Have you ever heard someone in a committed relationship say that he or she no longer loves the other person?

When questioned, he might say, “I’ve tried. Really I have. But the love just isn’t there.”

It’s no wonder the love isn’t there—because love (the noun) is a result of love (the verb).

In the absence of demonstrating love for another person, there’s only an association, an existence together. Heck, I have that type of relationship with my mailman.

As Valentine’s Day nears, it’s worth emphasizing that in a committed relationship, it’s insufficient to view love as a noun—a feeling that goes back and forth between satisfied and unsatisfied. Love must be demonstrated. Love requires action. Love is a verb.

It’s the same with customer service.

Many service providers view service as a noun—a role, function or department.

As a result, customer service is routine and lifeless.

It’s the difference between a drive-thru bank teller who processes a deposit, ending the transaction with, “You’re all set” compared with a teller who, while completing the deposit, notices there are restless children in the car and chooses to enclose several lollipops in the tube along with the customer’s receipt, saying, “I thought these might come in handy!”

Both noticing the children and choosing to enclose lollipops require effort. These actions are the result of the bank teller demonstrating customer service.

Going through the motions, whether in a committed relationship or with a customer, will result in a bland, routine, and predictable association. This opens the door for a competitor…

Do not view service as a noun. Do not see “serving customers” as performing a role or function that is defined by a script, checklist or some other process.

Service, like love, is a verb. As such, it requires action and effort. It must be demonstrated.

When done well—consistently, with genuine care and concern—you will make a lasting positive impression and ensure that your “customer” will only have eyes for you.

From time to time, I’m asked, “Is there a single attribute you’ve found to be common among employees who consistently provide exceptional customer service?”

I bet if you asked five different consultants, you’d get five different answers. But here’s my answer: initiative.

Service is a verb and, as such, requires action. The opposite of action is inaction. (If you’ve ever had to load your own suitcase in the trunk of a taxicab and then get your own door while the driver remained comfortably seated behind the wheel, then you know what I’m talking about.) Action is voluntary. A service provider chooses to demonstrate initiative.

The opposite of initiative is indifference. Often, employees are indifferent toward the needs of customers. Like the taxicab driver, they miss opportunities by failing to observe their surroundings, anticipate needs or display a sense of urgency. Opportunities to make lasting positive impressions on customers are forfeited—as is their loyalty and future sales.

To illustrate the attribute of initiative at work, consider the example of professional racquet stringer, Matt Previdi. The club where I play tennis recently hosted the Colorado Classic Pro Am Tennis Tournament. Due to the calibre of players, Matt was made available as an on-site stringer by SOLINCO, one of the tournament sponsors.

I happened to be at the club in the midst of the tournament and Matt, while stringing a racquet behind the tennis desk, noticed (verb) as I was adjusting my elbow brace and asked (verb), “Tennis elbow?”

I responded, “Yes. I’ve been dealing with tendonitis for the past seven months or so.”

He paused (verb) his work, stepped (verb) out in front of the stringing machine and asked (verb) to see (verb) one of my racquets. I complied and he began (verb) to test (verb) its tension by smacking (verb) it against the palm of his hand. After a few seconds, he determined (verb) that my existing strings and tension were likely a contributing factor to my tendonitis.

After asking (verb) a few probing questions about my style of play, he advised (verb) me to consider a string with greater elasticity to absorb more of the ball’s energy and suggested (verb) I reduce the tension at which I string my racquets.

As my hitting partner arrived, Matt offered (verb) me his racquet and said (verb), “Try my racquet today. It’s comparable in weight to your racquet and the strings and tension will be a lot easier on your elbow. Afterward, let me know what you think.”

Borrowed racquet in hand, my partner and I headed to the court. Later that afternoon, I approached Matt and said, “You were right! The combination of flexible string and reduced tension was much easier on my elbow. I wish I’d discovered it sooner.”

I then handed Matt all three of my racquets, asked him to cut out the existing strings (two of which were new sets of strings) and replace them with the recommended strings at the reduced tension.

Upon receiving my racquets, Matt said (verb), “Steve, I did (verb) a little scouting on your game and noticed (verb) that you tend to hit out rather than up. By reducing the string tension to relieve stress on your elbow, the ball’s going to have more ‘pop’ coming off the racquet. If you continue to swing out at the ball rather than up through the ball, you’re going to hit a lot of balls long.”

Amazing. Although he was swamped with requests to restring racquets, he had taken (verb) the time to watch (verb) me hit in order to verify (verb) that his recommendations matched my style of play.

