Spelling Out Good Performance

 

 

This is a great story I heard over a decade ago, but continue to use it when I speak at conferences to drive the point of delivering great service consistently.

“Imagine that your company picks up the tab for you to eat lunch at a particular restaurant every day (that does take some imagination!) Now, this restaurant is a nice place with table service. So far, so good.

Some days, the host warmly greets you by name and seats you immediately at your favorite table in the sunny corner. Other days, you stand at the entrance for ten minutes, get a grunt from the host and get seated after waiting another ten minutes. Then you find yourself right smack dab in front of the swinging doors to the kitchen.

Even worse, on other days, no one greets you, and you have to go find an empty table, one you have to wait to be cleaned. Then you learn the kitchen is out of most items you like. No wonder no one was eager to seat you.

What’s good about this restaurant? Remember it’s Free!!  

But if it weren’t wouldn’t you be a lot more likely to spend your own money there if you were treated well all of the time, instead of your lunch hour being some sort of culinary roulette?”

Consistent good service is not an accident. It comes from standardizing your approach to it. That means leaving nothing to chance or to the mood or whims of you or team workers.

There are four key steps to assure consistent great service and that is through standardization. 

1. Determining the service standards you should have.
2. Set the standards you have decided are important.
3. Implementing them. Which means the whole team is trained on how to deliver the standards of your business.
4. Assuring you meet your standards by having protocols and check systems.

Customer service is often provided in brief interactions that may only last a few minutes, but the impact could last a lifetime.

“Just having satisfied customers isn’t good enough anymore.

If you really want a booming business, you have to create raving fans.”

-Ken Blanchard

Practical Practice Management

The Virtual Practice Management Institute