The Impeccable Service Provider

The Impeccable  Service Provider.

I just  developed a training slide for a partner on time management as it relates to personal and organizational effectiveness. The training slide is a 4- module time management training session and I included service delivery as a whole module for the programme. I defined what service was as I perceived service delivery. I decided to include "impeccable service delivery" as one of the sub topics but I got stuck along the line. I asked myself this important question "At what point does a service becomes impeccable?". I could have “googled” it up (Google is an impeccable service provider trust me and is synonymous to finding any information you need) but decided to do a little thinking and research on my own. I stumbled on one article “Why Did Big Ideas Die” on Forbes magazine by Steve Denning and thanked my goodness, because this was just what I needed to put me back on track.

Working in a financial institution where providing excellent services have become a top priority no doubt has shifted my paradigm as regards service delivery. In fact life is all about either giving or receiving services one way or the other. From the laundry man that comes to pick your clothes, to the restaurant where you have your lunch break you are constantly besieged by service. What this means in essence is that service takes place when a need or specific want is being provided for or rendered. But then the truth of the matter is not whether the service has been provided or not but that if such provision was satisfactory and appreciated. That is what I term Impeccable Service Delivery. For a service to become impeccable, it has to be able to reach a higher level of satisfaction and appreciation. For the purpose of this article an impeccable service provider is one that: Determines the kind of feeling and experience you want your customer to achieve and live it. This means that you need to set your expectations. I believe that’s where the word standard came from. An impeccable service provider creates a fool proof process to achieving that desire. An impeccable service provider creates a desire to want to give more.

My customer gave me a FlyTouch tablet PC as my wedding gift and I am forever grateful for that. I drove down to my telecoms service provider to find out the best internet plan for my new toy. I already have a laptop, a CDMA phone that has internet compatibility with my laptop as well as a black berry phone. I wanted to have a cost effective and seamless internet access on all these devices as against having separate internet plans for all my devices. I was not using a single telecoms provider and the cost of entry for personal internet users is still way high in this side of the world. The interesting thing is that these telecoms provider have not been proactive enough or at best just don’t want to do anything about it. The customer service officer I met for enquiries referred me to a product officer who happened to have his plate full as he was besieged by a series of complaints and requests from customers. I obviously joined to queue hoping to get my problem solved. The product officer from mere observation was not in the best of moods because there were two ladies practically on his head who needed answers no matter what. I watched with some keen interest. I wanted to weigh the service standard with what obtained in my organization. The product officer had a straight face and determined not to laugh or make some joke with anybody or anything that passed. He was just trying to scare his customers away with his attitude. I honestly feel that HR officers must really screen customer service and sales officers before recruiting them. You cannot make friends if you are not friendly so as you cannot solve problems if you don’t listen. Most of the time front line officers are the ones that kill an organization not the products. Anyway I am not writing as a consumer rights protection advocate but really who shouldn’t? Customers are the reason businesses exist. No customer no business, no profits and business folds up. Delivering impeccable service is a choice. It can either be delivered by the employer or the employee. Here are tips to move you closer to becoming an impeccable service provider.

Desire to envision success: Success is not only attained in the effective completion of a process but also the reaction you have received from such process. When you think about the end result i.e. picturing the smiles on the face of your customers, it will push you to move towards that goal.

Treat rejections and attitudes as catalysts for customer satisfaction: You are what you accept. We all have our issues and it will interest you to know that everyday will bring up new issues, so learn how to deal with that fact. When your customers give you an attitude just look beyond them. Most times it’s the product and not the person that the customers attack. The truth is that the customer either needs a service or has just come to complain about a service failure. You have to be humble enough to understand that as a service provider. I believe that is why we have the R&D department. Products are not perfect and so also are people. The people in the R&D department know that there are better ways of doing things. So when a customer comes with a complaint, just know that your R&D crew has to start working again.
Think outside the box: This is an overused cliché. Learn how to do give more than you have promised. There is power in brainstorming. We get stuck most of the times and that is quite natural. When we come to this state, then it is time to think outside the box. Creativity and innovation are critical drivers of the human race.

Plan your work and work your plan: There will always be competition, roadblocks and setbacks on your journey to success. Learn how to go on without necessarily bowing to distractions. Persistence pays and persistence brings perfection. Practice what you want to achieve all of the time. People would always analyze you, but it depends on you to either let that weigh you down or affect you. Keep moving on. Seek to know more: The truth of the matter is that there is no end to learning. We learn every day. Don’t be too proud to want to know or say you do not know. Someone once mentioned that wisdom is  knowing that you know nothing. It saves you a whole lot of trouble and thinking.

As I got back to my car, shaking my head I wondered how many people this good looking but bad natured product officer would have torn into pieces with his service style. I am sure most of the people he has had encounter with will not love come to his table anymore for enquiries and other issues. In the short run he would be glad customers are not bothering him but on the long term he might just end up being laid off or kill the business. It all depends on you to determine if he is an impeccable service provider or not. See you on top of your riches.

Kolawole Kehinde is the C.O.O of The Idea Embassy and R.E.E.L Inc and currently lives in Abuja. He can be reached on kolamagic@gmail.com and kolayore@yahoo.com 2348097705804 for speaking events and seminars on personal development, time management and marketing business services in the 21^st century.