Customer Service: Do It from the Inside Out

Posted on Dec 12, 2011

The sun beat down on the back of my neck. It was a scorching heat most people in Brazil have learned to accept, but I couldn’t bare it. I had just finished making a presentation to a room full of executives at an annual retreat. I couldn’t wait to jump into a taxi, rip off my coat, and breathe some cool air conditioning. A line of taxis were waiting; some looked new, others a little worse. One stood out like a beacon of pure refreshment—a shiny coat of sparkling blue paint made it appear perfectly maintained.  

I jumped into the taxi and asked the driver to crank the air conditioning full blast. He did, but only hot air and dust came blowing through the vents. Then the engine sputtered and clunked as warning lights flashed on the dashboard. The driver explained the air conditioning didn’t work, and he nervously turned off the fan. I had been wooed by a shiny coat of paint.  

Now let me ask about your company’s service. Is it just a shiny coat of paint that looks good on the outside but sputters and clunks when you really need it?

TIDYING UP THE SURFACE  

Ask any doctor to cure a disease with a bandage. Ask any accountant to make bad numbers look good. Or ask an advertising agency to create beautiful packaging for a horrible product. It seems silly, a waste of time, a false and futile effort. Yet, as I travel the world meeting with some of the largest companies, I find that many approach their service with a shiny coat of paint.  

They seem to be thinking only on the surface. Isn’t service what the customers see—the smiley faces and polite gestures? Can’t we just tell the front lines to do a better job and raise their level of service? Or can’t we simply hang some big posters with slogans that tell everyone we’re really committed to service? The answer is no.

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From Businessweek.com