Customer Service Doesn’t
Matter
By Frank Ricci “Politics & Tactics”
Your fire department is
missing the mark. We have failed to understand the game and we have paid a
political price for our lack of vision.
Stand back and watch what
happens the next time a stranger walks into your firehouse. Chances are the
watchmen or firefighter will stay seated and ask how can I help you.
Even if they stand and are
helpful we still fail as a service. The customer service era that started in
the late 80s focusing on the tangible was the foundation for our current
mindset. The meaning was to do the best job possible for our customers, but
fell short of exceeding expectations. It was about providing the best service
and not providing the best experience.
To be clear your department
can provide great customer service and still not deliver on creating a
great experience. Experience is based on emotion, etiquette and execution.
Lets go back to our friend
(boss, citizen) entering the firehouse. Would the experience of our friend
improve if the firefighter walked toward the visitor, made eye contact,
introduce him or herself, and shook their hands, all while smiling?
Simon Cooper
past CEO of the
Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
mastered providing an experience. He ran a chain where the customers could go
down the street and stay for a lower rate with similar amenities. However where
the other top hotels fell to the Ritz was by failing to provide consistency
with the intangibles. The greetings, attention to detail and the simple smile,
ironically these are the things that are not affected by budget cuts and cost
nothing.
As the fire service we need
to move from the customer service model and move to a customer engagement
model.
It comes down to the
perception of our customers. I tell my members at each alarm we can have a
choice to leave the customer with one of three impressions.
1.
The meeting results in indifference where nothing in
gained and only an opportunity is missed.
2.
The experience is poor and they leave the meeting
thinking you are an ass.
3.
You master customer engagement and provide the best
experience possible while making a new friend.
Number three is more than a
great introduction. It is about wrapping our friends in cotton. First and last
impressions matter to our friends.
Take the time to hold a hand
of an elderly customer letting them know that the medic crew is going to take
great care of them.
Take the time after the call
to answer questions and put the neighborhood kids on the fire engine. Remember
you are there on our customer’s worst day. It is up to you to make the
difference.
These customers are the friends who will write letters to the editor, attend government meetings and
come out to fight the closing of a station.
Engagement is the key to the lasting impression that will ensure and bypass customer service. We can and must do better. Our core values and the work in the late 80s will serve as the foundation, yet we can not rest. Now is the time to build and move our service to the front.
