Recently, I had the pleasure of going on a 7-day cruise out of Galveston. It was AWESOME! We did encounter some issues and that got me to thinking about the word “consistency.”
I cruise a lot. At least once per year. It is my preferred method of vacationing. Part of the reason is consistency. I know exactly what to expect on a cruise. I know what the activities will be. I know that the food will be great, the comedians will be funny and I will stay up too late dancing and having fun.
I have come to rely on the consistency in customer service. If you haven’t been on a cruise, let me tell you that the customer service is remarkable. You feel almost doted on by your dining room staff and room steward. They learn your names, your preferences, even your favorite foods, and make sure they are prepared and waiting for you when you arrive. It really is pampering. This customer service excellence is evidenced throughout all areas of the cruise: the gym, the spa, the bartenders, the staff, etc.
I know what to expect because it is consistent; however, this cruise was different. The room steward introduced himself twice, because he didn’t remember meeting us the first time. Our wait staff picked on us with sarcastic remarks, past the point of being funny. The massage therapist pointed out so many flaws that instead of being relaxed, we felt bad about our bodies. And it wasn’t consistent. The comedians were funny. The bartenders were great. Some days were good and some days were bad.
How often have we had a bad experience in customer service that made us choose not to go back to that particular location? How many times have we given up on something because of one bad experience?
What I discovered is that it is much worse when I have an expectation. When I expect consistency and don’t get it. When I have an expectation of what the service will be like because of years of experience and all of a sudden it changes.
It is not that my cruise was bad. Overall, it was nearly as awesome as always, but there was that problem with consistency. And consistency is a training problem.
In business, if you cannot guarantee that all of your employees will treat customers the same way, you will have issues. If you cannot ensure consistency, you will not be so successful. As a CEO of a company, it was a good reminder for me to think about how I evaluate and track my employees? How do I ensure consistency? How do I validate that customers receive a consistent experience?
Consistency is part of your brand. It is part of your message. It is a LARGE part of your success.
Here are my top tips for ensuring consistency across your employee base.
1.Training: If you want your employees to provide a consistent experience for customers, you have to train them. Many companies provide an on-boarding experience, but it is cursory, not detailed. Training means giving scripts to new staff members to help them handle client concerns. Training staff means taking the time to role-play and give real-life examples of what they will experience at work. Training has to be consistent. Every trainer, every manager and every leader has to be on message and delivering the same experience to the employees.
2.Evaluation: You have to regularly evaluate your employees to check consistency. This does not mean you wait until a customer complains. That is too late! You have to be checking on employees weekly and observing their client interactions frequently. As a manager/supervisor, you should spend the majority of your day out of your office, walking around and observing your employees. Also, you need to be conducting client/customer surveys regularly to gauge the effectiveness of your employees. Don’t do a customer survey once a year. Ask for customer feedback as much as possible.
3.Coaching: After you have started observing the interactions and garnering feedback, it is time to coach the employee. Every employee should be coached in how to communicate effectively with clients, how to handle difficult conversations and how to be more sensitive to the customer experience. Employees need to know where they need to improve. This goes beyond a once-a-year evaluation. You need to be providing on-going coaching to employees to ensure a consistent client experience.
There are multiple ways to become more consistent in branding, messaging, interactions and feedback. The first step is realizing that consistency is imperative to success. The next is to decide what you TRULY want the customer/client experience to be? Then create that. Daily.
Dr. Stevie Dawn serves asChief Leadership Officer at Stevie Dawn Inspires.She is responsible for developing and facilitating group training and individual executive coaching to organizations and individuals. Stevie Dawn brings a variety of experience in the corporate, non-profit, and governmental sectors. She has owned multiple small businesses and specializes in Emotional Intelligence strategies for the workplace. Her educational background includes a Master’s Degree in Sociology from Wichita State University and a doctorate in Leadership from Colorado State University.
