Dr. Jerry Osteryoung Executive Director of the Jim Moran Institute for  Global Entrepreneurship at Florida State University

Customer Service:  The Devil in the Details

To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization. ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

I was in Jacksonville to give a speech, and I was up very early (the older I get, the earlier I seem to wake up).  I knew that I needed to eat some breakfast, so I stopped at Panera Bread and ordered a toasted bagel (multi-grain) with cream cheese (low-fat) and some coffee to have in the restaurant (they also had a free wireless internet connection).  When I sat down in a booth with my bagel and coffee, much to my surprise, on my tray was an old-fashioned metal knife – not the usual plastic cutlery.

For me, spreading the cream cheese with the metal knife was easier and just felt good. I am sure it is not as economical to use metal knives as they have to be washed, but it sent the beautiful message that the customer is very important at this restaurant.  In addition, I also felt as if Panera Bread was helping the environment by not serving a plastic knife.

Given that every new customer represents a significant investment of dollars, you must make sure that each and every detail pertaining to your customer service delivery is thought through and carefully planned out.  As I like to say, “The devil is in the details, especially with customer service.”
Another example of where details make a difference is with paper towels in bathrooms. I hate, hate electrical hand dryers as it seems to take forever to get my hands dry.  Of course, some of this may have something to do with my strong impatient streak; however, having paper towels in restrooms  creates the right customer service experience.

I work out at Premier Fitness and Health Center.  When you first walk in, there is a check-in counter where they scan members’ ID cards.  What is neat here is that when you are leaving, the staff tries to say, “Good bye,” to you.  If they know your name, they will mention that as well.  Having one of the staff say, “Goodbye, Jerry,” on my way out makes a wonderful final impression and leaves me feeling great.  Small things do matter!

Another detail that many overlook is their voicemail message.  Suppose you call someone and their voicemail message says, “I will call you back as soon as possible.”  Does that mean in two weeks, two days, or two hours?  This vague message does not tell me that the customer is important; rather, it says, “I will get to you whenever it is convenient for me.”  Clearly, this is not a good message to transmit.

I prefer a message that says, “I am in the office today, February 18.  I am sorry that I could not receive your message directly, but your call is important to me.  If you leave me a voicemail message, I will get back with you before the end of the day.  Thanks for calling me.”  Messages like this are so  much more effective than those that say, “I will get to you as soon as possible.”

Now go out and make sure that you look at all of the details of your customer service delivery.  It is the small things that really matter.

You can do this!

Jerry Osteryoung is the Jim Moran Professor of Entrepreneurship in the College of Business at Florida State University.  He is also the Director of the Entrepreneurship Program at FSU and Executive Director of the Jim Moran Institute of Global Entrepreneurship.  He can be reached by e-mail at jostery@comcast.net or by phone at 850-644-3372.  All of Dr. Osteryoung's articles can be found in a searchable form at www.cob.fsu.edu/jmi .

This article originally published on March 3, 2008.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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