If you are just auditing this class, these assignments are optional.

But if you are serious about service – meaning you want to provide more than just ordinary service – then you will enjoy putting these assignments to work for you.

1.  Continue to pay attention to the service you get wherever you go.

a.  What do you love about it?

b.  What do you dislike about it?

c.  If you have co-workers, suggest they do the same.

d.  Share your customer service stories at your staff meeting.  Make it a regular agenda item.  Soon    others on the staff will be bringing and sharing their own stories.

e.  You don’t even have to wait for the staff meeting.  Tell your stories around the “water cooler”.

Note:  Stories about poor service are powerful.  Few people want to be one of the “bad guys”, so hearing stories about them raises awareness and plants seeds for change.  Stories about good service then serve as models and idea generators.

2.  Meanwhile, evaluate your own service.

a.  Give yourself an overall service rating on a scale from 0-10.

Note 1:  Yes – I asked you to do this last month too.   If you are serious about service, it’s a good thing to do every month.

Note 2:  If you have a staff, you can use 2A and 2B as an individual evaluation tool.  Ask each person to evaluate him/herself and then share the results with you.

b.  Rank your service based on these eight things customers want.

i.  a smile

ii. good eye contact

iii. good manners

iv. a respectful greeting

v.a thank you

vi.  being called by name

vii.  quick & easy service

viii. quick, accurate & thorough follow up

3.  Because of the complexity of 2.b.vii and 2.b.viii, go deeper by asking yourself (and your staff) these questions.

a.  What actions, interactions, processes, procedures are involved in your business?

b.  For each of these:

i.  How quickly do you do it now?

ii.  How quickly does your customer wish you would do it?

iii.  How quickly does your competition do it?

iv.  What keeps you from doing it quicker than you do?

v.  What would enable you to do it quicker?

vi.  What would be the value (to you, to your customer, to your employees, to your business)  of doing it quicker?

4.  If you’d like extra reading between now and the next class,  here is a suggested reading list.

copyright 2008 – Jan Bolick, Business Class Inc

The author gives permission to distribute copies of this article as long as long as it is copied in full -including the box below.

Jan is a management coach (CUCG, PCC) with thirty years of sales and management experience.  She loves sharing her experience and expertise with business owners and managers so that they can get through tough situations, and then make and celebrate the achievement of big goals.

Check out her programs, services & tools at www.businessclassinc.com

One of the free tools she provides is the Business Class E-Zine.  Especially suited for business owners, managers & professionals, it includes ideas & inspiration to boost morale, save time, increase productivity & build business.  Better Business… Better.

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