How would you rate your customer service out of 10? What factors do you consider when deciding this score?
Are we getting fussier as a society? Have our standards risen or is it marketing that is driving our increasingly high expectation of service?
We were greeted at a local restaurant by an unsmiling young lady apologising for how long we had to wait and complaining about how far she had to walk to seat people at the back of the restaurant. Every 101 of customer service would mark such a experience as off to a bad start.
The challenge, of course, is that this makes customers focus on other aspects of the service to confirm or deny that this is the service standard. You tend to get more of what you look for. The initial experience sets the bar for what you are looking at.
When people go out to spend money there is increasing expectation that in addition to whatever they are buying they will also have a great experience. This focus on the customer experience is becoming so essential that many larger businesses have a role to cover it.
The increasing rise of online reviews is further driving this as people share their experiences, thoughts and opinions. When was the last time you checked your online reviews? What are people saying about you – what do they like and dislike?