Customer Experience starts as a national initiative where the leaders of our country should demonstrate without a doubt their dedication, commitment and robust actions towards a society where citizens are caring and people-oriented. How we treat other is a reflection of how we think of ourselves; customer experience is every single encounter that you have with co-workers, family members, friends, colleagues, church associates, acquaintances ……
Is Jamaica a country that demonstrates genuine care and concern for each other consistently or is there room for improvement?
Philippians 2:1-4
“If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
The word of God stated that we should make decisions and take actions that are in favour of others. Each time you pay a bill, visit your local supermarket, go to the airport, dine in at a restaurant, go to church, drop your children at school – does the team at these organizations treat you with genuine care, love and respect?
No matter what culture we grow up in the world, we were all exposed to the basic facets of socialization that entail showing gratitude, asking kindly when we ask for something, being able to share and allow others to see the goodness in our hearts. There is no reason that should validate one person being unkind to another. As a country, we proudly boast our motto “Out of Many One People”, is it safe to say that we practice what this represents?
Customer Service has to be a national initiative where the policies and laws that govern the country are based on a culture where our leaders are consistently caring and devoted to each other. With a devoted leadership team the citizens that follow will also be caring towards each other. As a guide to how our leadership initiatives should be guided from the top – the Government should take a personal responsibility for Service Excellence, there should be leadership conferences and countries that we benchmark against their success in service leadership.
Our everyday behaviours impact on our economy and ultimately our way of life. Service Excellence should start from the primary schools as part of the drive to create personalities that service is a natural trait. We should have a national programme that is geared towards children that will allow them to practice caring communication. Service is a simple and non-complex task, however, we seem to have a deficit in what should be done.
CustomerServiceJamica would like to take this opportunity and give you some pointers for how each person can practice service excellence in their own way and contribute to the national initiative for service excellence:
- Always focus on service before anything else
- Give the best experience possible
- Exceed expectations and treat customers as if you would treat a guest in your own home.
- Measure your relationships, and refine your processes, and proactively solve and prevent the same mistakes from happening again. (Continuous improvement)
- Hire good employees from the start; study your culture, and find the right fit
- Tell the customer the truth, and love what you do
- Personalize your service to meet your customers’ needs
- Listen to Customers; Take appropriate action; keep it simple
- Leaderships should stay involved in the business, and respect employees and customers
- 5 P’s of Customer Service Excellence – Process; Product; Presentation; Price and most importantly People!
