No we’re not doing that,” they said. The problem was clear. Measuring patient satisfaction will not make nurses more energized, positive and attentive. Patient satisfaction will go up when nurse satisfaction goes up.
I have found that that organizations who deliver the best service also have the best culture where employees are valued, listened to and cared for and in turn these employees value, care for and serve their customers. Great service begins with a positive culture where employees are engaged and energized at work and enjoy sharing positive, contagious energy with their customers.
Best Buy, for example, started to measure the engagement of their employees and in the process saw service and profits improve. T-Mobile dramatically improved and transformed their customer service when they improved the culture in their call centers by listening to their employees. And recently, while speaking at Mountain Air Country Club, a place that is literally on top of a mountain near Ashville, NC it was very apparent that the owners treated their employee’s like family and in turn the employees treated their guests like family. I felt the difference.
In today’s competitive marketplace customer service is one of the key ways we can distinguish ourselves from the competition. And while we certainly need to train our employees to do all the things that make for a great customer experience, let us remember the greatest of all customer service strategies: If we take care of our employees they will take care of our customers.
Note: This goes for schools and non-profits too. If we want to make a difference in the community we must energize the energizers who are the ones making a difference.
Stay Positive!
-Jon
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11 Responses to “The Greatest Customer Service”
By Debbie Wilker on May 5, 2008
This is an example of serving others better by serving yourself first; acing the oxygen mask over your own face prior to assisting others in an airplane mishap. Bravo, Jon!
By Carolyn Shook on May 5, 2008
I cannot agree more on the subject of this newsletter.Also being an employee of Publix I am so happy to learn you will be doing a seminar with the Publix managers in a few weeks in Orlando. Hopefully it will have the trickle effect and those managers will bring your positive energy back to the department managers who need it so badly.
The one thing I disagree with in this newsletter is Best Buy’s customer service. Unless they have changed in the last few years ( I stopped shopping there in 2004)in my circle of friends you will hear nothing good about them and they also have stopped shopping there. I’m not just talking about our local store either, friends in Md. are saying the same thing. Hopefully they have changed their customer service policies.
Thanks,
Carolyn Shook
By Sheila Eddings on May 5, 2008
This is so true and so overlooked by corporations. Another article along these same lines is in The Corporate Board Review for May/June 2008, with the title The Psychological Recession. Talks about how all the negative news about the economy, etc., is affecting people’s attitudes about coming to work and how companies need to pay attention to that and care for their employees before expecting them to become engaged. Showing employees they are valued, listened to and an asset to the company increases employee engagement and turns around customer service in an organization. Good newsletter, Jon!
By Mike Gingerich on May 5, 2008
This statement is deep, real, and not heard enough: “If we take care of our employees they will take care of our customers.” Keep sounding that message out!
By Jeff Henderson on May 5, 2008
Hi Jon,
This is Jeff Henderson, from Daybreak Church in Hudsonville. I love your newsletters, and thought I would offer a thought, or connection, to something you brought to light. As I read your letters, I always automatically transfer the words to my relationship with my kids and wife. For example, when I read your words, “Patient satisfaction will go up when nurse satisfaction goes up.” I immediately thought, “My kids will speak and act decently when I speak and act decently to them. So often I can become impatient and speak in a manner that I don’t like when I see it appear between my kids…
Thanks - for offering wisdom that has many connections.
By the way, I am praying for you Jon. I just want to remind you that God loves you. You are doing a great work, which the devil will challenge. I am praying you will see as God wants you to see, hear from Him, more than anyone or anything else!
In His Grip,
Jeff Henderson
Spiritual Formation Director
Daybreak Church
By Connie Atkinson on May 5, 2008
Analogies are great, Jon! God, our Father and employer supplies all our need, our cups run over, and so our wealth through knowledge and wisdom is shared with all mankind. We receive abundantly from our Source!
By Jon Gordon on May 5, 2008
I really appreciate all your comments.Thank you.
Jon
By Brian on May 5, 2008
Jon,
Are you a member at Mountain Air? I’m working to retire there…one day! That place is beautiful.
By Lori Benns on May 6, 2008
Hi Jon,
Please continue to spread this energy! More people need to hear this message. The way we treat others definitely has a direct impact on our daily relationships and the rollover effect is essential. Your emotions are carried with you throughout your day and if you feel appreciated and respected you are more likely to make others feel the same. You are appreciated for what you are sharing with all of us!
Lori Benns
By joe blas on May 9, 2008
Hi jon ,thank you for great ideas on improving results in our lifes. adding value to people is what we all need to focus in life daily, creating a habit to praise people and recongnize there effort is an art of love for God. great job jon!
By Patti from Long Island, NY on Jun 23, 2008
Thank you, Jon for all of your positive energy! You’re very motivating and uplifting and I very much appreciate your messages! Keep ‘em coming! You certainly spread the God message across the miles!