This post is the seventh 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 seventh advantage is to deliver service heroics.
When you think about service heroics, what comes to mind?
When I pose this question to audiences, I generally hear references to customer service feats attributed to legendary service providers like Zappos, L.L.Bean, Nordstrom, and others.
Here’s a sample: “I ordered shoes from Zappos at 11:00 pm and, although I didn’t pay extra for express shipping, they were delivered to my front door the following morning!”
While this qualifies as delivering service heroics, oftentimes simply demonstrating initiative has the same effect.
For example, during check-in, if a hotel guest requests The New York Times be delivered to his room in the morning but the only newspapers offered are the local paper, The Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY, here are some plausible responses:
- “We don’t have The New York Times. You’re in Seattle.”
- “Sorry. We only have the local paper, The Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY.”
- “We don’t offer The New York Times but I know they carry it at the Starbucks across the street.”
Instead, if it’s possible to get The New York Times, why not list the papers offered and then say, “Let me see what I can do.” (It’s not like he’s asking for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung—although the very best service providers will find that newspaper too.)
If the guest does not have a strong preference, he’s likely to say something like, “Oh, it’s no big deal. I read The New York Times every day. The USA TODAY will be fine.”
If you sense otherwise, then this may be an opportunity to deliver service heroics.
If you are scheduled for the early shift the following day, why not swing by Starbucks on your way to work and then make a positive lasting impression on the guest by placing the paper outside his room—perhaps with a brief personalized note?
And if you are not working the early shift, then consider contracting to deliver the paper with a manager or another employee who is scheduled for the early shift. By doing so, you will make everyone’s job more interesting and delight a guest in the process!
Some employees will say, “If you do it for one guest, now you have to do it for every guest.”
That’s ridiculous. It’s just an excuse used by average service providers to deliver average customer service. It’s rationale applied by those who either don’t want to go out of their way or simply prefer the predictable routine of treating each customer like the last customer—neither of which inspires positive lasting impressions. (Besides, if more guests did begin to request The New York Times, then it should be included as one of the newspapers offered anyway.)
Delivering service heroics doesn’t have to be as dramatic as some of the legendary stories you may have heard. Most often, it simply requires being attuned to customers’ needs and preferences and then taking the initiative to fulfill them.
What are some ways that you have delivered service heroics to your customers?
