Employee Empowerment Impacts the Customer Experience

This weekend while I was out with my daughter, we were eating at a local restaurant chain.  While she was eating she had the unpleasant experience of finding a foreign object in her food that obviously should not have been there.  It was something that no one likes to go through.  We quickly pointed out the problem to our waitress and she apologized for the problem, asked my daughter if she would like the same thing or something different.  My daughter opted for something different, placed the order and the waitress took her food away.  While we were discussing the unpleasant surprise, the manager of the establishment came over and first apologized for the problem, took responsibility for the problem, and told me that he had discussed the problem with the cooks and was truly sorry it occurred and he was going to work to make sure it did not ever happen again.  He told us there would be no charge for the meal and he hoped it did not ruin her meal.

As it turned out, my daughter received her replacement and she enjoyed her breakfast.  If the staff did not react the way they had reacted it would have been a completely different experience.  The fact that they were apologetic, they took responsibility for the problem and wanted to correct it, changed the whole dynamic of the situation.  What could have been a terrible problem was now an isolated experience that was handled well.  From the waitress to the manager, both handled the situation very professionally and both added value from a customer service stand point for the restaurant chain.

In Japan, it has been said that the rigid emergency training that the populous received saved countless lives.  The people responsible for excuting the evacuations prior to the tsunamis added immeasuable value.  In every organization the front line staff that interact with your customers can either provide value or can take away value.  Many years ago I was involved in some training that taught me a tremendous lesson.  It was pointed out that if the employees are not empowered to make decisions that impact the customer service experience at the time critical to determining if the client is going to have a positive or negative experience then it is more likely that the experience will be negative.  If the employees are empowered to make these decisions then it is more likely these occasions can be positive and actually create more loyal customers.

I have been very fortunate to work with with people that cared very much about customer service.  Our organization has been recognized many times as a great place to work and a place that people enjoy doing business with (Houston Business Journal Best Places to Work multiple years, Printing Industries of America - Graphic Arts Information Network -Best Workplaces in America multiple years, BBB Awards for Excellence multiple years).  I believe this is something that we achieved because we trained our front line employees well and empowered our employees to make decisions that positively impact the customer's experience.  I have been involved in, as I am sure you have as well, frustrating customer service situations that could easily be resolved if the person I am in front of had the empowerment to make a decision that would positively impact my customer experience.  All too often walls are built instead of bridges to impede good customer service.  From a management point of view, it seems all too obvious that management should always be looking to positively impact the customer experience.  A good customer experience creates loyal advocates of your business.  Isn't that what the goal should be?

Buying Experiences

I was thinking this weekend about some of my favortie buying experiences.  It made me think back to my youth when I would go grocery shopping with my mom.  I absolutely loved going grocery shopping with my mom.  The reason for my intense pleasure related to the experiece created by the owner of the family owned grocery store my mother patronized.  His name was Sam Sacco and everyone would call him Mr. Sam.  Mr. Sam's grocery store, "Sacco's", was jam packed every Saturday morning.  When we would arrive bright and early Saturday morning Mr. Sam would always be near the front door with a broad smile on his face and a warm welcome for his customers.  He also happened to have a pocket full of suckers of various flavors, or a pocket full of chewing gum he would happily hand out to all the children that came in with their parents.  This personal touch still resonates with me today.

Mr. Sam made my experience both memorable and pleasant.  Because I was content, he made my mother's experience happy as well.  She did not have a child pestering her for a treat while shopping because her child was already happy and content with the treat Mr. Sam had provided.  I am sure this was symptomatic of the overall customer service clients of Sacco's received.  There are many firms known for their attention to detail and the high level of customer service they provide.  Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom's, and Disney are among the most famous for providing world class customer service.

Great customer service starts by anticipating your clients needs and exceeding their expectations.  In order to anticipate your client's needs you have to know what their needs are. You have to understand what the client is trying to accomplish.  How many times have you dealt with a customer service person that has created a wonderful buying experience?  When this has occurred to me, it has happened because the customer service representative was dedicated and focused on providing me world class customer service.  When I have experienced world class buying experiences, the buying experiences have occurred because not only were my needs met, but they were well exceded.  The experience was typically marked by something extra that went well above and beyond what was called for.  Think back to your incredible buying experiences, does this sound familar?

I have to admit my family and I love cruises and we have had the good fortune of going on many different cruises.  I have patronized many different cruise lines, but far and away the best experiences have been with Disney.  From the organized approach of picking you up at the airport and transporting you to the cruise ship, to the fantastic dining experiences and the wonderful animal shapes formed from towels left on your bed each night, Disney goes the extra mile to excede your expectations and make your experience one you will remember and tell your friends about. 

There are numerous examples of companies that go the extra mile to make your buying experience extraordinary in an effort to make you not only a pleased client, but an advocate for their product or service.  The best form of advertising is word of mouth and those people that experience customer service that excede their expectations are the clients that will be your greatest advertisers.  I am a strong believer in "The Golden Rule",  treat others as you would like to be treated .  However, doesn't it make sense in a customer service environment that we should also be following the "Golden Rule of Customer Service", treat others as they would like to be treated?