IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE…STEP 2

We are working on our Service Improvement Plan – our SIP in order to make our customer service outshine everyone.  To exceed our customers’ expectations the first time and every time, so they become FANS of our company and rave about us to all their friends and family.

Before we do anything, we are going to make a plan.  We don’t want to throw money at the problem before you know the following:

1.  How does our service quality rate today?

2.  How good should it be?

3.  How do we get from #1 to #2?

We’ve surveyed customers and employees and have that data readily available to analyze.

Step 2:  How good should our service quality rate?

First, let’s analyze the results of the surveys:

• What do we do right?
• What are the top 3 frustrators for your customers?
• What are the top 3 frustrators for your employees—what keeps them from doing a better job with your customers?

List all the things done well first.  They tell us the basic skill level of the staff AND what customers like about doing business here.  These are the building blocks for our plan.  Did we find anything surprising on this list?  Did the things we thought were done well show up…or not?  How we feel about what is perceived as done well?  

Next, let’s really concentrate on the frustrators.  We have two lists:  things that frustrate customers and things that frustrate employees.  The employee list may not seem as important, but it’s really the key list here.  Employees know what they are supposed to do for customers, AND they know what hinders them from doing that well.  Pay attention to their list:  they work with customers and procedures every day.  They are the experts.  Most things on their list will be things that can be fixed.  So let’s highlight those items and put change into motion to streamline procedures, update documents, pricing, equipment where needed.  This gives staff the support needed to show our full, serious commitment to improving customer service.

Now, how about customer frustrators?  As we review the list, we keep in mind that many of these items are perceptions—and maybe things that we first think cannot be fixed.  But we are wrong.  Perceptions can be “fixed”…but maybe not by specifics, but by overall service.


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