The Tribune

By IAN FERGUSON

For many years there has been a public outcry over the need for improved customer service relations in the Bahamas. Most people now see the direct correlation between service levels and the bottom line. Generally speaking, companies who do not deliver great customer experiences do not perform very well in the marketplace.

We have sold ourselves to the world as being naturally hospitable people, who value and regard exceptional customer service as our watchword and chief core value. Yet we still walk into the average business and receive service that is substandard, lacking even the basic tenants of service excellence.

Today we begin our series to identify, and YES, put ‘on notice’, local companies who have consistently demonstrated both poor and exceptional service, in the hopes of shifting everyone towards greater productivity and efficiency.

Before we begin our discussion, let us first explore what is generally and globally accepted as exceptional service.

In doing this, we must look at the expectations of customers as they visit places of business. The five categories of customer expectations include:

Reliability - This refers to the ability of an individual and a company to deliver what you promised, accurately and dependably

Responsiveness - This refers to the ability of an individual to eagerly, willingly and promptly help customers, and with a high sense of urgency.

Assurance - This refers to the ability of individuals and organisations to be confident, courteous, skillful, knowledgeable and convey trust in serving customers and resolving their problems

Empathy - This refers to the ability of an individual and an organisation to provide individual and personalised attention, showing customers that you care.

Tangibles - This refers to the ability of an organisation to ensure that the products, services, appearance of the facility and employees are all up to standard.

These expectations provide merely the framework for service levels that are acceptable.

To be considered exceptional, businesses must then EXCEED these expectations CONSISTENTLY.

One step at a time. Let’s help our country improve and give constructive feedback to firms needing a service facelift, as well as commending those who deliver amazing experiences to customers.

Use the simple instrument provided below to rate the performance of every company you patronise this week, and e-mail the results and brief narrative experience to tcconsultants@coralwave.com. Our grumbling in isolation, and complaining without a plan to help those struggling to recover, serves our country no good. Be a part of the solution today.

They delivered what they promised accurately 0 1 2 3

The response was swift and enthusiastic 0 1 2 3

They were smiling, warm and knowledgeable 0 1 2 3

I received personalised attention. They care! 0 1 2 3

The product and business facilities met my expectation 0 1 2 3

Now, share in a few sentences your magical and dreadful moments of truth this week..........

NB: Ian R. Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having worked in both the public and private sector locally and regionally providing interventions and solutions for promoting business and service excellence.

He was educated at the College of the Bahamas, the University of the West Indies, St. Johns University and holds a Masters of Science Degree from the University of Miami.