Welcome to the WOW Customer Service Blog
Welcome to the WOW Customer Service Blog. If you are interested in delivering WOW customer service to increase your profits, you have come to the right place. At this blog, we will share our insights and experience from improving customer service at businesses nationwide.
Let’s start with our definition. WOW customer service is…
“Going beyond satisfying ALL of a customer’s spoken needs. It is exceeding their spoken/unspoken needs and expectations to consistently delight the customer at every opportunity, using a team approach”
In this definition there are several key points.
The first is that your team delivers service that goes beyond the customer’s spoken needs. For example, you walk into a new store for the first time and say “I am looking for the bread aisle”. Typically you will get an employee that points and says “over there, aisle 2” – but not at this new store. The employee smiles and takes the customer right over to the bread section. Instead of leaving, the employee asks “What kind of bread are you looking for?” and you say “white bread”. The employee says “We actually have some white bread on sale right over here too, if you are interested”.
What just happened…the employee went beyond the spoken need and delivered on an unspoken need – saving money. Do you think you will mention this experience to anyone else or go back there again? Do you think many stores deliver on the WOW experience? Nope and so whatever business you’re in, you have a golden opportunity to create WOW experiences customer by customer, to increase your profits.
Second, WOW customer service delights the customer at MULTIPLE opportunities. For example right when you arrive at the parking lot, the grounds are clean, a team member says “hello” to you when you walk in the front door and another team member says “Hi” to you as you pass by.
Third, WOW customer service is not good customer service that meets the customer’s expectations. Rather it is customer service that EXCEEDS the customer’s expectations – the suggestion of the sale item.
Fourth, WOW customer service is constant. When you visit at different locations and at different times of the day, you get the same WOW level of service.
And last but VERY important, WOW customer service is delivered with a TEAM approach. I was reminded of this point the other day when I went out of my way to let the restaurant manager know that their order taker/cashier was one of the best…she apologized for a short delay, was very friendly, repeated the order, counted my change and said thank you as I departed with my order. I was 4 miles away when I checked my order and it was wrong! The person filling the order messed it up. I did not want cheese (I am trying to keep the pounds off!) . I mean that cheese was melted all over the sandwich. It ruined the whole experience and underscores the importance of the team approach. With our grocery store example, what would happen to your experience if you went to the checkout line and the cashier was talking to other employees and ignored you?
Thank you for visiting. There is no “perfect” definition. What is your definition? Please give us your comments and stay tuned for more valuable insights!
Categories: Customer Service - tell us your definition of WOW customer service... | 
Tags: | 
7 Comments »
WOW customer service goes beyond basics BUT the basics are there. The product is quality, I am not kept waiting, my issue/ question is handled/ resolved, polite manner does not show irritation or anxious to end the conversation,speaks English well, speaks to me not at me. If in addition, if there is a genuine rapport, a real interest in what I want/need, if the service person is does what it takes to resolve my issue whatever it is, if he or she does this cheerfully and is enjoying his or her job, if this happens regularly at the same business, I’ll be back
In addition to agreeing wholeheartedly with all the points mentioned in the statement by the administration, I find that I value staff who are truly knowledgeable about their products and services and are willing to take the time to understand my needs and make recommendations that meet those needs specifically. What impresses me is a staff member who asks what I’m looking for and what problem I’m trying to solve, then really listens to the answer before offering recommendations. Once the products or services that meet my needs have been identified, I really appreciate an honest answer to the question of which is the best deal so that I will either pay for the top of the line and clearly understand why it was worth it, or pay for a less expensive version that solves my problem and know how much I saved. Either way, I leave happy.
WOW customer service starts at the minute I walk in the door. Is the store clean? Upon walking in, I am greeted with a hello and asked if I am looking for something specific or what I have in mind. The customer service rep. is helpful, yet can read from my body language if I want her to stick around for further questions. If it is a restaurant, the person is helpful in helping me decide what to order and offers the specials or even recommends their favorite entree. In a store, the employee will take me there, or at least tell me exactly where to find it. Sometimes I don’t want the employee to go with me, but I will either tell them so or say “No” to their offer to take me there. At least they offer. The employee goes out of their way to make sure I know what is available and what my choices are, then lets me decide. They will also stay available if I need further assistance. A large part of being successful at customer service is always being friendly, knowledgable, and reading people’s body language, then giving them the service that you would expect by coming into their store.
Shopper tip from shopper below…the better the preparation of the shopper to role play, the better the quality of the metrics being reported, the better the effectiveness of coaching and training efforts. SHOPPERS, YOU ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS. Thank you all!
I wholeheartedly agree with the statements above, and would add, that it is important to be professional and role play the part from dress to actions on the assignment, with any assignment you are given. I believe it is important to do research on the company you will be working for as the role player, so that you have some knowledge about the company in order to do an excellent job returning the information they are looking for. Role playing is an important key to giving WOW customer service, along with research, and in order to get the information required.
We first defined what WOW customer service but how do you deliver it? There are several “Must do” steps in delivering WOW customer service and every step must be followed thoroughly. One step is “Defining What WOW Customer Is” for your company’s product or service. During our consulting, we ask all of our clients’ executives what WOW customer service is to them and here is what always happens…everybody gives different definitions! One person will say “Quality” (which is quite vague), another person will say “speed of service”..another person will say “friendly service” and so on. How can an organization deliver the best customer experiences, if they can’t even agree on what it is? How can you lead/manage/measure team members, if there are no written details of what is the ideal customer experience to deliver consistently?
ASCS uses our unique process to gather and the define the standards of WOW customer service, as defined from both the customers and the employees. We also check the industry the determine “Best of Breed” -(a fancy name for the best customer service attributes of competitors). We then follow a process to evaluate, rank and organize everything. The final step is taking everything and then writing a detailed description of WOW customer experiences. The description is easily followed by both executives and team members. With the ASCS’s Customer Experience Standards in hand, the organization has clear customer experience to manage towards. This is one of several pieces to deliver WOW customer experiences. Have you ever worked with an organization that defined customer experiences or do have a comment?
Wow customer service is going that extra mile. It is not just doing your job; it is about caring what you do. It is about setting the standard higher that expected or required. There are always rules and regulations to follow. Nevertheless, when you want to produce that Wow effect you have to show that results are more important than the work it took to get there. The compensation for the job is expected but the result of the job is what is most important. Everyone is a customer, whether it is to an employee, a customer in a store or a co-worker. One way or another you are servicing someone. Showing you care about a person is a Wow effect.
WOW Customer Service is not just good service, but GREAT service. It’s about creating a personal connection between you (the employee) and the customer. This is done by remembering my name when I walk in on a second visit. recognizing that a customer has kids and they might need help carrying items, taking the time to find the best combination of services for a customer (not just what is easiest), and thanking a customer each and every time they enter or leave your business. WOW Customer Service is about making that customer feel like their loyalty and business is of utmost importance to your company, not because they bring money, but because they are whom you are there to serve. People want to be appreciated and noticed, a WOW experience would embody that sense of appreciation.