In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.
—Anthony Robbins
While a service vision describes the experience you want to create for customers, a service standard communicates expectations of the attitudes, beliefs, and values—what we strive to be—in sync with the service vision to be delivered every time in a similar fashion across the organization. A service norm describes the actions, practices, and behaviors—what we strive to do—that ensure customers get consistent action, effort, or execution. It is the evidence.
For example, if the service standard is “we provide our customers access that is easy and quick, and ensure rapid response to questions or problems” (what employees strive to be), a service norm might read, “all associates will be reachable by phone during business hours unless in flight or directly engaged with a customer; all phone calls from customers are returned within the hour, and all e-mails answered within four hours of receipt” (what employees strive to do).
Why bother creating service standards and norms? For one, they help translate a service vision into concrete goals that your people can easily understand and work toward every day. Standards and norms are also important tools for aligning the organization so that everyone is “rowing together as one.” When specific, measurable, and perceived as ambitious but achievable by service staff, standards become a powerful means of communicating performance expectations.
Service standards also help create a consistent experience that builds all-important customer trust. Whether promising package delivery “absolutely, positively” overnight, guaranteeing credit decisions on home mortgage applications within a week, or guaranteeing responses to customer phone calls within two hours, regularly living up to the “service promise” builds credibility and creates a bond with customers that becomes a foothold to customer loyalty.
When people know what to expect each and every time they do business with you—caring, knowledgeable, and competent employees that won’t let them walk away unhappy—they are more likely to return again with their funds and friends in tow. But if you’re seen as erratic and unpredictable—some days delivering on the service promise, and other days treating standards as “nice to” but not “need to” performance goals—it creates a sense of unease and distrust that has a corrosive effect on loyalty.
The best service standards strike the right balance between customer expectations and internal capabilities. Set the bar too low and you risk offending customers; set it too high and it can frustrate and demoralize employees who, despite their best efforts, regularly fall short of the mark.
When it comes to responsiveness standards, for example, it’s a mistake to think customers won’t accept anything less than “right this instant.” On the other hand, giving yourself too much extra wiggle room can make you look slow and indifferent in relation to more nimble competitors.
Start the standards-building process by surveying customers to find out what separates exemplary from satisfactory performance in their minds, whether it be how quickly you resolve their problems; order delivery expectations; response time to phone calls, e-mails, or tweets; or time on hold.
In the dry-cleaning business, for example, there’s a big difference between “I have to have this dry cleaning to wear next week,” and “I want to have these winter clothes cleaned before I put them away for the season.” Use that information to create standards that work well for you and then try them out on customers. Then get their feedback via formal and informal surveys to find out if that timeliness standard works for them. If it doesn’t, you can work together to find an alternative.
You’ll also want to determine performance thresholds—service areas where, if performance consistently falls below a certain expectation, customers would strongly consider taking their business elsewhere. When sending an e-mail on a company’s information site, most customers would prefer to hear back within an hour or two, but depending on the urgency of the request, they might be fine with a satisfactory response on that same day. But if you wait until the next day or two to reply, and do so more than once, then it becomes a significant black mark against your organization, pushing customers ever closer to aligning with a more responsive competitor.
Work first to create standards in areas that your customer research shows have the biggest influence on customer loyalty. Clients may not care that you guarantee to answer the phone in two rings instead of three—they’d much rather you ensure that whoever picks up on that third ring is equipped to handle their question or solve their problem on first contact, in a friendly and efficient manner.
Setting service standards and norms isn’t a one-time proposition. Customer expectations are constantly in motion, and the more exposure your clients have to service role models, the more rapidly their expectations change. Regular clients of FedEx, accustomed to its exemplary delivery performance and ability to track packages by the minute, will expect more of the same when they order from your website or catalog. Customers of Travelocity or USAA Insurance, who are used to having their questions answered and problems resolved on first contact (and not pulling out their hair trying to find a human being to talk to), won’t look kindly on calling your organization and getting passed from Patti to Paul to Penelope—or trapped in voicemail hell—before finally getting someone who can help them. Those who frequent Amazon.com or Zappos.com will expect to receive immediate e-mail confirmation of orders they’ve placed on your e-commerce site, as well as acknowledgment of any other e-contact (“we have received your e-mail . . .”) within moments of sending it—and sometimes detailed responses to their questions within that same time frame.
These escalated expectations may not mean you have to equal the performance of service exemplars, but it does mean you’ll have to elevate your performance to stay competitive and keep these newly enlightened customers coming back for more.
The bottom line is to make sure your standards for response time to customers via social media or e-mail are pegged to “Internet time,” not the rhythms of your own internal company systems. It’s a message organizations would do well to remember when creating standards for any facet of their customer service performance.
Banco Popular North America, a Chicago, Illinois-based bank, has developed a reputation for impressive service quality and progressive people practices that have led to honors like being named one of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2005.
We’ve included a selection of the bank’s service standards and norms, along with its service vision, to illustrate how those three elements—when well-constructed and aligned—lay the foundation for creating Knock Your Socks Off Service. Banco Popular, like other customer-centric organizations, understands that unless standards and norms are clearly written, specific, and measurable—and employees are consistently held accountable for achieving them—they are little more than empty promises or slogans hanging on the wall.
“We are here for one purpose: to deliver consistently engaging and caring experiences for our customers. Their needs and dreams drive us, their challenges unite us, and our values guide us in delivering trusted financial solutions. Our dream makers’ [what the bank calls its employees] pride and passion are contagious.”
People Standard: Dream makers are dedicated, resourceful, and caring people who share and demonstrate our values and commitment for the customer and each other.
Norms: Our people:
• Are team oriented and believe in our mission and embrace our diversity and heritage.
• Look for ways to add value to the customer and the bank.
• Use sound judgment in making decisions on behalf of the customer and the bank.
Communications Standard: Our communication is timely, clear, and consistent.
Norms: We:
• Never use e-mail or voicemail when we need to have a personal conversation.
• Communicate clearly about deliverables to manage expectations.
• Help our people “connect the dots” by including the “why” in communications.
Responsiveness Standard: We respond with a sense of urgency to our customers and coworkers.
Norms: We:
• Respond to customer calls within one hour; internal phone calls or e-mails within the same day.
• Provide solutions or updates the next business day.
• When out of the workplace on business, we check daily for customer calls or e-mails and respond or delegate accordingly on the same day.
Accuracy Standard: We do it right the first time, every time.
Norms: We:
• Treat every transaction as if it were our own or that of a beloved family member.
• Clarify and confirm requests to ensure we understand the need and we execute with precision.
• Are thorough and complete in everything we do.
Accountability Standard: Each of us is accountable to ensure every interaction with a customer or coworker is managed in a positive and purposeful way.
Norms: We:
• Treat every customer as if Roberto (the bank’s president) sent them to us.
• Own and stay connected to the customer’s request from beginning to end and then follow-up, being accountable for the outcome. We are “links in a chain” working together for the benefit of the customer.
• Act in the best interest of the customer and build trust by personally facilitating any necessary hand-off (to a coworker).
Service standards and norms are a pledge to customers that you’ll be the same reliable and responsive organization each time they do business with you, and not blow hot or cold depending on management’s fickle agenda—“last month we focused on service, this month we’re back to productivity”—or the state of the last quarterly financial report. Tying standards to performance factors that have the biggest impact on customer loyalty, then being vigilant in measuring, adjusting, and delivering on them to ensure you meet customers’ shifting expectations, is one of the surest ways to build customer trust—and to create distinction in your industry.