The Art of Exceeding Customer Expectations

By Mike DuBose

Most CEO’s will tell you their company exceeds customer expectations. Unfortunately, most leaders and staff are out of touch with their customers. In a Harvard University School of Business study of 362 businesses, 80% of leaders and staff reported that their customers were happy. However, when their customers were interviewed by researchers, 92% reported dissatisfaction.

I am sad to report that few businesses exceeded my expectations in 2007! The reason -- companies are cutting customer support and focusing solely on meeting short-term profit goals. These actions have lead to poor customer and in some cases -- punishment. J.D. Powers and Associates (the customer satisfaction gurus) reports that the key to long-term success is great customer service.

At Columbia Conference Center, we define happy customers as “those who receive what they want when they want it in an outstanding way!” Yet, many businesses have unknowingly created what Harvard refers to as “Assassins” – customers who make it their mission in life to tell others how they were poorly treated. Harvard reported that if businesses exceed customer expectations, they create “Advocates” – clients who will passionately tell others how well they were served. At Columbia Conference Center, our customer advocates are our sales force!

Consider how you were treated by businesses in 2007. A few of my sad customer service stories this year are:

• When I call my airline to simply buy a ticket because all the flight options are not advertised on-line, I have to plug in number after number; listen to how great they are and specials; listen to fifteen options (does anyone keep the same menu?); and talk with a computer which does not recognize my voice and aggravates me to no end asking me if I want to complete a stupid survey! When I finally get a rep on the line, I am ready to kill someone!


• I call to renew a bank CD only to get passed around to different departments where I have to tell employees a password before they will talk to me and then get cut off!


• A repair shop tells me many broken promises when they will fix my car. I have to call seven times!


• During my delayed flight, the pilot angrily announces on the intercom how he is overworked, underpaid, and not cared about by his company!


• I would rather have a root canal then to call my cell phone customer service department.

I could write a book on my bad customer experiences in 2007 and count on one hand when I said, “Wow! That was great!” And, bad customer experiences are getting worse!
At Columbia Conference Center, I humbly report that we reached a four-year high where 91% of our business is word-of-mouth. 98% of our customers rated our services and products as good-outstanding since 2003. We want to share our secrets with you:

• Seek the right staff and place them into the right jobs. Hire tough and slow! We carefully solicit folks who are team-focused, friendly, and people-oriented. Get the wrong people off your bus.


• Provide staff with good benefits, salaries, and profit sharing. Let your staff know you care about them. Entrepreneur Magazine reports happy employees = satisfied customers.


• When communicating with clients, focus more on live human time and less emphasis on electronics. Return customer communications promptly.


• Train staff on your philosophies before exposing them to customers. A culture of exceeding customers’ expectations begins at the top and is integrated throughout the company. That takes time!


• Empower staff to make it right with a customer when something goes wrong.


• Build a culture where you are constantly preaching as Sam Walton, “We must exceed customer’s expectations!” Help everyone to understand that there is a direct link between profits, customer satisfaction, and customer retention.


• Don’t let profit solely drive all your actions. Stick with your mission and values. Focus on activities that coincide simultaneously -- what you do best; what is the most profitable; and those you are passionate about.


• Determine where your staff and business touch clients and ensure that all points are monitored and measured with simple surveys. Give the customers easy, different ways to respond and avoid long, complicated surveys. I personally open our one-page customer surveys.


• When mistakes happen, conduct autopsies; determine the causes; and prevent them from happening again! Bring mistakes out into the open as learning opportunities with staff and ask “Why?” Then, admit your error, apologize, and make it right with customers promptly.


• Emphasize “underpromise and overdeliver!” Staff needs to know that it is better to say no to customers where they are unsure they can deliver.


• Stay in regular contact with customers. This strengthens your bond with customers, and allows you to identify problems early on and correct them versus fighting a forest fire.


• At Columbia Conference Center, we try to love on our customers and treat them like best friends. Let them know you care and don’t view them as a dollar bill.


• When you are with a customer, do what our great leadership consultant Don Jenkins tells us – be there! Listen to what the customer wants and then deliver.


• If you cannot serve them, find someone who can – even competitors.


• Screen customers carefully. Focus on the most profitable, fun customers. Disengage from low-profit, troublesome, and labor-intensive customers who make life miserable.


• Be humble and friendly towards your customers.


• Constantly challenge staff in a friendly way, “Can we perform any service or serve customers better?” Customers will pay a premium for great service.


• Let staff know when they excel and coach when they make mistakes. Develop environments where employees want to excel and feel like company owners. Encourage staff to voice their opinions without fear.


• Read Good to Great by Jim Collins over and over! Strive for greatness through “reasonable perfection.”

The bottom line -- “customers sign our pay checks.” Without them, we are nothing! And, out of business!

Mike DuBose is a field instructor with USC’s graduate school and has been in business since 1981. He is the servant leader and owner of six corporations, including Columbia Conference Center, Research Associates, and The Evaluation Group. Mike is writing his book “The Art of Building a Great Business” to be released in 2008.