What is Customer Service? Is it something that you can measure like how many jelly beans are in the jar, or is it something you can sense, taste or smell,  like a mango flavored jelly  bean, or can it be both?   Most of us know when we receive good customer service, it is like that sweet flavored jelly bean, and we know when we receive bad customer service because it leaves a bad taste and just does not feel right. Can you really feel customer service? Yes you can! Good customer service puts a smile on your face and/or makes you feel valued.

How can we ensure that we leave that good flavor? It starts with attitude. When the right attitude is displayed customer oriented behavior follows. Ask yourself this question “Are the people I interact with on a daily basis a bother or the reason why I am here”? Only you can answer that question, but whichever way it is answered it is reflected in your interaction. The recollection below illustrates how one organization did just that.

 

The banking industry has come under fire in the last six months but this story about a local bank is worth noting. This unnamed institution should be given the “going the extra mile award” for their exemplary customer service. This is how the story was told. A customer, using a cell phone, called their banking center to transact business. During the course of the call the customer asked to be transferred to another banking service section. This is where a pesky dropped call occurred. The customer thinking nothing of it placed a direct call to the next banking service section. As the customer was talking to the next department the cell phone beeped indicating that another call was coming in. Lo and behold when the customer checked the messages the original banking center customer service representative had left a message giving the customer the appropriate number and apologizing for the dropped call. How refreshing, but it didn’t stop there. They also left the same message on the customer’s home phone.  But it didn’t stop there, the same customer visited a bank, you know those buildings where you used to get great customer service. When the customer was approaching the Teller she was greeted and during the transaction her name was used appropriately. When she asked for a copy of a report she was told that the report would be provided at the end of the transaction. This is where the customer service again notched up. The person providing the report could have waited and had the customer proceed to her desk, but she didn’t, she left her section, walked over and handed the report to the customer. I don’t know about you but that story impressed me. 

 

The going the extra mile customer service is what we at the City are striving to attain every time we interact with an internal or external customer. May you be fired up, dressed to impress and leave a sweet smelling flavor in your wake.