Innovative Service: Service with a Spirit of Greatness!

Customers have changed!  As we exit the “great recession” we know that customers’ expectations are higher than ever.  Research we have reviewed suggests customer expectations have risen as much as 33% in a year!  We also know that customers report they do not get great service very often; about 50% report they only get their expectations met sometimes, rarely or never!

Consistently delivering innovative service that takes your customers’ breath away is the prescription for providing incredible care to your most important asset – your customers!  Great customer service gives us an experience to remember; innovative service gives us a magical story to tell and gives customers a reason to come back and buy again.

As we help organizations change their definition of the service experience they choose to consistently provide their customers to the kind of service that takes their breath away, we find ourselves more and more discussing the importance attitude plays as a vital determinant of service success.

Eighty five percent of success in life, according to a well known and often cited Harvard study, is due solely to attitude.  An attitude that shows the spirit of greatness provides the energy and magnetism needed to deliver an animated experience for customers and drawing devotion from them.  While customers like dealing with employees who are committed, they absolutely love being served by someone whose spirit is unmistakable in its passion, pride and commitment.  The new normal customer has a highly tuned “attitude sensor” watching for those truly dedicated to serving.  Occasional demonstrations of a spirit of greatness are not sufficient.  It is both the consistency and sincerity of attitude that brings customers back and causes them to tell their friends about their experience.

The most important thing to know about attitude is that it is something one selects.  No normal person comes into the world with a particular attitude.  It is chosen (or not).  The second important thing to know is that a spirit of greatness attitude can be contagious.  When we are around happy upbeat people it is much easier for us to join in the spirit – especially if the invitation to join is coming from someone who clearly prefers we enroll.  An unbridled spirit has a magnetic power on employees and customers.  It draws out their higher self.

The first step is your own Animation—choosing to demonstrate the attitude you seek from others.  Remember – people (employees and customers) can hear your smile and they can see as well as feel your attitude very quickly!

What attitude are you demonstrating to your employees and your customers?  Is it the type of attitude that screams we value our employees and customers or are you contributing to the feeling that half of all customers report as service is getting worse?
 

© Chip Bell Group, 2023.  Courtesy of John R. Patterson (www.johnrpatterson.com).  Permission is given to download and distribute this article as long as it contains this copyright notice.