I would like to tell you about two of my favourite places I visit regularly…
At RNC Fitness (www.rncfitness.co.uk) you improve your fitness levels by doing a variety of great exercise classes. The lads are constantly motivating you to perform to your maximum ability (which can hurt, a lot!)
Vercelli Italian restaurant (www.vercelli.co.uk) has a restaurant & cocktail bar with some great entertainment. Food is beautifully prepared and presented, there’s also a good selection of wines and superbly made cocktails.
So why do I like going to these places? A huge influence is the people who work there. Richy and Chris at RNC have many people to deal with at their classes but are aware that they need to find time to speak with everyone. They know they need to know everyone well and take time out to support and discuss fitness needs as well as injecting fun into the classes. Vercelli have well trained staff who are always focussed on exceptional service, menu knowledge and they really know how to make a cocktail.
With both of these businesses it’s the attitude and the awareness of the people who work there that makes them stand head and shoulders above their competitors. When it comes to customer service, that’s what matters and it’s always the little things that make the difference. Think about when you’ve received really good or really bad service. Quite often it comes down to the individual you’re dealing with at that moment. Imagine if a call centre (where the service level really does depend on who you’re talking to) had staff who all had great attitudes and were aware 100% of the time rather than just going through the motions call after call? Imagine how much easier that call would be for you? Imagine if that shop employee rather than give you the ‘head shrug’ as an offer of help actually really wanted to help and was aware enough to engage you properly? What great experiences we would have!
I call this ideal situation where people are truly aware of what’s going on around them, always on the lookout and never missing a thing the ‘Meerkat Syndrome’. If you go into any customer service situation – restaurant, gym, retail outlet – and the staff are alert and cheery you feel a surge of confidence in the product or service.
Is this ideal world one you recognise as being up and running in your organisation? If it is then you may need no more than routine maintenance. If not what do you need to do to encourage this?
