Words to live by

Published July 1, 2009 | By Lee

A few months ago, I had to take my little VW beetle in for a check up before making a trip cross country. I was in a new town and was not familiar with the service department. When I walked in, I was greeted immediately by a woman behind the counter. After telling her my name, she politely excused herself to go get the service manager for me. While waiting, I noticed a very large sign at my eye level just behind the counter. It read as follows:

OUR PROMISE

The 5 Customer (Guest) Wants:

Quality in Every Detail
Fast Response
Solution to the Problem
Personal Assistance
Sincere Cheer

I had to smile as I read them. They were simply common sense and the fact that they posted them was brilliant in my humble opinion. What does having this list do for the “guests” that walk in? And how about the employees? What does this say about the company?

I enjoyed a long career with a company that had their Shared Values posted in every store. This was a company that believed in empowering every member of their team to make good decisions based on the company’s values, vision and mission. As a new team member, the first day of training was just about these shared values with the thought that if you found yourself in a position where you weren’t sure what to do, you could follow the values and make the “right” decisions…every time.

It worked like a charm.

What words does your business have to live by?

What is your business’s customer service philosophy?

Would you post them?

Testimonials

Lee is a hard-to-find mixture of a straight talker (honesty, clarity and accuracy) delivered in a soft manner (tact and humor). Much of that valuable gift is due to her thorough preparation, coaching by asking more than telling and her ability to listen well. ~ Libby Brown, Co-founder of This End Up Furniture Co, Author of Making Waves