Customer Service and Mission Statements
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about mission statements, principles, and other sorts of defined, high-level goals in customer service and business in general. To build a culture of customer service, you need to have the inspiration and the guidance come from the top. Additionally, people within the organization need to be constantly reminded of the company’s focus on customer service.
The way that most organizations approach this is to have a mission statement, set of principles, or something similar. Some companies call it a credo, others have fancier names. For example, Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group refers to his company’s set of operating principles as Enlightened Hospitality (see this post for more information). The Ritz-Carlton has its Gold Standards.
I recently conducted an interview with a senior customer service leader at American Express (look for the interview to be posted over the next two weeks) and during the interview, she mentioned American Express’s Customer Care Principles. American Express was nice enough to share a copy of their principles, which I liked a lot.
I like the American Express Customer Care Principles because they’re separated into three simple categories (Easy, Recognize, and Solve) and within each category, there are three to four very actionable items that make it easy for a representative to provide great service. For example:
- I communicate knowledgeably, clearly and correctly. (Easy)
- I care about my customers and connect with them. (Recognize)
- I own my customers’ problems and see them through to resolution. (Solve)
The document (and the principles in general) is easy to follow and most importantly, easy to practice. Tangible goals and mission statements that can be translated into real action are essential to seeing high level service and business goals gaining any traction.
If you want to see the American Express Customer Service Principles, click here. If you’d like to share the customer service principles or mission statement that your company or another company you know of follows, contact us. If I see a couple submissions, I’ll feature them in a follow-up post.
I don’t think there is a magic formula, specific software, or a fancy marketing plan that can make a customer like a particular company. I just think companies like Zappos.com, Barnes and Noble, and Apple have figured out what customers like and have adopted the customer-centric culture where everyone in the company understands what customers expect.
Customers make their decisions based on their emotions and how they are feeling at a certain time. We want our customers to feel more comfortable spending, and we want those same people to feel so enthusiastic about our services or products, they actively endorse us and recruit new customers and clients. When we create this customer-centric organization, we have more than just brand loyalty; we have then generated a fully engaged customer who will help us reach the pinnacles leading to success.
I met John Falcone, who is the President and CEO of
I just finished reading Kirk Kazanjian’s book
We’ve all heard the saying “it starts at the top.” Typically, it’s in reference to how the attitudes of company leaders determine the attitudes of that company’s staff members. A month or so ago, I was fortunate enough to be in the audience of a presentation from a company leader who sets a fabulous example for the employees and franchise owners of his company,
Does a company have to be the “world’s best” when it comes to customer service? Sometimes striving to be at the pinnacle of greatness is not always necessary and can be way too expensive. Consider the companies that state their customer service representatives will answer the phone within three rings. Will answering the phone on the third ring and spending money on more employees make customer service more effective than hiring less employees and answering the phone perhaps by the tenth ring? Even stretching that one step further; how many times have you called an office and the human receptionist asked you to “please hold” for a few moments? Would it be better customer service if the company hired another receptionist to answer the phone so the “please hold” would never happen? Is that really cost-effective if the phones rarely back up? Many companies don’t use humans anymore, and phone systems now require us to push “one” for Mr. Hughes, push “two” for Ms. Greene, and you know the rest. Meanwhile, we are waiting for a longer period of time than if the receptionist was still answering the phone.
Sometimes it takes an award-winning performance to provide excellent customer care, especially when problems are weighing on your mind. Maybe you’re dealing with the turmoil of having your credit card stolen. Perhaps your daughter failed a class or your partner forgot your birthday. You can do your absolute best to put the concerns of your personal life aside at work, but it’s so challenging to stay in a positive mindset when you come face-to-face with a crabby, complaining customer.