How Customers Grade Service
On my last post, I discussed that delivering Seamless, Trustworthy, Attentive and Resourceful (the STAR Qualities) service, your company can create Positive Defining Moments (PDM’s) on every single service interaction. My next topic will be on knowing when PDM’s have actually been created. This is very difficult to determine, however, you need to know that your customers judge or grade your service during every transaction.
In general, customers are clear about what their expectations are and judge their service experience by comparing your company’s performance against what they expected in each Defining Moment. If you think of it like a report card, when your company performs to the customers expectations, the grade they assign that service, will be average, or a “C”. When a customer has a good or bad experience, they will assign a mental grade that will be above or below the average grade, or their expectations. I have included a “Customer Report Card” for a visual reference below:
The higher the grade, the more likely your customers will be loyal. To build Customer Loyalty, it’s important to find ways to “Exceed Expectations” (B’s) or “Dazzle and Surprise” (A’s) your customers. If your company delivers service that simply meets client’s expectations, per my discussion regarding The Importance of Customer Service; 80% of Customers that switched to a competitor, said they were satisfied before making the switch. Meaning they were grading the service they received a “C”. In order to prevent these customers from switching to a competitor, they need to be grading your service a “B” or an “A”.
The heart of providing Stellar Service is trying to create PDM’s, in the Three Dimensions of Service by using the STAR Qualities on every single service interaction, with both internal and external customers. If your company can consistently provide Stellar Service, it will create Loyal Customers for years to come.
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