164: How to Provide Great Customer Service

<p>Great service is so fleeting and  illusive. You encounter it and then like the morning mist, the next minute it is gone.  One company representative is so spectacularly helpful and then next one is seemingly possessed by evil spirits and demonic. As companies how do we get the angels inside our staff to engage with the clients, rather than having reputation destroying devils intrude.  Good service, consistently delivered, is no accident and so it has to be made to occur.  How can we do that?</p> <p> </p> <p>Jan Carlzon many years ago published a tremendous guide to customer service.  He had the job of turning around SAS airlines and captured that experience in his book “Moments Of Truth”.  Carlson’s insights flooded back to me when I checked into a hotel in Singapore. </p> <p> </p> <p>By the way, the drive in from Changi Airport is a credit to the Singaporean Government, who spend millions every year to develop and maintain their landscaped, leafy, green, tropical thoroughfares.  This is smart.  You are already in a pleasant mood just getting into town.  While going through the check-in process at the hotel, a waiter from the adjoining restaurant approached me bearing an ice-cold glass of freshly squeezed juice.  Singapore is very humid and trust me, after a long flight, that ice cold beverage went down very well.  I thought this is really well thought through customer service by this Hotel.</p> <p> </p> <p>One of Carlzon’s observations about customer service however was the importance of consistency of delivery.  For example, visualise the telephone receptionist answering your call in a pleasant, helpful manner and you are uplifted by your exposure to the brand.  The next staff member receiving the transferred call however, is grumpy, disinterested and unfriendly. Instantly,  your mood and positive impression plummet. You are suddenly irritated by this company, who have just damaged their brand by their lack of an ability to sustain good service across only two consecutive touch points with the customer.  How