“The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary.”  Sam Walton, Wal-Mart

But how do we get legendary or even great service? Most often we look at the service employee but is it her (it seems to almost always be a woman) exclusive burden? Customer service is the result of an interaction between the customer and the service employee couched in an environment created by the company. The store or service center sets up the stage for the interaction: the visual cues present signals about what to expect long before the employee opens her mouth. The design of the product and its delivery also influences the outcome between the customer and the company.

Customer experience develops as the customer passes through the different touch points and is co-created with the employee. Customers determine ‘value in use’ through the satisfaction of their physical/functional needs as well as their emotional needs. As such the expectations and experiences customers bring to the situation will influence the outcome of the service encounter.

The experience is then projected on the brand with the expectation is that it will be the same at other locations. This is critical to brand profitability since customer service excellence leads to loyalty and customer satisfaction.

How does how your brand, your company delivers customer service? Are your customers are satisfied?

Written by Noble Philip, Chairman. October 29th, 2014