KEY TO CREATING A CUSTOMER SERVICE CULTURE WITHIN ORGANIZATION

1. Management must make the measurement of service quality and feedback from the customer a basic part of everyone’s work experience. This information must be available and understood by everyone, no matter what his or her level in the organization. The entire organization must become obsessed with what the customer wants.

2. Be very clear about specifying the behavior that employees are expected to deliver, both with external customers and with their coworkers.

3. Explain why giving excellent customer service is important—not only for the company but also for the world. What does your company do that makes life easier for everyone? What does your product or service add?

4. Create ways to communicate excellent examples of customer service both within and outside the company. Institute celebrations, recognition ceremonies, logos, and symbols of the customer service culture and its values. This is where you want the mugs, buttons, and banners. Seize every opportunity to publicize the times when employees ‘‘do it right.’’

5. Indoctrinate and train all employees in the culture as soon as they are hired. Disney is famous for this. Disney puts all newcomers through a ‘‘traditions’’ course, which details the company history with customer relations and how it is the backbone of Disney. Your orientation program is a key part of the ultimate success of your customer service efforts. Make sure that it contains more than an explanation of benefits and a tour of the facilities.

6. Encourage a sense of responsibility for group performance. Help employees see how their performance affects others. Emphasize the importance of internal customer service. Help everyone see that, if you don’t serve each other well, you can never hope to serve your ultimate customer.

7. Establish policies that are customer-friendly and that show concern for your customers. Eliminate all routine and rigid policies and guidelines. Never let your customer service representatives say, ‘‘Those are the rules I have to follow; there’s nothing I can do about it.’’ There is always a way to satisfy the customer. You must give your employees the power to do so.

8. Remove any employees who do not show the behavior necessary to please customers. Too many companies allow frontline service representatives to remain on the job when they are not suited to a customer service position. Everyone, from the top down, must believe that he or she works for the customer.