How to make service excellence sticky

The supernatural powers of witchcraft have always fascinated me. Well, let me be more specific: I’m drawn to anyone who practises highly intentional rituals to produce what you and I would call ‘magic’. 

I’m surrounded by so many incredible practitioners in my world. 

My business mentor. My kinesiologist. My naturopath. My meditation teacher. My Pilates and fitness trainer. My speaking coach. My editor and writing coach. All these people have mastered the practices in their area of expertise and slowly, over time, are teaching me habits and routines that tap into, well, more of my ‘magic’. It’s not witchcraft: it’s the path towards mastery. 

What they all do well, and role-model daily, is embed their craft in their daily, weekly and monthly routines. They approach their days and the tasks ahead in four simple principles: 

1. Clear intent 

1. Simple and fun 

1. Remove the friction  

1. Schedule the time 

These four simple principles also work for service teams. Really, they do. What might appear to be magic – something exceptional; even world-class excellence – is very achievable. In fact, it’s just like a magic trick. You simply need to build in the daily routines and rituals that will make your service appear supernatural, extraordinary. 

Things like: 

1. Sharing a service moment in a weekly team meeting 

1. Reporting on service behaviours in one-to-one performance conversations  

1. Always sharing a service story at monthly town halls 

1. Making time for service education in a fun format, like a lunch-and-learn session 

1. Ringing a bell and playing a theme song each time, you receive a five-star rating from a customer 

Service is and always has been simple. But it’s the practices and rituals that are done routinely which make it appear that way. Don’t get caught up in the unseen and unexplainable, like we sometimes do watching magic tricks. Know that there’s always a well-rehearsed practitioner using the wand; and the more effortless things appear, the more routines they’ve built. 

Oh, and always, always believe that you can create magic.