Your Customers Should be Able to Count on You

I recently found a great little store that provides excellent, thorough, and knowledgeable customer service. I was so excited about the service I received from this store that I told a friend about it. I even offered to go with her to the store to help her. Unfortunately, when I went there with her, there was a different sales clerk who did not give the same degree of service I received before. This is not to say her service was terrible; it was just not exceptional. And there’s the problem for this store. On the one hand, one sales clerk provided the most fantastic service I could have asked for. The other offered good service. I felt foolish for raving about the incredible service I received the first time when my friend only received good service. But imagine how different that would have been had I not accompanied her to the store that day to be able to say at least – “I’m sorry, that’s not the same level of service I received.” That’s usually what happens, though; we refer a friend to a place of business and don’t go with them. So we cannot know whether the service will be identical or different. The lesson here for a brand is that consistency is king. If you have one person who provides amazing-over-the-top service, the rest of your staff will need to do so. OR that one person will have to make their service a personal brand for your business. I’ll bet you can guess I’m now hesitant to refer friends to that store again based on service – since it wasn’t consistent. There was a different business in the town I grew up in, with one person who provided the most fantastic service. He was a force to be reckoned with, and there was no way that the rest of the associates could keep up with his level of service. He gained a following – people would say see Buddy at company X – he’ll help you. But Buddy, not Company X, built all the goodwill. While I’m sure the company was proud of Buddy and appreciated his service and the following he gained, they also suffered because they were not getting the attention – Buddy was. Without Buddy, they could not give the level of service their customers expect from Buddy. Now, if you don’t frequent Company X often and you just happen to meet Buddy for the first time, you might rave to your friends about the service that Company X provides. And you might even refer your friends to Company X for the service they provide. But imagine how disappointed your friends will be when Buddy has the day off, and the associate they encounter is merely mortal and having a bad day. A consistent customer service experience is more important than an isolated individual providing fantastic service. If you’ve got a Buddy on your team, everyone else will have to step up their game – or Buddy might need to tone it down. Creating a consistent experience trumps the phenomenal highs and the inevitable lows. Consistency will give you more word of mouth and build a stronger brand.