Customer service is measured by how you "show up," and how you present yourself in graphics impacts your service impression.  So what if you aren’t a Graphic Designer and have zero experience with editing image files and creating something that is visually attractive.  I have a simple solution for you that requires very little learning, and it does not depend upon the use of expensive software. Microsoft PowerPoint (yes, PowerPoint!) gives you just what you need to do some very basic design. What’s better? In less than 6 minutes, I can show you how to do some of the basics in 3 very quick videos.

We've all had this happen.  You show up to a store, ready to make a purchase that thrills you, and within moments of arrival, all of that great energy you had gets sucked right out of you.  What happened?  More than likely, you walked into an environment that had negativity and unhappiness hovering, and the associate(s) you encountered had bad energy spewing from their pores.  (We can likely assume that these associates are unhappy with their jobs and don't have the tools/training they need to do their jobs well so they feel good.)  This negativity wildfire nearly engrosses you, and that excitement you had about your purchase is depleted.  Think about all that could be done differently by the company/associates in this situation.  Now, take a look at a very funny (very bad!) customer service exchange that takes place during Meet the Parents when Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is attempting to board a flight.

We have all heard the saying, “Customer Service isn't a department, it's an attitude." When you treat this concept as a business discipline, the customer experience will lead to profits. So if you believe in the business benefits of the customer experience leading to profits, then what are the best methods for achieving this? The mistake made by many is thinking that just because the company slogan says "we focus on the customer" or initiatives are in place that communicate to the staff to be warm and fuzzy with the customer, those methods will somehow be enough. Many companies "think" they know what the customers want, but the companies who "know" what they want are the companies that will lead the customer experience to a level that matters both in customer loyalty and profits.
(Image and concept adapted from Success Academy.)

“Customer Service is not a department…it’s an attitude.”  How true is this phrase? As much as we try to complicate what great service is…it can be pretty simple. Customer Love, by Mac Anderson, is a great book that highlights unforgettable true stories about individuals and companies who have created extraordinary service experiences for their customers. WOW's! Companies like Nordstrom, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, and others. What makes this little book so good is that the stories collectively inspire and remind us of what great service can look like and that it doesn't have to be complicated. 

A LOT!  For those of you who don't know, K.I.S.S. stands for "Keep it simple, stupid" (not calling you stupid; just don't want you to act stupid).  According to Wikipedia, the meaning of K.I.S.S. is: "The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided."  Now applying this principle to customer service makes a lot of sense, right?  Businesses often neglect to uphold customer service standards since they don't want to put in the work required to train on and maintain them.  This is where businesses go wrong- implementing good, basic customer service practices is not hard, and for many people, it comes naturally once they are given a gentle nudge to embrace these skills. 

Great service organizations know how to read their customers and respond.  Businesses who lose site or misunderstand who their customers are and what they want, or what matters most to them, are at risk.  It's the little misses that really weigh on me. For example,my husband and I were recently at a well-known home improvement store purchasing bags of mulch, 22 to be exact, and some plants.  As my husband was paying for our purchases, he asked if someone could load the mulch in our car.  The cashier said she would call for someone while my husband went and pulled the car around. As I was leaving, I didn't see the large rolls of plastic to line the back of our car, so I asked the cashier about it.  She scrambled around looking and finally told me that I would need to go to the front of the store to get the plastic.  I think we all know that the distance between lawn and garden and the front of the store isn't exactly close.  At this point, the car had been pulled up for the "someone" to load our car.  "Someone" casually strolled over to our car as I finished loading the last 3 bags of mulch into the car.  Big service misses here, don't you think?