If you’re curious, the cost for me to string three racquets was $111. Ordinarily, I string my racquets elsewhere. So, that’s $111 in added sales created (verb) as a result of an engaged employee taking (verb) the initiative to observe (verb) his surroundings, express (verb) genuine interest in the customer, and provide (verb) exceptional customer service.

This post is the eighth in a series that will identify 10 different customer service advantages that have emerged from my analysis of customer satisfaction data. Maybe you have capitalized on one or more of these advantages in your own business? The eighth advantage is to consider service a verb.

Have you ever heard someone in a committed relationship say that he or she no longer loves the other person? When questioned, he might say, “I’ve tried. Really I have. But the love just isn’t there.”

It’s no wonder the love isn’t there—because love (the noun) is a result of love (the verb). In the absence of demonstrating love for another person, there’s only a relationship—an association, an existence together. Heck, I have that type of relationship with my mailman.

In a committed relationship, it’s insufficient to view love as a noun—a mercurial feeling that vacillates between satisfied and unsatisfied.

Love must be demonstrated. Love requires action. Love is a verb.

It’s the same with customer service. Too many service providers view service as a noun—a role, function or department. As a result, customer service is objectified and lifeless.

Last year, I met a friend for lunch who oversees the training of 4,500 call center employees for a Fortune 100 company. He mentioned that call center employees are required to express empathy during phone calls pertaining to warranty or other repairs. He said that if an employee simply repeats the customer’s problem back to her, then that would satisfy the requirement to express empathy during a call audit.

In other words, if a customer calls in and says, “My washing machine stopped working” then all the employee would have to say is, “I’m sorry to hear that your washing machine stopped working” in order to receive full credit for expressing empathy.

My friend was not satisfied with this protocol and is working to change it. He proposed that genuine empathy might look more like a call center employee detecting a crying baby in the background and saying, “I hear a crying baby in the background. Would you like me to look into the availability of a service appointment for tomorrow and call you back in a few minutes?”

Service must be demonstrated. Service requires action. Service is a verb.

Going through the motions, whether in a committed relationship or with a customer, will result in a routine, predictable, and lifeless association. This opens the door for a competitor…

Do not view service as a noun. Do not see “serving customers” as performing a role or function—whether or not it involves a script, checklist or a requirement to “express empathy.”

Service, like love, is a verb. As such, it requires action and effort. It must be demonstrated.

When done well—consistently, with genuine care and concern—you will make a lasting positive impression and ensure that your “customer” will only have eyes for you.

What are some ways that you actively demonstrate service to your customers?

Have you ever heard someone in a committed relationship say that he or she no longer loves the other person?

When questioned, he might say, “I’ve tried. Really I have. But the love just isn’t there.”

It’s no wonder the love isn’t there—because love (the noun) is a result of love (the verb).

In the absence of demonstrating love for another person, there’s only a relationship—an association, an existence together. Heck, I have that type of relationship with my mailman.

In a committed relationship, it’s insufficient to view love as a noun—a mercurial feeling that vacillates between satisfied and unsatisfied. Love must be demonstrated. Love requires action. Love is a verb.

It’s the same with customer service.

Too many service providers view service as a noun—a role, function or department.

As a result, customer service is objectified and lifeless.

Last Thursday I had lunch with a colleague, Brian, who oversees the training of 4,500 call center employees for a Fortune 100 company.

He mentioned that call center employees are required to express empathy during phone calls pertaining to warranty or other repairs.

Brian said that if an employee simply repeats the customer’s problem back to him, then that would satisfy the requirement to express empathy during a call audit.

In other words, if a customer calls in and says, “My washing machine stopped working” then all the employee would have to say is, “I’m sorry to hear that your washing machine stopped working” in order to receive full credit for expressing empathy.

Brian was not satisfied with this protocol and is working to change it. (Easier said than done in a Fortune 100 company…)

He proposed that genuine empathy might look more like a call center employee detecting a crying baby in the background and saying, “I hear a crying baby in the background. Would you like me to look into the availability of a service appointment for tomorrow and call you back in a few minutes?”

Service must be demonstrated. Service requires action. Service is a verb.

Going through the motions, whether in a committed relationship or with a customer, will result in a routine, predictable, and lifeless association. This opens the door for a competitor…

Do not view service as a noun. Do not see “serving customers” as performing a role or function—whether or not it involves a script, checklist or a requirement to “express empathy.”

Service, like love, is a verb. As such, it requires action and effort. It must be demonstrated.

When done well—consistently, with genuine care and concern—you will make a lasting positive impression and ensure that your “customer” will only have eyes for you. ; )