One of the most common ways that we see customer service in action is when we go out to eat at a restaurant. I travelled for business this week and went out for dinner in the evening. Servers do not make very much as an hourly wage and rely on tips for the majority of their income.
I can judge the overall service that I am going to get by how well the server keeps my beverage glass refreshed. There is no reason that I should ever run out of something to drink throughout the meal. Also, why is it that some servers ask you if you would like more to drink when you are only half way through the meal and your glass is almost empty? Is it not obvious that you would like more?
OK, enough of my ranting. Here is my point. Great customer service is when you anticipate the needs of your client. You provide for those needs without them needing to ask for them. You are also taking care of things that they did not even know that wanted to make the experience even better. We can apply this same approach to all aspects of our life.
Your client may be your boss, co-worker or your family. Be proactive and anticipate their needs. Your job may be to work in an office and every Friday, your manager asks you for a report to be run around 10:00 in the morning. Do you wait until they ask for the report to run it, or do you get it ready and take it to them before they ask? If you are giving good service, you anticipate the need and provide it ahead of time. Think about your relationship with your spouse, significant other or best friend. What do you do on a regular basis to take care of their needs? Do they have to ask for everything, or do you try to give them more than what they even think that they need?
They are not really customers, but the philosophy is still the same. Here is an assignment for this next week. When you go out to eat, think about the type of service that you receive. As you are sitting there with friends and/or family, I want you to think about your relationship with them. How do you stack up? If the people having dinner with you were going to tip you based on how well you took care of them, could you make a decent living, or would you make less than minimum wage? We need to be more aware of how we treat others.
