Getting Service Right: Overcoming the Hidden Obstacles to Outstanding Customer Service Kindle Edition

Finally, a customer service book that focuses on the all-important "T" in an organization's strategy SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). Get ready to be surprised at the obstacles to great service hiding in plain sight. With poignant stories, stunning concepts, and practical wisdom, Toister's latest book is one that "gets customer service books right!"

Excited to read this one!

Was able to use these ideas at my work for employee appreciation and motivation

I like how this book talks about customers who are wrong or even immoral and gives a good and honest look on whay to do about it vs. simply treating all customers well, as bad or nasty customers should not be rewarded for outrageous behavior at the expense of the business, yet at the same time the business should consider forgiveness to customers who make honest mistakes. Of course, businesses should seek to create environments which minimize these problems which lead a customer to err when possible. I found it worth reading for getting a better understanding of this as well as quite a few other useful rules and principles that I have not mentioned here. One critique is that customers may be interested in a conversation one customer has with a business on an issue the customer has vs. always making it private, as it can inform other customers as to how a business deals with a problem, as arguably all businesses with many customers will inevitably run into problems that a customer has. I think a powerful motto is, "We strive to make a mistake only once."

Most of us can tell a story about the time we were treated so poorly we walked out of a restaurant, cancelled a subscription, wrote a damning Yelp review or worse. With real-life examples and scientific research, this book reveals the systems and decisions that led to that experience. Our disastrous interactions didn’t have to be that way and author Jeff Toister outlines the sometimes counterintuitive path to getting it right.We often view our interactions with customer service in a simplistic light. Either we had a good experience or we didn't and it’s up to the representative to make it right. But Jeff Toister makes clear that your interaction is the tail of the dog. What happens to you is the result of leadership, culture, technology and a host of hidden factors. It’s fascinating to discover what goes on behind the curtain.Why Customer Service Isn’t GreatMost of the book is dedicated to overcoming obstacles but in Part One he shares what he sees as the root causes of poor service. Although “most people inherently want to do a good job” there are things that get in the way:- Companies underestimate what it takes to deliver excellent customer service- Industry ratings are averages which hide what customers actually experience- There can be a disconnect between stated company values and the way leaders behave which impacts what - employees interpret as the actual valuesThe author recognizes the reality of inertia when faced with doing something about all the obstacles, so in Part Two he dives into how to tackle each barrier.The 10 Obstacles and How to Overcome themThe Customer is NOT Always RightAlthough “The Customer Is Always Right” has become a knee-jerk rejoinder, we all know that the opposite is often true. The problem is that although they might be wrong, the customer is still powerful. The author sites research revealing that “20 to 30 percent of customer dissatisfaction is the fault of the customer.” But pointing that out doesn’t result in good service (it would more likely result in the “storming out” mentioned above).The solution, the author maintains, is tasking customer service with the job of “making the customer feel right.” It’s an interesting distinction and means that company policies must be designed to facilitate that effort.Three steps that help:1. Make trade-offs—Do a few things well like Trader Joe’s, a company that gets high customer satisfaction ratings but has limited offerings2. Set expectations—Let customers know what to expect which is why servers ask customers if they’ve been to a particular restaurant before3. Adapt service to suit customer needs—Treat them the way they want to be treated (as opposed to how we want to be treated)The author outlines many ways to handle difficult customers. It begins with advice to “train employees to avoid placing blame when a customer makes an error, and instead focus on finding a solution.” He concludes with the wonderful encouragement to “invite abusive customers to take their business elsewhere.” You can feel the relief and satisfaction in that statement.2. Conformity is ContagiousThere are dozens of factors at work in a corporate culture. Employees react to how leaders and co-workers behave and they are impacted by social pressure whether they are aware of it or not. The company may have banners proclaiming, “The Customer Always Comes First!” but culture is a product of behavior that might contradict the slogan. As the author points out, “culture is what we do.”In order to build a more conscious service culture:- Create a customer service vision—One that tells employees exactly how they can contribute- Make sure the vision is clearly understood- Make sure it’s focused on customers- Make sure it reflects who you are as a company and who you want to beThis chapter reflects the necessity and power of good mission/purpose statements and how telling stories helps make those statements come to life, such as how customer service representatives saved a bad situation or tales that highlight customers’ reactions to a company living its vision. It has to start with employees being clear on, and buying into, the vision and purpose of the organization.3. They’re Your Customers Not MineThere’s a disconnect that takes place when customer service personnel don’t see themselves as representatives of the company. The many reasons for this are listed throughout the book, but the remedies focus on reconnecting the employee to the company and keeping them from feeling like solo operators.A few remedies:- Give employees decision-making power over procedures—work against the waste of Non-Utilized Talent- Recognize good behavior and avoid financial rewards—monetary rewards, especially for individuals as opposed to teams, eventually backfire- Allow people to be authentic—don’t ask people to recite automatic, scripted interactions since nobody likes it, or buys it4. Your Employees are Double AgentsSometimes customer service is trying to do the right thing for the customer but their efforts bump up against a company policy. When there’s a conflict, the employee is forced to either frustrate a customer or knowingly violate a policy.Some ways to overcome this obstacle:- Don’t make rigid policies—trust employees to do the right thing- Don’t say “no”—train employees to provide options which invite the customer’s cooperation- Leaders should experience first-hand the impact of their policies—spend time on the front line (“Go to the Gemba”) to watch, listen and talk to employees5. Mutually Assured DestructionBroken systems are major culprits behind the dysfunction in the customer service world. The author calls up the relatable image of a “customer yelling ‘human!’ in to the phone in the attempt to get a live person.” We’ve all been that customer. He quotes the estimate that “60% of customer dissatisfaction is a result of poor products, service or process,” and the job of consoling those unhappy customers is left to frontline employees.The author points out that this is a perfect opportunity to improve employee engagement. As with all successful continuous improvement, Jeff Toister recommends including employees in problem solving. Descriptions of process mapping and mistake-proofing illustrate how simple it is to engage employees in identifying and addressing systemic problems.“Gallup estimates that disengaged employees in the United States alone cost companies as much as $605 billion annually in lost productivity.” Working to build the kind of problem-solving cultures that result from methods like Lean Six Sigma seems like a customer-service no-brainer.6. Attention Is In Short SupplyThere’s a great activity outlined in this chapter that takes the “Myth of Multitasking”...to task. A lot has been written to debunk the myth, but the activity produces data that illuminates why switching from responding to emails, to answering phones to completing other tasks lowers productivity and leads to more errors.“A little bit of time is lost whenever we move from one task to the next, because our brains refocus.” It’s important to set employees up to focus on and complete only one task at a time. Use electronic reminders as alerts for things like responding to customers and embrace the fact the multi-tasking is an enticing but ultimately time-wasting myth.7. What Role Will You Play Today?This reinforces the need to understand an organization’s “purpose.” The point is to focus less on completing the task at hand and more on the goal of delighting customers. He outlines a great activity where employees write the thank you letter they’d like to receive. It includes specifics like “what the employee did and how it helped the customer.”Employees read their own letter every day for 30 days and reflect on what they would do in order to receive such a letter. The author offers a free daily reminder service on how to make these letters a reality. He ends by asking leaders to choose their focus: “Is your role keeping service costs to a bare minimum, or is it creating a world-class service organization that helps your business grow by retaining customers?” Good question.8. The Problem with EmpathyAlthough it’s important to see things through the eyes of the customer, “many employees struggle to empathize with customers because they don’t have a similar experience they can relate to it.” The solution is to help employees “experience your product or service as a customer.” That’s a great place to start but depending on the industry that might be easier said than done.Another avenue is to share stories from customers’ experiences. A medical device company printed posters telling stories about how their products impacted individual lives. That helped employees feel some connection to patients they had no direct contact with. It’s also key to let employees vent since being on the receiving end of customer anger results in some understandably negative emotions for employees. Let them vent first and strategize solutions second. Leaders need empathy too.9. Emotional RoadblocksOne paradox for someone in service is being told, “don’t take it personally.” If a customer is unleashing their anger and frustration at us, “our natural instinct is to take it personally.” The author points out that negative emotions easily transfer from customer to employee. Employees might be experiencing the fight or flight response while struggling to stay calm.He outlines a three-part continuous improvement approach for managers to help employees through such an episode:1. Help them evaluate the situation—determine potential root causes2. Discuss future strategies—develop potential solutions3. Encourage them to try out the strategies—put solutions into actionOrganizational relationships are critical. He advises managers to get to know employees at least two levels down. He recommends encouraging friendships between employees since positive emotions are contagious too. Lastly, he reminds senior leaders of the “need to make the company a place where employees want to work.” The workplace should be a refuge.10. Casualties of Cost ConsciousnessBusinesses often mistakenly view customer service as a cost center and a “necessary evil” instead of seeing it as an opportunity to form long-term relationships with clients. He gives great examples of the negative impact of cost-saving efforts on customer satisfaction.He relates the familiar situation of dealing with a lower-tier, less experienced support person until the situation (or your demands) result in finally getting access to a more experienced (and higher-paid) representative who’s able to solve the problem. One remedy is to accurately measure the loss of customer loyalty from this technique. If organizations did a better job of tracking the true impact of what seem like cost-saving steps, they might realize they’re not always worth it.Putting Lessons Into ActionJeff Toister is clearly a seasoned teacher because he references lots of simple, high-impact activities that help people “get” important concepts. A great one is where he gives participants one minute to list what they’d pack to take on vacation. Everyone feverishly complies until they realize they don’t know where they’re going. His point is “how easy it is to engage in action without having a clear objective.”He recommends starting the customer service journey with three steps:1. Clearly define outstanding service2. Use this definition as a compass to guide everything you do, and3. Reinforce constantlyThe book is rich with real and personal stories and the author is generous with guidance to get organizations on the right path. You can register on his website to receive a free customer service tip of the week—great for those who appreciate digestible advice “nuggets.” He puts appropriate emphasis on what leadership must do to make clear they see customer service as a priority. It’s leadership’s job to “make great performance easy.” This book gets it right.

