by GiGi Gray
13. June 2011 13:22
I love teaching and presenting to groups because I always learn something valuable.
I recently presented at the Florida Sterling Conference for Performance Excellence in Orlando, FL and I was able to share best practices and network with top executives from world-class companies. The annual conference focuses on business excellence and process improvement using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework. The week of concurrent workshops culminates with companies being honored by the Governor of Florida for attaining world-class
status by aligning themselves with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award business model.
The presentation I delivered was entitled “Redefining the Customer Experience”. I have presented at this conference many times before while working as Director of Organizational Effectiveness for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. This year I had the honor of presenting on behalf of my new organization, Voalté. I was pleased to find that although I was representing a different company, many individuals who had attended my workshops in the past were able to find me and participate in the session.
As part of the workshop, we were discussing what makes service great. This quote always puts this into perspective for me. “Great service is only great if your customer thinks it is.” Many individuals in the workshop shared examples of how their organization brought this thought to life. I was particularly impressed with one individual’s comment. She described a scenario and went on to say that because she works for a governmental agency, she has many restrictions on what she can and cannot do for her customers legally. The part that really struck me was that her organization took a situation that was consistently perceived as a negative experience by the customer and turned it into customer delight. The example that she shared with me was about how they made the waiting room experience more comfortable. They provided shawls for women just in case they got cold and had extra pairs of glasses for those who weren’t able to read their paperwork.
Others went on to share similar incredible stories. I even learned that there is a city in Florida that has a car dealership with a nail salon and neck massage services inside. All of these ideas really reinforced what Voalté already knows - “Legendary service does not have to cost a lot of money!”
What are some things your organization has done to improve customer service and enhance customer experience?