It’s the Small Things

When it comes to delighting our customers, small things are important. Of course, executing on our core responsibilities is critical, but the things that our customers remember – and the things that could have long-lasting impact on their impression of our service as a whole – are the small things.

An example could be something as simple as going out to eat. To illustrate this I can draw from personal experience. My daugh-ter is disabled, and it usually takes a bit longer for us to properly feed her. So we often ask the server if we can have her food brought out first, to give us a head-start so my wife and I can enjoy our meal after she’s been fed. It’s surprising how often we’ll be told that it’s not possible – even at restaurants where we’ve been accomodated in the past. Clearly, it’s a matter of convienience for the server at the expense of accomodating the customer.

Needless to say, if this happens regularly at a venue, we simply cross it off as a place for us to eat. For those locations that do occasionally accomodate our needs, we ask for specific servers who have shown a willingness to assist us. And it should be noted that we tip very well when a server does help us.

In the techncical service and support industry, we should be willing to be accomodating as well. If we’re already visiting someone’s desk to fix a problem and the customer asks for additional help with another issue, why would we not want to help them? To say no, or to tell them they will need to open a new ticket would only frustrate them. If it’s necessary for a new ticket to be opened why not ask them to call it in while we fix it? Or enter the ticket ourselves after the fact.

Simply ask ourselves the simple question, “What can I do to delight this customer?”

If we want our teams to delight our customers, we must keep an eye towards the small things. Let them know that it’s OK to take the extra step, go the extra mile. Your team and career will benefit as a result.