Spring has finally arrived for real in New England, and the grass is getting green again!
For years, I had a section of my lawn where the grass didn’t seem to grow. Every spring, I'd swore I'd make that section as green as the rest of the lawn. I’d scratch the soil, rake in some new seed and fertilizer, and then water the area every day. A few weeks later, some new grass would sprout, and I convinced myself that I got it right. But by July, that patch would gradually become brown again. There was something about that area of the lawn that kept the grass from thriving.
Then one year, I did something different. I dug up that area of the lawn, and put down six inches of new soil before starting the annual grass-planting routine. To the brand new soil I added the fertilizer and seed. This time, the new grass grew, and it grew, and it grew.
By August that year, the section of the lawn that was normally brown was still green! Once the grass had new ground in which to grow, it flourished. There was a different culture beneath the grass, and that made all the difference.
Customer Service organizations often face a similar issue: They don’t flourish, and don’t deliver perpetually great service unless they’re grounded in the right culture.
Customer Service icons like Enterprise, Zappo’s and the Ritz Carlton hotels all have very distinct cultures. What’s so special about their cultures? What goes on in these companies that make their Customer Service grass so green?
Geoff Colvin of Fortune Magazine recently interviewed Jeff Smisek, the CEO of the newly-merged Continental and United Airlines. One of the topics discussed was customer service. JD Powers gave Continental high marks for its service, while United was rated below average. Colvin asked Smisek how he planned to keep delivering a high level of service, with the combined company.
Smisek answer was very telling:
“I'm a big believer in culture, especially in a service business, and what we're creating is a culture based on what I like to say are the two things my mommy taught me: Treat other people like you'd like to be treated, and never tell a lie.”
In slightly different words, a service-oriented culture requires two key ingredients: Respect and Transparency.
Treat your employees the way you want them to treat your customers, and be open and honest inside and outside your organization.
Respect
Practice the “Employer’s Golden Rule” for Customer Service. Treat your employees the way that you’d like them to treat your customers. Respect the thoughts and opinions of employees, and allow them the latitude to make decisions, without having to consult with management every time.
Transparency
Be open and honest with your employees, and your customers. When people realize that you’re telling them the truth, they’ll trust you more. And with that trust comes a deeper level of dedication. As Smisek says, “you have a workforce that enjoys each other, they trust each other, they trust management, they're proud of where they work -- then they're going to deliver a good product. You can lecture and train, but unless they really believe in who they work for and are proud of who they work for, and trust each other and trust management, you won't get that.”
Companies that create a culture based on Respect and Transparency have employees that are more motivated to serve the customer well. They’re proud of who they are, the companies they represent, and have that genuine desire to please the customer, and make their lives easier.
Without a culture of trust and transparency, customer service organizations become like the parched grass in August; dried up, enervated, and waiting for the sun to go down. But with the right culture, it becomes natural for employees to deliver a superior experience, so that the grass really does grow greener.