Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

Now pretend for a minute you're attempting to teach bold "customer service problem-solving" skills to frontline workers. Think of the waiter who receives a complaint that the soup is cold and on the spot announces he'll warm up the soup, remove the soup charge from the bill, and offer a complimentary dessert. That one is relatively painless as the dollar amount involved is small.

But to a waiter who may have lived their life relatively powerless, it can be a major move to step up and "spend" company money (without management second-guessing the decision). And you've got to make whatever gesture you are going to make to the customer on the spot to be perceived as sincere. You can't lament about the price of soup or complimentary desserts. If you want to build a customer service reputation you can't think about it for 15 minutes or go ask management's permission.

How about an ad agency that failed to put its client's logo in a $25,000 national magazine ad? The client approved and even initialed the ad. Countless people at the agency looked at it and approved the ad. The eye and the mind can play tricks and everyone just missed the missing logo. Legally the agency had covered their butt by having the client initial the ad. But ethically the agency felt like dog poop. If you're the agency and the budget to create and place the ad was $1,000 and you work on a 15 percent profit margin ($150), you'd need to create 166 ads before you retained enough profit to pay for the $25,000 ad out of pocket. Ouch. Tough way to make a living. The resolution: Fortunately for the agency it was a direct response ad with coupon and toll-free number and a history of measured performance, and the agency immediately agreed to make up any difference in under-performance. Apparently the customers were not confused by the missing logo as the ad performed similar to ads with the logo.

How about a condominium guest who was mistakenly promised a washer and dryer in their rental unit only to find the owner of that unit forbid use of the washer/dryer and had it placed behind a locked closet door? The service person at the condominium hotel has a complaining "guest" on one hand and orders from the "owner" on the other. What is a frontline person to do on the spot? Easy. Unlock the door and give the customer the access promised in the ad. Apologize later to the owner and deal with their wrath as you explain the importance of customer service to future rentals of his unit.

The answers to all of these dilemmas are relatively simple if you are repeatedly trained to do whatever it takes to satisfy the client. And what is the best way to teach? That too is simple. Storytelling. To create a service-oriented culture, tell the story of the waiter who instantly announced there would be no charge for the cold soup and comped a dessert. Do it in front of the other waiters and everyone else with customer contact and perhaps award cash or a gift for the effort, although praise from the boss trumps all forms of cash and gifts, especially public praise. That waiter becomes the hero in your company's culture and the others emulate heroes.

But you can't do that kind of storytelling one time and expect everyone to instantly "get it." Workers are not comfortable stepping up and making bold promises to customers. The key is to repeat the stories above other new stories that occur in the new customer service culture you are building. And gradually, over time, many of them will get it and step up. And many will need to keep hearing the stories as you refine and improve your storytelling skills.

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About the Author: Ralph Heath is managing partner of Synergy Leadership Group and author of Celebrating Failure: The Power of Taking Risks, Making Mistakes and Thinking Big (Career Press). He blogs at Thoughtful Leadership and Marketing.