WORLD CLASS SERVICE

INTRODUCTION

World class service is memorable service, service that makes a lasting impression.  We all have received it.  We all remember it.  We all want it.  If we run a business, we all want to give it.  Yet, world class service is a rare commodity.  The reason is that few people really understand it.

When we think of service, our immediate thought is to think of the external customer.  Yet all service (be it product or service) is driven and controlled by the service an organization provides to its internal contacts.  The level of service or the quality of product the outside customer receives never, over the long haul, exceeds the lowest level of service given to internal contacts. (Wait, read that again ... so what should we be focusing on? Typical customer service training?)

The World Class Service intervention looks at service in a way that allows us to see what world class service is, why it is essential to successful business and, most important, how we can provide it ourselves and help others provide it. The World Class Service intervention orients the entire organization toward providing memorable service.  If people in the organization want to provide world class service to the outside customer, world class service must first be provided to all internal contacts.  The intervention involves all levels of the organization to create the organizational mind set which ultimately will result in world class service.

OVERVIEW

The World Class Service intervention is more than a workshop.  It is a series of carefully planned events which create a world class mind set at all levels of the organization.  Our mind set drives our behavior; if we are going to provide world class service, then we must have a world class service mind set.

Creating a mind set involves thinking, talking, and doing.  A person must first think about world class service on a conceptual level.  Then there are moderated discussions about the specifics of world class service as they relate specifically to your organization.  Next, people in the organization provide world class service to their internal contacts from the top down.  All levels of the organization are involved in the process.  The result is a world class mind set which results in naturally providing world class service to the customer.

BENEFITS TO THE ORGANIZATION

In a competitive environment, one of the few ways an organization can differentiate itself is to provide memorable product or service.  Memorable product or service is the basis of many personal endorsements; it is memorable product or service that keeps the customer coming back. 

DURATION

Because providing world class service requires a mind set change, the time it takes varies from organization to organization.  Once the world class service mind set is achieved, however, the transition to world class service is permanent.