The car dealership that services our vehicles is awesome in many ways. When we originally shopped for our vehicles they were attentive, responsive, and followed through with all of their promises. The saleswoman was friendly, knowledgeable and fair in her dealings. For the past five to six years we have referred numerous people to this dealership and have our cars serviced at all their recommended intervals. About a year ago the dealership changed hands and we are now starting to see signs that we attribute to the new ownership. They are not major things, but little things.

When we call to make a service appointment only one person can do the scheduling. More often than not we have to leave a message. Our calls are not returned promptly and a few times we had to call more than once to get our appointments, because our original calls were not returned at all.

The driver who picks up our cars for service used to bring a set of completed paperwork that we simply signed. Now the paperwork is only partially completed and we have to complete the rest.

These are little things, but any decrease in service results in unmet expectations and a less than desirable service impression.

Talk with your employees to brainstorm “little thing” opportunities. You might discover that some of the missed opportunities are connected to your allocation of labor. Be sure to weigh carefully the perceived savings in labor when eliminating minor services and the potential damage to customer satisfaction. A good example of this is long queue lines for telephone customer service departments. We have all experienced that aggravating electronic voice informing us that the company is experiencing an unusually large call volume and that the wait time could be long. Isn’t it funny that every time we call they are experiencing what they call “unusually large call volumes?”

Okay, I will now get off my soapbox and back to the point. The following can be used as a starter list for your team brainstorming as you strive to identify the “little things” that can differentiate you from your competition:

• Calls and emails returned promptly.
• The option of speaking to a service person immediately rather than going through two minutes of telephone prompts.
• Writing notes of appreciation to your customers.
• Providing useful information (not just sales pitches) on a regular basis.

Click this link to learn more about the booklet, 180 Ways to Walk the Customer Service Talk. It is packed with powerful strategies and tips to cultivate world-class customer service. This is a resource you will want to distribute to every person in your organization.