Column in Search of Service Excellence
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TOPdeskColumn in Search of Service Excellence
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TOPdeskCOLUMN
IN SEARCH OF
SERVICE EXCELLENCE
Holidays are a never-ending source of service experiences. The
The customers experience plays a larger role in many new service
stories about service horrors are the most enjoyable ones. Your
agreements as well. We now speak more and more of XLAs
luggage hasnt arrived, and even though you call twice a day for
(eXperience Level Agreements) instead of the classic SLAs (Service
two weeks, nobody seems to know what the problem is. However,
Level Agreements). The main thought behind XLAs is that you need
new promises are always made, even though no one keeps them.
to anticipate what the customer wants or hopes for, but what has
Another popular problem is wrong bookings, as well as hotels that
not literally been discussed in the negotiations.
serve spoiled food.
Striving for customer satisfaction and service excellence forces
But luckily not everything is problematic. A check among colleagues
service providers to use their emphatic abilities to put themselves
proves that service excellence can still be found during summer.
in the customers shoes. Add customer input and research to the
A number of examples: Being able to take your surf board with
mix and you are on the right path to continuously learning and
you on the plane for free. Car trouble that is taken care of, from
improving. Not alone, but with both your customer and supplier.
(cancelling a planned) booking to a replacement vehicle.
A personal guide who really shows you around the city and
Providing a positive surprise is a challenge for everyone. Sometimes
who you can pay afterwards, depending on how much you think
you need more than existing experiences and ideas. Trying
its worth.
something new sometimes leads to experiences that exceed all
those before it.
Service excellence is more than meeting agreements and voiced
expectations. You also need to meet the unvoiced expectations, or
We have tried to do this in the past year during the development
even the wishes the customer does not even know he or she has
of SEE 2016. We have strived to exceed your expectations and you
yet. Its all about the element of surprise and adding something
have been able to experience the result of our efforts. We hope
substantial to your customers private or business life.
you had a wonderful day and we would love to see you again at
the next edition.
Excellent service is not unattainable or unmeasurable. There is
even a standard for service excellence (CEN/TS 16880), in which
structurally surprising the customer by exceeding his or her
expectations is the norm. This bar may seem high because many
services already dont meet the agreements, let alone that they
exceed the customers expectations. However, the model in this
standard provides a framework to systematically work on creating
an exceptional customer experience.
