Faulty assumption #1 – The customer is always right.  Using such polar thinking – right versus wrong – precludes getting at the real issue of how we can build mutually useful relationships…Rightness and wrongness is less important than finding solutions.

- Dr. Paul R. Timm, Seven Power Strategies for Building Customer Loyalty

How many moments have you had where you think, "I wish that I had learned this sooner"?  I have these moments all of the time, but I also appreciate the journey it takes to get there since these lessons can be invaluable.  In business and in life, we must constantly grow and get better, and it's completely imperative to challenge ourselves each day so that we can be our best person. This is one of the keys to ongoing success and happiness.  An article in StumbleUpon truly piqued my interest and absolutely covers lessons that we all can benefit from learning (or embracing). 

Respond to your customer's opening statement with an assurance that you can help.  Say something like, "Absolutely.  I can help you with that."  Even if you are going to refer the customer to another department or employee, you can give an assurance.  Say, "I'm going to transfer you to the department that can take care of this for you, but I will stay on the line until someone answers."

- Renee Evenson, Customer Service Training 101

I personally enjoyed our blog last week because the outcome was a GREAT customer service experience, where the associates went over and above to anticipate needs and deliver on surprises and delights. Shouldn't this be the norm? Why are so many service experiences disappointing? My theory ~ leadership is looking in the wrong direction. Too many businesses focus on sales and not so much on service. This is baffling to me because more sales come with better service. Randy Pennington says that in his experience, "Companies with bad service view it as a cost to be managed rather than an investment that creates a competitive advantage." I couldn't agree more. 

Because of the need to serve internal as well as external customers, customer service must be everybody's job within a hospitality organization.  The housekeeper cannot defer to the front desk.  The kitchen cannot think that customer service only occurs tableside.  Moreover, management cannot divorce themselves either.  They are part and parcel of the entire quality service chain of events.  In fact, how management manages customer service and how service providers deliver it are the defining factors in this entire chain of mutual influence.

- William B. Martin, Providing Quality Service: What Every Hospitality Service Provider Needs to Know