Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2015 | Page 92
CustomerService BY JOHN D I J U L I U S
What’s Your Service
Aptitude?
It’s your job to teach employees how to
treat customers
C
ompanies don’t engage emotionally with their customers—their
employees do. If you want to
create a memorable company,
you must fill your company with memorable people. The level and quality of your
organization’s customer service comes
down to one thing and one thing only: the
Service Aptitude of every employee. From
the CEO to the account executive, sales
clerk, call center, receptionist, corporate
office support team, to every front-line
employee—the most critical component
in building a world-class customer experience culture is the Service Aptitude of
every individual in your company.
What is Service Aptitude?
Service Aptitude is a person’s ability to
recognize opportunities to exceed customers’ expectations, regardless of the
circumstances.
No one is born with it; it is not innate.
The vast majority of the workforce has
extremely low Service Aptitude, especially
when they are entering the workforce. And,
as a result of poor training and paranoid
management, many employees, including management, don’t have high Service
Aptitude, even after years of work. And
sadly, a high percentage of senior-level
executives continues to have low Service
Aptitude during their careers. Why is high
Service Aptitude so rare? What dictates
it, and what affects it?
1) Life experiences are a significant
factor in people’s Service Aptitude level,
especially in the younger workforce.
Front-line employees’ standard of living
typically does not afford them the opportunity to fly first class, stay at five-star resorts, drive a luxury automobile, or enjoy
other higher-end experiences. Yet we, as
managers, expect those same employees
to be able to deliver world-class service
to clients, guests, patients, or whomever
we call our customers, who may be ac-
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customed to these types of experiences.
It doesn’t make any sense.
2) Previous work experiences have a
major impact on a person’s Service Aptitude. It is a good bet that most of your
front-line employees have previously
worked for an average or less-than-average
customer service company. This means
that not only were they not trained on
what excellent service looks like, they also
were “brainwashed” by a policy-driven,
iron-fisted manager who taught them
that customers are out to take advantage
of businesses.
3) Current work experiences dictate
the state of an employee’s Service Aptitude. Nearly every company states on paper, plaques, and its website how it has a
customer-first philosophy, but how many
really back that up? New employees typically get initial training on a company’s
operational processes—product knowledge, the fundamentals of the job, and so
on—but very little if any customer service
or soft-skill training is invested up front.
Actions speak louder than words.
Beyond the Golden Rule
I love the Golden Rule: Treat others the
way you would like to be treated. Let’s consider my oldest son, Johnni. He is a junior
at Ohio State University and the nicest
young man you could ever meet. However,
if you hired him today and threw him in a
customer-facing, front-line position and
told him to treat customers the way he
likes to be treated, you would probably
see him greet people with, “Hey, what’s
up, dude?” He may give them a fist bump,
and you might have to ask him to pull up
his sagging pants. He is a typical college
student; this is what they do. It’s how they
like to be treated. Give him a few weeks
of soft-skill training and he will be one
of the most genuine, hospitable employees you have. For serving customers, it is
the Platinum Rule we need to focus on:
treating others the way they would like
to be treated.
It isn’t their fault
I have this sweet niece whom I bugged
for years to come work for me. She has
those qualities any business would love in
an employee who comes in contact with
customers: always smiling, very friendly,
outgoing. We were celebrating a holiday
at my house and I asked her what she was
doing. She said she had been working
at a restaurant as a hostess/receptionist
and that one of her responsibilities was
to police the restrooms. I said clean restrooms were very important to the image
of the restaurant. She said, “No, that’s
not what I mean. My boss says it is my
job to not let anyone use the restrooms
unless they are paying customers.” My
eyes lit up. “Really?” I said. She replied,
“Yes, we even have a sign on the door that
says so. In fact, last week I saw someone
who hadn’t purchased anything headed
to the restroom, so I ran after him and
made him leave.”
I was horrified! This is my sweet
adorable niece. How could she think like
this? You may be thinking how wrong
I am about my niece being a wonderful employee. Actually, she may be too
good of an employee. Her boss (sadly,
the owner of the restaurant) told her,
“Your job is to not let people take advantage of us.” And she does what she is
told, protecting the business as she has
been instructed.
Each of us has employees who have
worked elsewhere and have been influenced by other bosses who don’t think like
world-class customer service companies
and leaders. They are more concerned
that people are out to take advantage of
them than they are about taking care of
the customer.
It is not a new employee’s responsibility to
have high Service Aptitude; it is the company’s
job to teach it to them.
John R. DiJulius III, author
of The Customer Service
Revolution, is president of
The DiJulius Group, a customer service consulting firm
that works with companies
including Starbucks, Chickfil-A, Ritz-Carlton, Nestle, PwC, Lexus, and
many more. Call him at 216-839-1430 or
email [email protected].
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