 How
Much Service is Too Much Service?
People
often ask, ‘What level of service should we strive
to provide? Should we give “Unbelievable!”
service if our customers are not willing to pay for
it?’
My answer is definitely no!
Don’t go to the moon on service if your business
model on the moon doesn’t work. No sense ‘serving
yourself to death’, bending over backwards but
going broke in the process.
You need to determine what level of service your business
can provide, and match that with what your customers
are willing to pay.
Take note: customers rarely put voluntary limits on
their service expectations. That’s why making
clear service agreements is so important to
you…and your customers.
You must communicate clearly what you promise to provide,
and what you are not promising, too!
The manager of a local Internet Service Provider (ISP)
approached me with this relevant complaint:
His staff go into customers’
homes and offices to install modems and communications
software. They train their customers to access new e-mail
accounts and surf the World Wide Web.
Before his staff can
leave, however, office-based customers start asking
about unrelated hardware compatibility, new software
upgrades and suggestions on how to fix non-working printers!
Eager home-based customers
insist on help installing new games and joysticks, debugging
new versions of Windows, even assistance repairing their
children’s Nintendo!
His staff’s explanation
that, ‘We are just an Internet Service Provider,
not a computer repair service’, seem to fall upon
deaf ears. As far as his customers are concerned, ‘You
are the computer people, and we have a computer problem.
Now that you are in our home or office…fix it!’
One look at his brochure reveals the source of the problem.
It reads: ‘Enter the digital age! Modernize your
life! Capture the computer advantage!’
Plenty of glittering encouragements to buy, but no clear
and detailed listing of the actual service promise.
To eliminate the problem, this company must clarify
and specify what services they do provide…and
what services they do not.
For example:
We provide A, B and
C.
We do not provide X,
Y or Z in the normal service package.
We can arrange X, Y
and Z for you at an additional charge, or
We have associates
who can do X, Y and Z. Reliable referrals are provided
on request.
Key
Learning Point
Be sure the service
agreements you make with your customers and internal partners
are complete and clear. Misunderstanding can lead to disappointment
once delivery of your service is underway.
Action Steps
Check with your
customers and staff. Find out where misunderstanding and
disagreements arise. Then look closely at your proposals,
contracts and service level agreements. Wherever uncertainty
is found, replace it with accuracy, clarity and understanding.
Note: Don't use this principle to avoid regularly upgrading
your service agreements. With technology you may improve
the quality of your service without increasing
your costs. (Your competitors are working on it now.)
Next Article in Customer Service Standards >>
Fantastic Service? No Extra Charge!
First Article in Customer Service Toolset >>
Future Sales are Hiding in Service
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Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed customer service training educator for quality service.
He is author of the bestselling series "UP Your Service!" and founder of
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