Five keys to Quality Service Delivery
The goal of any service organization should be deliver an unparalleled experience for their customers, yet it seems, in the area of service delivery, “good enough” has become good enough. It has become difficult to find quality service delivery. So what defines “quality” for service delivery organizations? I would start by focusing on these five areas:
- Effective communication – Always put yourself in a customer’s shoes … you have something you depend upon that is broken. You call for service and you just don’t know what to expect. The ability to effectively communicate with customers is critical to your success as a service provider. You may be doing a considerable amount of work on their behalf but if they are not made aware of your efforts, it is almost as if you are doing nothing for them. When working remote from your customer, let them know who is involved in the resolution of their problem and what they are doing. When onsite in front of your customer, let them know who else is engaged … and even when you have nothing immediately to do, do something! Even if it is only to clean fingerprints from the console. Let them see that things are getting better.
- Troubleshooting technique – Effective troubleshooting methodologies, at times, seem to be lacking in service delivery. When uncertain as to how to proceed, service providers must utilize all of the resources at their disposal. Most companies have many good technical resources and knowledge management tools available that can be leveraged in getting customer problems resolved. Don’t allow yourself or your team to suffer from the Lone Ranger syndrome. In a complex environment, minimize what you are looking at, verify operation and then expand your scope.
- Accept accountability – Another challenge I would note is that service organizations are often asked to resolve issues that they did not have a hand in creating. The easy response is to tell the customer that it was not your fault and affix blame somewhere else. Harder still is accepting full responsibility for not only the problem but for getting that problem resolved. This, more than anything, is what makes service delivery less of a science and more of an art form; the art of building confidence and trust with the customer.
- Path of least resistance – Customers continue to expect more and more out of their technology and service partners. The demands of the business being supported is ever increasing and dependent upon, in some cases, multiple service providers. Understanding the demands of the customer’s business is critical. Even when contacted for an issue that is not in your area, you need to add value and get the customer the service they need when they need it the most. That does not mean you need to provide service outside of the scope of your contract, but you must make the customer feel secure in reaching out to you; that you will get them to the “right” resource for help.
- Peace of Mind – The best service organizations with which I have worked have not been focused on the delivery of service itself, but on delivering “peace of mind” to their customers. We have all experienced those times of critical need for service when we engage our service provider and sit back with a high level of confidence that things will be resolved satisfactorily. That needs to the the goal in every service encounter.
It is incumbent upon service providers to focus on these areas. We need to communicate effectively and often; address service incidents with a clear troubleshooting methodology, involving other technical resources as may be warranted; accept accountability to make things right and be the path of least resistance for our customers. This will provide them with peace of mind in the process.
