Really?!?! - Examples of Customer Interactions

We have a long way to go when we are going to be talking about customer service. The thing is I'm making reference to as a region, not any one island. We are in serious trouble if we're to be globally competitive.

To get an idea of what I mean, have a look at the following scenarios.

• While being served at a restaurant attached to a hotel, the server at the table was more than a little inexperienced in her role as a waitress. It seemed like the tables of customers were a bother to her and it showed in her attitude. She got orders wrong, spilled the food, and when serving wine actually created a storm in the wine glass with the sound effects of thunder. The glass was noisily placed on the table with the wine sloshing around inside the bowl of the glass. She didn't know who the party comprised of, neither did she care. 
• Another restaurant and bar attached to a hotel, the male server on this occasion tried to communicate mentally, he came up to the inside of the bar where a large party was seated, put his hands in both pockets and hoped the beverage orders would in some way make their way to his head. He carried an attitude since he was witnessed being taken to task for the poorly concocted drinks he made and tried to serve. An opportunity to correct/improve his night and those of the patrons forever gone. 
• The taxi driver who is anxious to bring you from the airport so he can get a fare and complete his daily work by midday. Reeked of perspiration, admittedly it was a hot day, and when asked about how to get from the hotel to a particular destination suggest it was in walking distance. When the trip took place later in the day, it was a 15-minute trek up and down steep winding roads. Really? Leaving a card would not mean that you would be called again, especially since you don't know your own country. Broken trust is not easily repaired. 

All experiences were not unpleasant, but for those making an effort, we can only encourage them to continue doing so. They are the difference makers. We have met some people that though untrained, had outstanding personalities that made them a joy to interact with on each occasion. You actually looked forward to seeing them and though you had to spend money, you realized the value of doing so.

Perhaps our myopic view of who is our customer, often emphasized by the tourism industry has come home to roost. The old definitions which so clearly depicted what a tourist looks like have created a callousness in our minds as a region, making us numb to the realities of the real hospitality. Dulling our senses where we miss opportunities to serve right before us, and in many cases losing earnings that those who require service would be more than willing to pay us for.

It's time that we move beyond the service for a reward, and rekindle our values of hospitality where we are really nice to our guests, where ever they are from. Remembering individuals and not looking at them as niches, targets, and all the other terms that marketing has allowed us to label them. People the world over want to be made to feel special and valued. Often they don't get it at home, which they work so hard to maintain year round.

It's time to get serious...Customer Service

Observing the recent state of business development, one thing is clear. There is a uniform lack of customer service being given by Barbadian businesses. The thing is, we are quick to complain about other businesses with whom we interact, but seldom cast the eye on the operations within which we have control.

This article which shows Where to Get the World's Best Customer Service speaks volumes of where we need to go, if we are to even enter the map of the customer service grid. We have no end of people doing hospitality, tourism and hotel studies; they are not absorbed into the industry, yet there is a constant decline in customer service.

Programs of training speak to how we must address our internal customers, an arena where we can practice offering good service but is often ignored / neglected. There are even programs that have been developed which show clearly how to establish competence in customer service in your respective careers; yet customer service receives little more than "lip service".

You will notice from the article that the countries listed among the best in customer service don't even seem to focus on tourism. They just function on doing business under circumstances where their "customers" / clients are embraced in a welcoming environment and feel a degree of comfort wanting to do business repeatedly with them. They understand that the key ingredient in gaining business' market share is in fact the offering of the best customer service.

Customer service has to be tops in face to face contact, on the telephone, in your correspondence, in every aspect of interaction regardless of whether the person is perceived to be a high value customer or not.

Keep tuned in as we will over the next couple of weeks be looking at customer service and its impact - on businesses and the beneficial spin-offs on entire economies.

N.B. Kudos for the image. We don't know who produced it, but we wanted to say thanks for allowing its use.