NEXT LEVEL CUSTOMER SERVICE
FROM THE DESK OF GRANT CARDONE: Average customer service permeates society at all levels—it’s rare to find businesses actively looking to create and improve a next level customer service experience
Here are just a few places lacking that, that immediately come to mind:
THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY: These companies have become so competitive on price that nobody seems to care about service. They would prefer to drag you down the aisle than take a $1200 hit on a seat they oversold.
FAST FOOD: For the most part, companies that serve fast food are terrible with customer service. I know because I used to work at McDonald’s. I was there for my $8 an hour and I hated it. And let’s face it, this is still true for most fast food workers today. When was the last time you were “wowed” by any service at a fast food place?
RETAIL: Many adults treat this job as I did as a teenager at McDonald’s, as though this work is an illness. Whether they ring you up at the cashier or help you on the sales floor, it’s a chore for them to be there helping you and often they will not hide it.
It doesn’t matter if you go to Sears or Payless Shoes, the local clothing boutique, the Radio Shack in the strip mall, or the giant Walmart, the experience is the same: lousy. Most of the time you have to get their attention if you need assistance and interrupt their time as they play on their phone.
ANYTHING GOVERNMENT: It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about the DMV, the post office, or the state senate. It’s bad. It’s gotten so bad that nobody expects anything extraordinary from any government employee, instead, we expect lousy service and are pleasantly surprised if they just reach mediocre, right?
The bureaucracy of the system is obviously conducive to all of this, but every individual still has the choice to decide to be great each day they go to work.
REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY: I’m talking about both brokers and agents here. Nobody calls you back. Nobody works on weekends. Everyone takes forever to get anything done. There is no regard for speed, follow-up, or exceeding anyone’s expectations. This industry, as a whole, is as mediocre as they come. This is good news for the realtor who actually commits to be great because they will be able to take market share.
WHY IS NEXT LEVEL CUSTOMER SERVICE SO HARD? WHY ARE SO MANY INDUSTRIES SO AVERAGE?
The answer is that it’s extremely difficult to find anyone truly committed to their craft. Of course, there are exceptions, but I am speaking in generalities here. And what will the result of this be?
AVERAGE PEOPLE WILL BE REPLACED WITH AUTOMATION
Robots are taking jobs from anyone and everyone who is average in the service sector. You think a robot can’t replace service? Well, they can certainly replace slow and annoying service.
This is not a threat, it is happening right now. Automation answers telephones, makes bank transactions, balances account ledgers, sells you movie tickets, and photographs you running a red light.
Drones are replacing US postal workers and the travel agent is virtually non-existent. What do all these have in common?
Average or below average service, humans with bad attitudes, who are apathetic and lack product knowledge get replaced.
People expect personality from humans and very little from a computer. Consider the following facts:
- Computer speeds now double every year making technology faster.
- There are more mobile devices on planet earth than people.
- What used to cost hundreds of millions of dollars now costs two hundred.
- What used to occupy buildings now fits in the palm of your hand.
The service industry will experience massive disruption over the coming years and the automation era will be turbo accelerated by poor, unacceptable, annoying service!
Any process that requires that the consumer wait, and then meet someone that is not excited will be disrupted.If automation replaces your job understand you participated in your own destruction.