Lip Service

June 1, 2018
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“We care about our customers”

“Our customers are the reason we are in business”

“Nothing is too hard for us”

“Our customers come first”

“If there is anything we can do for you.. just ask”

Blah, blah, blah!

Gone are the days where a fancy and catchy slogan will ensure you will get away with treating your customers poorly. It seems some businesses have figured this out, but others have still yet to realise that there is a revolution happening.

That revolution is actually an evolution. Things are swinging around and evolving right in front of businesses eyes, but most are too busy with smoke and mirrors and clever marketing campaigns that they are failing to see what is happening in the marketplace.

Just shouting out that you care about your customers is not enough. There needs to be constant and actual proof of that. Lately it seems that the true outcomes are not even being measured by some businesses to see if their catchy customer service promises are being delivered.

Customer / clients have had enough of lip service. They can get fed lip service on-line so why would they want to accept it any longer face to face?

There is a desire by consumers / clients to be appreciated by those businesses they are spending their hard-earned money with. This is something that is interesting to watch when I do a staff customer service training session within companies. When the staff see what consumers actually want as opposed to what they are receiving, it is like a like has been switched on.

Our current and future customers have had enough of lip service. That is why customer loyalty is at a low point these days, as people are searching, hoping, and praying for another option so their hard-earned money and business is valued and appreciated by those they give it to.

For those reading this who are… let’s say not a millennial (that’s code for a bit older), you will understand this when I say customers are after “old school” service. This is why there HAS TO BE deliberate, thought out and strategic plans put in to place to ensure all staff involved with customer touch-points within a business are on the same page and understand the bigger picture.

Hanging fancy mission statements on our walls will not evoke a culture change. There has to be a proper understanding of what is involved not only from a team perspective, but also from a personal responsibility one as well. Unless there is deliberate and constant training with all staff within a business around the customers needs and outcomes, nothing will ever change, and things will just revert back to the same old way they were done before. there needs to be constant assessing by owners, management and team leaders regarding how our customers are feeling with what we are delivering to them service wise.

I do personally believe that there are a lot of Managing Directors, CEO’s, Board Members who don’t really go out and personally experience what their customers / clients experience every day. If they did, I bet they would make some changes.

This week my wife and I had to go into a major retail outlet. Now all I hear from this retailer through the media is how the “internet” is having an impact on their bottom line. Well we had to search high and low to find someone to give our money to within that store. There was no staff to be seen anywhere. Call me simple, but the easier you make it for someone to give you money, the more they may spend. In the end we gave up and went elsewhere. When I posted on my social media about my experience accompanied with the photo showing no staff to be seen, I was flooded with similar stories.

Now the interesting thing is here, I rang the company in question with my feedback, and others who posted on my social media feed also stated that they had sent in feedback. Some dating back months ago. It doesn’t seem to have done anything however for that company to see that there is an issue that is affecting their potential customers experiences. It just seems as they don’t care!

But if I walk through their store, their PA system will bellow out messages about how the customer is “everything” to them. LIP SERVICE!

This isn’t about promising the world to your customers. It is just about delivering what you said you would!

Justin Herald is the Managing Director of Customer Culture. He speaks at over 100 conferences a year and has written 8 International Best Selling books. www.CustomerCulture.com.au

About Justin Herald

At the age of 25 with only $50 to his name, Justin Herald set about changing the course of his life.

Justin created Attitude Inc, a clothing brand that became an international licensing success that turned over in excess of $20 million per year.

Justin’s success was so well noted that he was named the “INTERNATIONAL ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR” for 2005. He recently was also awarded the Future Leaders Award, which recognises him as being one of the 50 most influential leaders of the next generation in Australia.

He is also Managing Director Customer Culture, one of Australia's leading customer service training companies, that not only teaches staff around the world “how” to give great service, but more importantly, “why” it is needed. This has proven a game changer with the companies that engage Justin and his team.

His website justinherald.com receives thousands of hits a month. He also is the author of 8 international bestselling books. He also personally mentors over 100 business owners each year

Justin is regarded as one of Australia’s most sought after speakers with engagements booked all over the country and overseas speaking in front of 150,000 people each year.