Customer Service Pace and the Cutting Edge
Suggest to someone that we are existing in a fast-paced World and you likely won’t be starting an argument. Most will easily agree. In your organization, what is the customer service pace?
You have two paths. The first path is to do it the way you’ve always done it. The second is to figure out how to be on the cutting edge.
The cutting edge won’t last for very long. It is chasing an expanding goal. It is fluid, rough, bumpy, and requires some risk.
Customer Service Pace
Organizations that exist on the first path may have upgraded, but they are still stuck. Their root philosophies still exist in the history of how they got here.
Somewhat surprising, that path will eventually get them unstuck. Likely headed for extinction, not distinction.
First path organizations have longer wait times. As a result, the customer can do it faster, be more informed, and continue moving without hesitation, discomfort, and stress.
This is the path where sales, service, and customer interactions are more painful for the customer as compared with organizations on the cutting edge.
Cutting Edge Path
The second path, the cutting-edge path, changes the customer service pace.
It is when order status is at their fingertips on a mobile app. When sales questions are self-answered by a schematic the customer finds on the web. It may be when help is just a YouTube video away.
What is worse for the first path organizations?
The second path organizations not only do it faster and with lower customer cost. The customer experience becomes about ease of use, value, and a feeling of respect.
Connection is Culture
There are exceptions. The exceptions exist in connections. Connections that form a culture. Not the organizational culture, but a culture of the customer.
People will wait in line for hours for the latest iPhone release. Culture.
People will gather at Harley Davidson dealerships for food, music, and test rides. Hanging out for hours. Culture.
It may be the rock concert, the county fair, or the line that forms for fresh cut french fries.
Pace isn’t as important here as is the connection and the experience.
Pick your path. Pace yourself. Be something really special that connects people, or be on the cutting edge.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
