I hope you are not thinking
of awkward yoga postures or pilates positions. I am referring to instances when
service providers behave like robots programmed to strictly carry out
establishments’ policies and procedures and nothing else.
“Hi,
may I have an iced cappuccino please?” I asked the waitress who was more
interested in looking into her POS (Point of Sales) system than attend to me.
“We
do not have iced cappuccino, sir.”
“You
have cappuccino, right?” Pointing to the menu.
“Yes.”
“Could
you kindly add some ice into my cappuccino
then?”
“No.
We have iced latte but we can’t do iced
cappuccino.”
*Awkward
silence*
“I
could give you a glass of ice but I have to serve your cappuccino in the coffee
cup and you would have to do it yourself! I am sorry.” She finally apologised.
I was dumbfounded by her
logic and the establishment’s policies and procedures in handling ad-hoc
customer requests. From speaking with many peers, this is unfortunately a common
scenario experienced by many. Just a few days ago, a friend was refused his
order of iced coffee as the menu (only) stated iced cappuccino.
Coffee aficionados might
argue that “iced cappuccino” does not exist in the world of acquired coffee appreciation.
Regardless, I would like to emphasise my point on customer service delivery in
this case, or customer service culture to be more precise.
In relation to my “iced
cappuccino” incident, an in-depth discussion with my friends in the hospitality
industry has led me to believe that there are two schools of thought when it
comes to customer service culture.
1. Task-focused culture – Establishment
instructs service staff to carry out their roles and responsibilities according
to (black and white) policies and procedures, and do not allow deviations. E.g.
Customer orders something that is not listed on the menu, staff will immediately
tell the customer it is not available, expecting customers to find something
else on the menu to order.
2. Solution-focused
culture – Establishments encourages service staff to go out of their way to delight
customers within their capacity and capability. E.g. Customer orders something
that is not listed on the menu, staff checks with the chef for availability of
the ingredients to prepare the customer’s order, comes back and tells the
customer they have the ingredients needed and will be delighted to take care of
his/her ad-hoc request.
As you might have guessed,
I have been nurtured and guided by the service culture of the latter. If I have
what it takes to make a customer happy (without compromising safety, health and
security policies and procedures of my establishment of course!), I would make
it happen. Being in the service industry for more than a decade, I can’t
find a reason why service staff are not be able to accede to a slight deviation
to a simple request. I have personally served a cup of warm coke and added ice
to a glass of wine as requested by my customers. My point – if I can and have
the resources (and time) to accede to my customers’ requests, I deliver.
Hence, I mourn at the pathetic
display of customer service culture such as the one I have experienced. Yet I
understand the appalling inflexibility and rigid standards of service they
might have been guided to deliver. Perhaps establishments have overlooked the
positive benefits that flexibility can bring to their business.
Here’s some food for
thought:
Rapport Building
When customer requests for
something out-of-the-ordinary, they know the additional effort that goes into
their odd requests and truly appreciate that act of kindness (even when they
don’t say it). Hence, should something go wrong thereafter during the course of
their time at the establishment, customers are (very) likely to be more
forgiving.
Leave A Good Impression
If you want to leave a
great impression with your customers, this is an excellent opportunity! An act
of customisation to customers’ preferences demonstrates attentiveness and that
they are well taken care of. And because of that, you can bet that you’ll see
them again.
Useful Information
Odd requests give
establishment owners an opportunity to review and enhance its products and
services. These “odd” requests serve as useful information and a reminder, in
some cases whereby a common or popular need may have been overlooked. If so,
businesses may wish to consider making that “odd” request available for all its customers.
Increase in Customer Satisfaction
A simple accommodation to
a minute request can make a huge difference. I have once walked out of a
restaurant when they decided that they could not prepare a breakfast dish just
5 minutes after breakfast time (the chefs have not left).
Great Insights
It almost always helps if
service staff are able to explain why they are unable to accommodate certain
requests so that customers could understand what the reasons are, not excuses.
This is yet another perfect opportunity for rapport building where customers
and staff are able to share insights of knowledge, preferences, desires, and
tastes. Thus learning from one another.
