What YOUR Customer Service Says About YOU!

Every quarter all of the new staff members at my company attend a day-long “Service Excellence” program. Everyone within the company has attended this course — including me — a measure of our commitment to high-quality service at every location.

This program was not developed internally — my Human Resources Manager was trained to be able to deliver the content, and she does a great job doing so. One of the topics for discussion is the ‘Moment of Truth’ — the moment when you can make or break a customer experience.

We have all experienced a Moment of Truth.

Whether it is within your own family, with your friends, with your coworkers, or with your customers. These are moments where someone is allowing you to prove to them that you can be trusted, can be counted on to do what’s right, and fix a problem. How you react will determine the way they view you AND the company you represent.

These moments are crucial.

Every time we run the Service Excellence program, I have a Moment of Truth.

We run the course virtually, and I wrap things up at the end.

Many times, this is the first time I am meeting an employee.

I usually already know their name, what location they work at, or the job they perform, but putting a face to the name happens at this moment — for me AND them. This is the first time they get to hear from the person running the company they work for. Will they understand what I am saying, and the passion that I bring to my company? Nine times out of ten, yes, they do.

Crucial aspects of a business.

We all make mistakes, but it is how we correct those mistakes that set us apart from others. As a business, do we step up and do the right thing?

I had a very significant Moment of Truth in my personal life recently, and it’s a perfect example of how important these are for the customer.

I am by absolutely no means a frilly girl. I keep my hair short because I don’t have the patience or make the time to take care of it properly when it’s long. I wear minimal makeup and don’t have a clue how to shade my face properly.

The one thing that I LOVE though is to get my fingernails done.

Having pretty polish just looks so elegant to me. I always notice someone with nice nails. It’s probably because I naturally have horrible nails — thin and short, I bit them until I was fourteen. Every 2–3 weeks I can be found at a nail salon on the other side of town because it’s the best one I’ve ever been to.

Recently I went to the salon and a young woman was assigned to my nails. I’d not seen her before, but I have been a regular at this salon for several years, and I know the quality that the owner requires of her staff. I have rarely been disappointed and never to the point where I would consider complaining.

This young woman was clearly distracted.

She kept looking around and was very rough. She was not using the same technique the others do. I found it odd but didn’t question it as they all have slightly different techniques.

That is until she showed me one of my nails that was damaged. I was not happy. This was the first time that I had ever had a problem of this magnitude. She stated that the last time I was there her ‘friend’ had told me about this damage (which was hidden under one of the fake nails).

If there’s one thing I absolutely cannot handle, it’s a liar.

This young woman had just told me a blatant lie. My voice instantly became a little louder, a little higher pitched. ‘No’, I stated, ‘your friend most certainly did NOT show me this.

The owner came over and they spoke to each other in Korean. I could see the owner was upset as well. The young woman must have told her the same lie, and the owner was fully aware that the last time I’d been in she had done my nails herself! She apologized to me and spoke to the woman. The young woman fixed the damage and finished the nails.

I didn’t know what was said, but I wasn’t going to make a big deal over it. I would simply refuse to have that woman work on my nails in the future.

Two days later — it happened. Two of the nails were peeling up. They were getting caught on everything.

I was very unhappy. All day I thought about what I would say when I returned to the salon that night — to complain about the quality of the job, and to request a new set to be applied.

I’d been going to this salon for years, and I respected the owner and her staff. I didn’t want ONE woman to ruin this relationship, but I absolutely would not accept the state that my nails were now in.

But what if the owner argued with me? What if she didn’t stand behind her work? I didn’t want to have to find a new nail salon — I’d been to dozens over the years and this was the BEST one I’d ever been to.

It was time for the Moment of Truth.

I entered the salon and nervously looked around the room. The young woman was there, and her eyes widened just a bit seeing me. The owner was working on another customer, but I was able to make eye contact and hold up my damaged fingers.

She came rushing over.

She ushered me to a desk and took my fingers in her hand apologizing profusely and telling me that she would make it right.

I walked out of the salon an hour later, feeling that this Moment of Truth had been handled exceptionally. She had tactfully listened to my problem, apologized for the poor quality of work, and efficiently corrected it. She had validated my feelings and had turned a bad situation into a great experience, making me an advocate for the salon — as I tell all my friends that you can count on her to make sure the job is done right.

So, what’s the point?

As business owners we can only do so much to ensure our staff are doing the job properly.

We train them as much as we can, but at some point, they make their own decisions and we have to deal with the consequences. When an employee has done a poor job, given the opportunity, we as the leader have the power to correct a situation and make the customer happy.

It’s how we react to a situation that sets us apart.

The way we react is what the customer, friend, or family member will remember long after the incident has occurred.

Keep that in mind the next time you have a Moment of Truth.

Until next time……………………………….. XO-JGF