I am a finicky shopper, I admit it. Really, I don’t shop, I usually know what I want, seek it out and buy it. I guess, like most men, I also don’t like bothering people or wasting time looking for someone to ask for assistance when I can spend that time actually looking for what I want. Occasionally, however, I do give in to the urge and ask an employee of the retail establishment that I am visiting for specific assistance for a specific product that I cannot find. Today was such a day. 

I donned my best winter gear, yes it is still winter where I live despite the fact that we are 2 days past the official start of spring, and headed for the stores. Now I wasn't looking for anything exotic but it was specific. I looked in two stores and having no satisfaction, I decided to head for a specialty store whose product was, by extension, what I was looking to purchase. I went into the store and directly to the section that contained the articles that I was looking for and began to look for the specific item that I needed as a female employee, in her mid-forties I estimate, approached and asked in a very pleasant voice, “Can I help you sir?” I then proceeded to explain to her, in specific detail, what I was looking for and she looked at the rack and unhooked a package containing the item that I had asked about, but, it was neither in the colour nor the size that I needed. When I again explained the item I wanted in detail she said, again, in a very nice and pleasant voice, “Well, this is all we have in stock.” “But they aren't the colour or the size that I need” says I.  Now I did not expect her to prestidigitate and magically produce the product that I was looking for, but I also did not expect what happened next.  Her response was to look me in the eye and say, with a smile, “Yes, but they will do”. I said very simply, “Thank you!” and walked away without the product. 

Now, the reason that I said thank you was not for her assistance in my search to spend money, but was for her summation of what is wrong with the retail and service industry as a whole when it comes to customer service. Three simple words that outline the reason that, time and time again, front line service providers, and, by extension, their managers and owners, are missing the meaning of true customer service. “That will do!” 

In my consulting business I try to give communities, businesses and individuals some insight in the construction, delivery and marketing of experiential tourism products and services as well as how, customer service, delivered at a consistent and exemplary level, has to form part of the foundation of a great customer experience. This type of commitment to a great customer experience means that the phrase: “That will do”, has no part to play in the mindset of front line staff; ever! 

Now don’t get me wrong, I fully understand that it is practically impossible to please everyone, every time, and that retailers cannot be expected to carry absolutely everything that consumers need at any given point in time. But, there are methods of handling situations, however difficult they may be, that can still leave a customer with the feeling of a great experience while not necessarily receiving a satisfactory product or service. I know, I know, there are those of you who have just read that and believe that this is a contradiction but let me explain further. 

In many ways the product is incidental to the delivery of the service that involves the product and it is the service that can differentiate the business or individual since the product can be duplicated and the service, because it should involve customization to the individual customer, cannot be duplicated completely once it is experienced. In other words the customer experience has a finite shelf life and once it is created for the individual, it is theirs to keep and cannot be completely reused for someone else. That is why service, delivered properly and with sincerity, creates competitive advantage for the company or individual involved, regardless of the product that is associated with the service. A few months ago I was out of town and visited a themed, family oriented steakhouse to enjoy, what I thought would be a great supper. I won’t bore you with the details of the visit but the meal, which I ate despite everything, was far less than exemplary; cold vegetables, steak which I believe came from the shoe or boot of the individual who cooked it, a longer than normal wait time and a few more less than satisfactory items. The server, however, was exemplary in the way that she handled the situation, including my factual statement of the quality, or lack of quality, of the food that I shared with her when she asked if everything was to my satisfaction as she delivered the bill. Her professionalism and genuine concern for a less than satisfactory meal overcame the lack of quality of my repast. In other words, she, and the manager/owner who subsequently came to discuss the issue with me, maintained the consistency of a great customer experience throughout. 

A side note here, I believe that customers have a responsibility to point out truly unsatisfactory products or services and I take this responsibility seriously. Now I am not saying that one needs to be belligerent and overbearing in the complaint, nor am I saying that the complaint should be made in front of other customers, but I do believe that a factual, non-emotional response to unsatisfactory performance needs to be made in order for management to address the situation properly. In other words, how can they fix something if they don’t know it’s broke? Again, I do not want to imply that one complaint should require an action, but any person who truly cares about creating exemplary customer experiences, will or should take complaints under advisement and monitor future situations to see if there is a correctable problem. I also do not believe in complaints made with ulterior motives, that is, free food or service. In the case of my restaurant experience, both the server and the manager/owner offered vouchers for the next visit, which I graciously refused to accept. For the record, I did visit again, recently, and everything was great! 

In my workshops I try to impress on front line staff that regardless of how many members of their business are involved with the preparation of the product or the delivery of the service, they, the front line staff, are ultimately in control of the customer experience. They are the “make or break” point that creates the experience in the customer’s mind and they are the creators of competitive advantage both for themselves and the enterprise. Managers/owners who do not recognize this, ultimately, do not understand nor appreciate the importance of their front line in the consistency of presentation of a great customer experience. I guess in their minds; that will do. 

Oh yes, for those of you who are dying to know; I was looking for a pair of black, 48” boot laces and yes, I found them, on my own, thanks for asking, at the last store I visited. I guess it was my fault that it took so long since I obviously started at the wrong store. 

Every experience is a story and every story is an experience… experience the Maxx!