The First Critical Element A Customer Service Focus

The first critical element of customer service is a customer service focus . There are some important concepts that we need to understand about customer service before we can do a really good job of providing it.

Service is a philosophy not a department, a program or a policy.

All members of a company must understand the concepts of providing service. We cannot leave it up to one department to do it all. Providing customer service means the customer will have their needs met respectfully and completely. This doesn’t mean the customer always gets what they want, nor does it mean the customer is always right. It means that the company makes a commitment to providing exemplary service. It also means the employees of the company understand that they are all responsible for contributing to a reputation of excellence in customer service.

Service means meeting customer expectations.

We used to say that we should always exceed customer expectations. You may have heard the phrase under-promise and over-deliver. However, by under-promising and over-delivering, you can create the expectation that your customer will always get something extra from you. When you decide to scale back a little and just deliver what you are supposed to, you can create dissatisfaction for your customer because they expected that something extra.