The last in my series....

SOP’s- While not necessarily intended to do so, systems and procedures often limit the passion and creativity of the best people in the organization. Standards and SOP’s should allow people to focus on building memorable experiences by serving as reminders or taking the guesswork out of recurring tasks, in essence minimizing left brain processes. Procedures shouldn’t stifle the artfulness of service or take anything away from a person’s ability to think on their feet. The right brain should be left free to infuse character and emotion into the guest experience, allowing those wonderful people you hired to really exercise their passion and build customer relationships.

Another problem…systems and technology are too often implemented to serve the Chiefs vs. the Indians. Terms like efficiency, cost savings, productivity, etc., rule when these processes are developed. If you’re serious about creating balance between consistency and freedom to think, start with some reflection with questions like this one…Why are people paid to perform functions instead of providing memorable experiences?

The Robin Williams Effect (see my previous post)- Companies often lose sight of (or never see it to begin with) the “delivery” side of the experience equation. They are so focused on making the best widget that they seem to forget about an equally important aspect of making something really great…the people. Passionate employees who build relationships with customers make “memorable experiences”. Fancy lobbies, comfortable beds and great food don’t relate with your guests…people do. Without their enthusiasm, creativity and ability to think, the experience will be stale and most likely very average.

So, make sure you get a fair amount of these folks on board.

Too Big- Large companies are typically not as good as small ones at consistently providing memorable experiences. Malcolm Gladwell devotes a chapter to this subject in his excellent book, The Tipping Point, in which he refers to the phenomenon as “the rule of 150”. He illustrates that once an organization, club, culture or community hits 150 people, it changes…because the inhabitants, faced with too many choices, can no longer focus on the development of meaningful relationships with each other. Hence, the organization splinters into sub-groups working independently from another. This is a powerful concept as it relates to providing memorable service and the adaptation principle I wrote about previously.

Assuming that you are not an organization of one (where the problem of “big” certainly doesn’t apply), the critical component to successful adaptation is the transfer of new knowledge to others in the company. Without this transfer, anything learned is dead, and likewise is the process of enhancing the guest experience. In large companies, the transfer of this valuable information is either interrupted or delayed to the point where it just takes too long to work effectively. For instance, if Mr. Johnson is allergic to nuts, it’s likely that the restaurant staff may know, but far less probable that housekeeping ever gets this vital information. So, who removes the nuts from the mini bar? Yes, Mr. Johnson knows not to eat the nuts in the mini bar. But, if they were removed and replaced with his favorite chocolate bar, he’ll likely notice…and remember. Smaller groups and smaller environments usually foster better teamwork and more effective communication. That simply leads to more adaptive and better service.

The other issue typical of bigger companies is the size of management. “Too many chiefs” as they say, who are interested in controlling every touch-point and customer interaction leaving the line staff powerless to adapt and “think on their feet”.

So, if the company is getting bigger, break it down into smaller more manageable pieces, flatten-out the organization, hire great people, and let them be part of the evolutionary “process”.

The Purple Cow- I’m borrowing the term from Seth Godin because it’s quite perfect.

This should really be the first item on your list no matter what you’re offering to the market. Forget about being a winner in the minds of the customer if there’s no true commitment to being the best, or better yet, the only one doing it. Be Remarkable! And, make it more memorable with a great story…because that’s what people remember, and that’s what they buy.

Unfortunately, it’s too often about making money first, and building something great last.

After some further thought and a little editing of my earlier post, here's an expanded version of the "adaptation" principle.

Adaptation- Memorable Experiences are difficult to produce because they can’t be prescribed. It’s an evolutionary process which occurs by building relationships with customers and learning from our shared experiences with them. Every word and every action tells a story about an individual. And, every guest interaction is an opportunity to better understand the story and adapt new ways to exceed future expectations.

Of course, some of this process occurs before the guest actually arrives. That’s what makes it personal. But, there’s a fine line between knowing too little, and knowing too much. If you try too hard to know everything possible about the guest before they even get there, it’s likely the experience becomes prescribed where almost every expectation is executed according to a plan leaving little room for creating the “unexpected”.

