Interesting comments this week from chef Michel Roux Jr this week, reported by the BBC in the article below. He says that in the UK “you get bad service everywhere” and that people in the UK just don’t seem to get (or buy into) the importance of delivering good customer service http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12123463.
I suspect we can all see some truth in the mighty chef’s comments. No doubt we have all had experience of poor service that has annoyed and frustrated us in equal measure. And, of course, we judge the organisation concerned by the behaviour of the employee that serves us. So if service is poor, and the experience frustrating, we’re likely to desert that organisation for good (and probably share our anger with friends and colleagues).
Customer service is, therefore, a critical business issue. But how well do organisations prepare their people to deliver the level of service required? It’s all very well criticising the individual(s) concerned for their action or behaviour, but have they been well-prepared for the role they are expected to deliver? Do they really understand what the company needs from them, the values they are expected to support and the behaviours they need to demonstrate when dealing with others?
Quite often, the answer is no. Some organisations simply don’t devote the time and attention they should to helping front-line employees understand the experience that they are expected to deliver for customers. Unless managers proactively engage their people on this issue, helping them understand the company values and how these should translate into day-to-day behaviour, how can employees really understand what ‘customer service’ should mean in practice? And if reward and recognition systems don’t back this up, by evaluating the way employees are delivering desired behaviours in practice, what is the incentive for employees to live up to the company values?
Comments like those from Michele Roux really bring the issue into sharp contrast. Any organisation – particularly one in the service sector – simply has to devote serious time and effort into engaging and equipping its people to deliver a clear, compelling and consistent experience for customers. Managers that fail to do this are, quite simply, neglecting and even damaging their business..
