No Surprises

Consistency is key… but how consistent is your service delivery?

McKinsey: The three Cs of customer satisfaction: Consistency, consistency, consistency

Real life example….

I visit my local garage for the first time looking for a replacement bulb. I’m pleasantly surprised that I get this supplied and fitted free of charge.

What do I do next?

Book my car in due to the great customer service.

At every opportunity, tell my friends and hope they would receive the same ‘consistent’ experience.

What are the issues for the garage owner?

  • The expectation has been set!
  • Does everyone get a free bulb in every situation?
  • Is everyone in the service team able to make the same decision?
  • How do they ensure they deliver a ‘consistent’ service?
  • How do they monitor customer service and satisfaction?

They are never in the league of the large scale surveys such as this recent report from the Institute of Customer Service. (‘And the winner is…. Amazon’…)

Larger organisations develop processes to deal with ‘most’ eventualities. But how does this relate to the majority of businesses in the UK?

  • Only 0.7% of the 5.4 million UK businesses have over 50 employees.
  • 75% UK businesses have no employees

So where does this leave the ‘S’ of the SME marketplace?

The remaining 1.3 million businesses who on average employ 6 people.

Smaller businesses, with less staff, often rely on the owner / manager to make the decisions before responding to customer requests. This can slow things down and often leads to an ‘inconsistent’ response.

By implementing a simple process to collect and review customer feedback and improvement suggestions the business is better placed to manage and respond to any ‘inconsistent’ service delivery.

Ultimately this would lead to developing operational / training materials and ensuring consistently great service is delivered by ‘the business’….not just the individual members of the team.

P.S. Six months later I choose to buy a new car from the garage, is that directly related to the free bulb?

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