Monday, May 4, 2015

THAT'S NOT MY JOB

Have you ever heard someone say "That's not my job" or have you ever said that when asked to perform a certain task? It's a phrase most of us can say we hear nearly every day---sometimes every hour.

So if it isn't our job, who's job is it? It is my belief that we have really only one mission in the business world and that is to SATISFY THE CUSTOMER and if you subscribe to that philosophy, every job is your job.

Providing great customer satisfaction is different than providing great customer service in that customer service is a concept that nearly every business embraces. We hear it every day---We give good customer service or we have a customer service department. Go to a grocery store or department store and what do you see---a customer service counter.

Customer satisfaction on the other hand, is a demonstration of customer service. Ever lost an account when you thought the building was clean or even cleaner than when you got the account in the first place? I know I did. 

What happened? Someone did not provide quality customer satisfaction. The building was clean but someone didn't do their job to make sure the customer was comfortable doing business with your company. It may have been a "simple" thing like not answering the phone in a pleasant way or not getting the monthly billing correct after several calls from the client to get it corrected. 

You see, it is everybody's job to provide customer satisfaction. When we answer the phone the customer is judging us. When we call on the customer in person we are being judged. When we invoice the customer incorrectly we are being judged. Everything we do provides an opportunity for us to provide quality customer satisfaction, not only the concept of customer service. 

Did you notice that nothing that I referred to above had anything to do with providing the on the job cleaning schedule? All of the issues discussed had to do with customer satisfaction at different levels within the company. 

I have an "Ollekism" that applies to what I have been talking about in this blog and that is, 

IF YOU SAY, "THAT'S NOT MY JOB" THE ONE YOU HAVE MAY NOT BE FOR LONG EITHER. 

Think about that. When you are asked to do something to provide customer satisfaction and you tell someone that isn't your job you are really putting a dent in the company's opportunity to retain a customer. 

It may not be your job directly but the important thing to learn is where you can get the help or who can you direct someone to or take them to that will assist them. You don't have to know everything about everything but the customer wants you to help them solve a problem and saying that it isn't your job only compounds the problem and brings them one step closer to finding another vendor.  

It might be a good idea to have a group session to review the important part everyone plays in satisfying and retaining customers. While you are doing that, you might suggest the phrase "that's not my job" is no longer an acceptable phrase in the company.

Let me know your thoughts. 

Look for 2 major announcements coming from us in the next 30 days. We're excited. 

Till next time.   

1 comment:

Joe Mellon said...

Great post. You need to go above and beyond in this business not just picking up that staple that is stuck in the carpet but by doing extra things that make the customer happy that they chose you over everyone else.