With Getting Service Right, Jeff Toister has done a great service to the service industry, and all businesses in general. This well-written and well-researched book provides useful insights and actionable strategies -- as well as great wisdom such as his advice to modernize "the customer is always right' philosophy and operate by the rule that we should always try to help the customer feel right." Jeff's first publication on this topic, Service Failure, was excellent -- this second updated edition tops it.

As a customer behavior research wonk, I appreciate backup rather than unbacked assertions. Toister provides support for his principles and good case studies to illustrate. The guts of the book are ten barriers to service delivery that are granular and recognizable. Each is accompanied with strategies for mitigation or elimination. My favorite is Mutually Assured Dissatisfaction. This is where a broken process assures that both the customer and employee will be frustrated. You could easily assign each barrier to a team of service reps and challenge them to come back with strategies for addressing it. The book is an easy read which will be welcomed and embraced by all levels of the company.

What I love about this book is the personal connection the author has to the topic. His first job was serving customers in a store, he shares his personal experiences with service that were positive and not so positive, as well as examples from companies he helped as a consultant. This makes the book incredibly relatable, and it's also easy to read. That said, the book is also peppered with data and facts. It also outlines scientific reasons into why customers and employees behave the way they do in service situation, which helps understand why negative experiences are created in the first place. The book has a number of solutions and strategies that will drive positive outcomes, and tells you which strategies one should avoid. Customer service leaders will also appreciate countless stories and examples they can use to train and educate their staff.