It’s more than smiles and using someone’s name. It’s about paying close attention, and continually moving the experience along a path of higher and higher expectations.

Part three in the series, "What's wrong with Customer Service?"

Caring for Employees- There’s always a lot of talk in this area, and usually far less action. You hear it from HR managers and read a lot of mission statements referring to “the employer of choice”. But, in many cases, it’s the same companies who are doing the head scratching when it comes to lost market share and increasing customer complaints. If you have service problems, the underlying issue and root cause usually begins with how you hire and look after your people. Strategically, it’s relatively easy to solve. Partner with the best talent available (see the Robin Williams Effect), and then bend over backwards to take care of them. In practice, it’s very difficult to pull this off. But, the rewards of hard work are exponential when it comes to selecting and retaining the best people. The intricacies of this subject are well covered by people much smarter than me, like Dr. Gerald Bell and his Selecting Achievers Program.

It’s easy to tell if you have a problem. Look at three things: 1) How hard is it to attract people to work with you?; 2) How quickly do people leave?; and, 3) Are you losing or gaining customers? In essence, if you care about your staff, it will show where the “rubber meets the road”.

When there are service issues, start with some serious reflection on how employees are treated, not on what they are doing wrong. My guess is that companies who are recognized for superior service truly put their people first, even ahead of their guests. On the contrary, if sales are suffering, the employees are probably doing so as well. See my earlier post for an example of a company doing a great job.

The second part of my answer to the question, “What’s wrong with Customer Service?”

The Wrong Audience- This one seems to affect all types of companies, large or small. It’s easy to fall victim to thinking that a product or service will be liked by everyone, especially by the producer who is typically tied to it emotionally. But, a very large part of providing memorable experiences is relating to the correct customer. It is extremely difficult to “change” customers’ beliefs about anything. So, rather than using push and bully tactics to “force” people to like the experience, find people who are truly interested in feeling what was designed into the product or service in the first place. It’s so true that an experience can’t be “all things to all people”. And, when that’s attempted, it just aggravates those looking for a different experience….to the point they might even think you provide “bad” service.

Here is the first in my series of answers to the question, "What's wrong with customer service?"

Adaptation- Memorable Experiences are difficult to produce because they can’t be prescribed. It’s an evolutionary process which occurs by building relationships with customers. While the product (thing being sold, or the physical hotel) is relatively static, customer relationships are not. It’s more than smiles and using someone’s name. It’s about being “adaptive”, and continually moving the experience along a path of higher and higher expectations.

I was recently asked by an upstart magazine to give my thoughts on “what’s wrong with Customer Service (is it diminished or trimmed out of budgets)?”

Here's my intro to the answer. I'll post the sub-parts throughout the upcoming week, and the link to the article once it's published.

It’s not so much that service is broken as it is the lack of passion and focus behind it that’s missing. I don’t think budgets are trimmed. I think they are misaligned. Too many resources are placed into programs designed to make-up for poor product design and/or lack of talent to relate to the customer. Money is too often spent on the “icing” without any concern for what’s in the “cake”. No amount of slick advertising, image campaigns or PR will make-up for an average product or for people who don’t care about what they do.

Have you ever wondered what makes Robin Williams so memorable? Even if you’re not a fan of his humor or acting style, it’s likely you remember him. And, what is it we remember about Mr. Williams? Is it the jokes? Nope…not likely. It’s the delivery. It’s how he tells jokes, how he behaves, how he makes us feel that is so memorable. It’s the sweat, the constant motion, the waving of extremities, the colorful attire and the facial expressions that so effectively communicate his passion for what he does. As he performs, he has us believing that he would rather be nowhere else than on that stage. He epitomizes the definition of “caring for your customer”.

Do you and your employees display this sort of passion when interacting with your guest?

If not, it’s time to refocus. No, in fact, it’s time to smash the camera and start over.

Start here…Hire creative, passionate people who will create memorable experiences with your product.