Sustaining Business Newsletter

The Customer Service Advantage
By Rhett Hendrickson

Publication Date: June, 2011

Driving around town recently, I took notice of the several eateries that have opened in locations where others had not succeeded.  It occurred to me that I had only patronized the failed restaurants once or twice at the most.  I recall that the food was good, the atmosphere was clean and bright, and the prices seemed fair yet I did not return.  Assuming that the previous restaurant closed because there wasn’t enough business, it’s reasonable to assume that others had similar experiences to mine:  They ate there once or twice and then went elsewhere.  So if the food is good, the prices are good, the place is clean, and the location is convenient, why didn’t enough people return to keep the doors open?

It’s probably the customer service.  Was the customer service bad?  I don’t think so – we’re all pretty good at remembering whether the service we received from a business was bad.  The best word I can use to describe their customer service is “unremarkable.”  These days, most companies’ tendencies are to provide only enough customer service training to make sure employees greet the customer and thank them for their business.  Eye contact seems to be optional these days and sincerity is wholly lacking across the board.  How many times have you heard something like “I’m Bob and I’ll be taking care of you today” while Bob’s staring out the window or flipping through his notepad or making eye contact with another employee?   The service just isn’t good enough to keep enough customers coming back for more.  They may have a good meal; they just didn’t have a good time.

The biggest challenge facing any new business, restaurant or not, that seeks to lure customers away from the established competition:  The customer experience has to be so good that it gets people to change their habits.  All other things being equal, it is human nature for us to stay in our comfort zone and it takes a LOT to pry us out.  A restaurant that genuinely makes their customers feel welcome and appreciated will attract and retain more of them than the competition will simply because there aren’t that many places that do it anymore.  We’re starved for good customer service and when we find it, we tell our friends where it is so that they can get some too.

There are hundreds (and maybe thousands) of resources available that can provide you with customer service tools to use in your business.  Maybe you’ve gone that route with varying success.  The key component of good customer service that seems to be missing from all of them is a way to understanding human nature as it applies to relationships.  Your employees are charged with developing a relationship with your customers on your behalf.  They’re speaking for you; are they saying what you’d like them to say in the way you’d like them to say it?

Hendrickson Business Advisors is ready to help you and your employees develop a deep understanding of exactly what it takes to keep your customers coming back for more.  Don’t wait until after your competition gains a customer service advantage over you.  Make your customer service remarkable.