Picture this: It’s a chilly evening. The rain is pouring down. My colleagues and I have just traveled across the country and spent a full day presenting to an important client. We’re tired and hungry. We leave the hotel and head out, hoping to eat and unwind. But Ubers are in high demand. We hit traffic. Our energy and enthusiasm are fading. Conversation halts.
But when we arrive at our destination, we look out and see that someone is holding an umbrella for us. At first, we’re surprised, even a bit unsure. But the man holding the umbrella greets us and escorts us in, chatting easily. He asks about our plans and when we say we’re hungry he asks a few follow-up questions, listens, and makes some thoughtful restaurant suggestions. Then he fades back into the night.
Our spirits are lifted. Now we are smiling and chatting. Our confident greeter has done his job, turning a dreary night into an opportunity for a warm welcome to this complex of bars and restaurants, and he has set these venues up for success.
However then we choose a restaurant and the night takes a turn. We try to order drinks. There’s confusion. A long wait. The waiter returns. Another wait. In the meantime, no food is ordered. We eventually order dishes to share. Rather than coming in order as courses, it all arrives at once, dumped on the table. No presentation. No one ever returns to ask if we’re enjoying the food or would like another drink. We agree that next time we’re in town (it’s a frequent destination for our team) we’ll go elsewhere.
I used to run relays. And no matter how well you run your leg of the race, it’s crucial to nail the moment when you pass the baton to your teammate. If you fumble in transition, your individual efforts are meaningless. So, you practice the hand-off, over and over.
Like a relay, every service experience has hand-offs. And businesses that provide great service are always asking themselves, “What is the experience end-to-end and how do we do in transition?”
If you’re a leader wondering how to up your service game, ask yourself these questions:
Does each member of your team know where they fit inside a larger service process? Do they know what their colleagues do well enough to explain it in a sentence or two? Could members of your team identify concrete ways that their decisions and service behaviors impact other people and teams within the organisation?
At ServiceQ we ask our clients questions like these to help them create and sustain a service culture. And we bring people of every job description together in a room to help them understand that they are all in service, even if that’s not written in their job title.
Everyday, in every service interaction, your employees are passing the baton to their teammates. When they fumble, they need to know why so they can fix it. When they succeed, they will win customers for life.
Written by: Jennifer Crescenzo for ServiceQ
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