What Is Good Service?

Now that sounds like a pretty simple question, on the surface anyway.
We all know what good service is, don’t we? We certainly are able to recognize it when we encounter it. It’s a feeling. Good service (to me) is doing the job you are paid to do; excellent service is anything above and beyond that. Your definitions may differ.
In fact, when you stop to really think about it. recognizing and defining good service is a lot harder than it seems. Is it going the extra mile? Is it speed and efficiency? Is is a nice smile and good eye contact? Is it all of these things?
Turns out there are many things that can impact your perception of a service experience. Things like:
mood – good moods are easier to satisfy than sour ones. More effort is called for to deliver good service to a person in a nasty mood, not just because they’re difficult to deal with, but because you have to work that much harder to break through the bad feelings already on board.
expectations based on past experience – if you’re expecting good service, say in a fine restaurant for instance, and you don’t get it, that hurts more than being a victim of poor service in a place not known to be especially nice.
your own personal baggage – this is where those definitions you have, in your own mind, of what makes good service come into play. Maybe you’re done the job before and so have special insight as to the difficulty. Maybe you expect the world to bend to your wishes. Maybe the person serving you reminds you of a bully from third grade. You cannot escape all that has brought you to this point in life. It is with you now, influencing you in ways you may not realize.
On the other side of any service experience is the person providing the service. Human, just like you. Wanting to do well, just like you. In my mind the benefit of the doubt is always given to any person working hard, making an honest effort. Same goes for someone not properly trained — you can’t do what you’ve never been taught.
With good service being such a subjective area, you’ll need to be very clear to employees about your expectations of the service they should provide as a representative of your business. Don’t assume they know… make sure they know. Tell them what you expect in a clear, easy to understand way and answer any questions they have. This is a great checklist of 15 customer service skills that every employee should have — the perfect place to start.
Reinforce your expectation of good service often and recognize exceptional service efforts. We can help with that. Our people are clear on what good service means and are committed to giving it to every single customer. So when you call us, the person who answers is ready to help you choose just the right award or recognition product, personalize it, and have it ready for you to present. The product you receive from bigpromotions will be a lasting reminder to all who see it how much value you put on good service.