The Customer Service Revolution summary

Could you imagine life without your smart phone? If not, you’re having the epiphany experience Steve Jobs wanted his customers to have.

An epiphany experience occurs when a need that the customer never knew existed is fulfilled by a service or product. By seeking out a gap in the worlds of supplying, retailing and purchasing, you can discover hidden needs for which you can create a product. Steve Jobs did just that with the iPhone: he created a new way of using a phone and new technological expectations consumers had never dreamed of.

Body language is everything. If you’re telling a friend a joke and they cross their arms and start gazing at something behind you, would you feel encouraged to continue to the punchline? Not likely. In the same way, the subtlest employee behaviors can make or break a customer experience. Be wary of this and boost your communication simply by avoiding negative cues.

Negative cues are the messages you give to customers that leave negative impressions on them. For instance, a receptionist at a medical practice once told the author he needed to verify his information. It seemed that the receptionist was suspicious of the author, thus giving a negative cue. The receptionist, of course, was just trying to do her job. By rephrasing her request, using the word “update” or “confirm,” she could have gotten the details she wanted while making the author feel welcome and trusted, too!

Many companies print their mission statements all over their products for customers to see. Yet when it comes to mission statements that concern employees, it’s a little harder to work out what a company stands for. You can boost your customer service with a vision statement.

A vision statement outlines what your company aims for in its customer service. It should be easy to understand, memorable and empowering.

Imagine a Ritz-Carlton employee responding to a customer’s question with “How would I know? I’m housekeeping!” You’d be pretty taken aback, wouldn’t you? And rightly so! A high-performance team member always has a solution for the customer, no matter what their role is. To make this easier for your employees, provide them with a never and always list.

A never and always list lays the ground rules for employee conduct, so that your team members know how to proceed at all times. For example, if customers ask for the restroom, your staff would know that they shouldn’t just point in the general direction. Having read your never and always list, they’d remember the following rule: “Never point. Lead!”

The key message in this book:

Brilliant customer service comes down to a handful of key elements. Surprise your customers by fulfilling their needs they didn't know they had, leave great impressions by making the most of customer feedback, and instruct and inspire your employees to give the customer service you want to see.