Establishments have to be
prepared to lose customers if they aren’t willing to go the extra mile. Wayne
Dyer, a motivational speaker and author will tell you that, “it’s never crowded
along the extra mile”. Being a little more accommodating does wonders for
businesses.
At the end of the day, the
quality of service delivered leads to two simple outcomes – a possible repeat
business or your competitor’s. Industry experts even say, “If you do not take
care of your customers, someone else will”.
So for now, I will be
taking my business somewhere else.
*I would like to
hear your feedback or requests, kindly drop me a note at: beinspired@absolutesenses.com
Perhaps this example of the "iced cappuccino" may not be the right example to make this point.
ReplyDeleteFully agree that flexibility should be practiced and encouraged as long as it's not illegal or will compromise on safety/security or affect other paying customers. If this case had been about a Front Desk Agent strictly following check-in time despite having an available room for check-in, then yes, you're right that this agent has been trained to be "task-focused" rather than "solution-focused".
However, it might be worth understanding that in certain specific cases such as wine, cigar, beverage,etc there are proper ways that it ought to be harvested, packaged, stored, served, etc and given the fact that there probably was someone out there who took great pains to create or savor it, strict aficionados will highly likely follow serving instructions to the "T". And by alterating certain components of the beverage, ingredient, mixture, composition, it may end up being something else altogether. Unlike a bloody- and virgin-mary, the omission of one ingredient still leaves the beverage very much the same. But in the case of the "iced cappuccino", I quote "when you get down to the basics of what constitutes a Latte and a Cappuccino there is really only ONE major difference, the milk to foam ratios in each drink. When breaking down the actual ingredients of each drink they are EXACTLY THE SAME: both contain nothing but MILK AND ESPRESSO. That being said, the thing that differentiates the two is the amount of steamed milk and foam in each drink. A Latte is mostly steamed milk, espresso, and is topped with foam, while a Cappuccino on the other hand is mostly foam followed by steamed milk and espresso.
So technically speaking if you were requesting an ICED CAPPUCCINO what constitutes a Cappuccino being a Cappuccino (THE FOAM) cannot exist on ice. Pouring steamed milk over ice makes no sense as the beverage would be instantly watered down and the foam would not be able to maintain it's density. Nor does pouring freshly brewed espresso over ice either as the espresso would turn bitter."
Then again, looking back, the waitress did provide an alternative (solution) of iced latte (which I'm sure many establishments would've done likewise in a similar situation)... perhaps the solution was just not up to expectations?
Dear Reader,
DeleteThank you for taking the time to read my blog and providing your insightful feedback.
I do agree that the "iced cappuccino" incident may not be the best example for this article, as most people would question the existence of the beverage. I cited it because this blog entry was inspired by this incident.
Thinking about it, I regretted not asking why she was unable to put ice into my cappuccino. I wonder if she would have provided the same views as you have mentioned above or a different reason. I would have been able to understand where she was coming from.
If something out of the ordinary is requested and they accede to this request, then I would expect it to be done properly. However, should it not turn out as I expected, I would not necessarily be (more) forgiving just because they had been "flexible" in acceding to my request in the first place.
ReplyDeleteIf you promise to deliver (regardless of the chronological order of events), then it should be delivered to the very standard it ought to be, otherwise one would be better off declining and providing another option or alternative.
I think this article should focus more on the importance of service approach, delivery and recovery and having the ability to turn around a situation. Flexibility does not only mean acceding to odd requests with reference to a product but it should extend to being able to decline an odd request while still adhering to established standards & procedures.
It would also be good to know that flexibility can only be in play if employees are empowered to make decisions (and mistakes).
Dear Reader,
DeleteThank you for your valuable feedback.
You have made a valid point in that not everyone would be (more) forgiving just because service providers are more flexible with odd requests. I have included the point based on my experiences with more forgiving customers but as you have pointed out, it does not necessarily apply to all similar scenarios. I believe how a service provider handles the situation is equally important.
I have noted your feedback on the focus of "service approach, delivery and recovery, and ability to turn around a situation". And will remember those factors in my future articles. Thank you very much once again, I really appreciate the insights.