By Shiv Khera                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
IN order to outperform competition and gain a competitive                                                                                             
edge, organisations need to provide not good but exceptional                                                                                          
customer service.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
In order to understand what exceptional customer service is,                                                                                          
we need to understand what it is not.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
First of all, exceptional customer service is not lip service                                                                                         
nor is it an individual or a department's responsibility.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
There are basically five categories of customer service. We                                                                                           
need to check out in what category our organisation falls.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
1. Miserable customer service                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
This is where the employee actually goes out of his way to                                                                                            
irritate the customer and makes the buying experience                                                                                                 
pathetically unforgettable.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
2. Careless and unconcerned customer service                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
The employee is indifferent to the customer's need. He could                                                                                          
not care either way whether the customer buys or not. Here,                                                                                           
the attitude represents - take it or leave it!                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
3. Anticipated customer service                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
The customer gets what is expected - no more, no less. Every                                                                                          
customer, when he goes to purchase, has some expectations of                                                                                          
quality of product/service, courtesy and price.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Based on the treatment a customer gets, the organisation gets                                                                                         
labelled. The question is, is it good to get labelled?                                                                                                
Absolutely, if the label is good.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
4. Competent customer service                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
In order to understand what is competent customer service, we                                                                                         
must understand the difference between skill and competence.                                                                                          
These two words are interchangeable and used frequently.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
The way I see it, skill is ability only, whereas competence is                                                                                        
ability plus positive attitude.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
That means that along with ability, we have the desire to                                                                                             
serve the customer. It is not uncommon to see many                                                                                                    
organisations train their staff in customer service skills,                                                                                           
such as:                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
* teaching them how to greet customers                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
* shake hands                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
* say please and thank you                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
* smile, and so on.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
I feel that all these attributes are very important. But                                                                                              
unless we have the desire to serve the customer, how long can                                                                                         
a person keep a fake smile on his face?                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Besides, people can see through other people. If the smile is                                                                                         
not sincere, it is irritating. There has to be substance over                                                                                         
form, not form over substance.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
5. Exceptional customer service                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
This is an organisation's responsibility.  It is a mutually                                                                                           
profitable relationship.                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
It is an organisational commitment to do whatever it takes, to                                                                                        
make the buying experience delightful for the customer by                                                                                             
providing value-added products or service.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Exceptional customer service comprises competence and                                                                                                 
courtesy.  When a customer purchases, he has actually                                                                                                 
purchased the right to be treated with courtesy and be                                                                                                
provided with competent service.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Please note that he has actually purchased the right, so we                                                                                           
are not doing him a favour.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
In order to understand exceptional customer service, we need                                                                                          
to put ourselves in the customer's shoes. Let's face it, we                                                                                           
are all customers of somebody, aren't we?                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
We patronise particular shops. Why do we do that? I get my                                                                                            
vehicle repaired at a particular shop which may be a few miles                                                                                        
away, and on the way there I pass a number of other repair                                                                                            
shops.                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Why is it that I go to a particular one, bypassing the others?                                                                                        
The major reason is that he is able to inspire confidence that                                                                                        
I am dealing with the right person.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
A store manager told his boss: "Too bad John lost his hearing,                                                                                   
I guess he won't be working for the company much longer." The                                                                                    
boss replied: "That's ridiculous, we're going to transfer him to                                                                                 
the customer service department."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Exaggeration? Not at all. The above story represents the                                                                                              
attitude of most organisations, including some of those who                                                                                           
claim to be customer-focused.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
When we provide exceptional customer service, we need to be                                                                                           
very cautious because there are dangers involved.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
The biggest one is that the customer not only compares the                                                                                            
value received against our competitors but is also comparing                                                                                          
us to our past performance.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
In order to provide exceptional customer service, we must                                                                                             
recognise customers needs and expectations.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
There is a difference between customer service and customer                                                                                           
satisfaction. Customer service is from the provider's point of                                                                                        
view whereas satisfaction is from the customer's point of                                                                                             
view.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Of course, exceptional customer service from the provider's                                                                                           
point of view may not be exceptional from the recipient's                                                                                             
point of view.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Whenever there is a difference between reality and perception,                                                                                        
what prevails? always, perception. Our objective as an                                                                                                
exceptional customer service provider is to bring reality and                                                                                         
perception together.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Customer-focused organisations do not just happen. They are                                                                                           
created by creating the culture in the organisation. Culture                                                                                          
always goes top down not bottom up.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Major organisations all over the world such as Disney, Ford,                                                                                          
and American Express believe and invest in training their                                                                                             
people. People can be your greatest assets or liabilities.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
We do not have business problems; we have people problems.                                                                                            
When we solve our people problems, our business problems are                                                                                          
automatically solved.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
If you want to build a reputation that values customers, get                                                                                          
your priorities right. You need to do three things:                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
1. Hire the right people                                                                                                                              
Character and attitude are more important than degrees.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
2. Invest in your people Train, train, train. As a benchmark,                                                                                         
invest about 1% of your gross sales in training.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
In order to see results, train everyone in your organisation                                                                                          
rather than training piece-meal. Train right from the chief                                                                                           
executive officer to every team member because your bottom                                                                                            
line starts from the top.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
3. Create a service-oriented culture in your organisation                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
In an organisation where individuals and departments                                                                                                  
internally are not being treated with respect and dignity, one                                                                                        
can be pretty certain that their external customers are not                                                                                           
being treated with respect and dignity either.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Employers, employees, departments and vendors are all                                                                                                 
customers to each other.                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
If you make a commitment and invest in your people, the                                                                                               
rewards will be many-fold, both in employee and customer                                                                                              
loyalty and increased profits.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
* Business consultant Shiv Khera was in Kuala Lumpur recently                                                                                         
to conduct an interactive workshop on "Winners Don't Do                                                                                          
Different Things - They Do Things Differently" at the                                                                                            
Malaysian Institute of Management.