How Well Are Your Staff Packing Parachutes?

How Well Are Your Staff Packing Parachutes?

"You woundn't catch me up there using this!..."

I'm preparing for a customer service workshop today and came across an old story that encourages you to put yourself in the customer's shoes and exceed expectations.

The famous story is about parachute packers in the Second World War who achieved a quality rate of 99.9% and felt satisfied with the result. Needless to say the thousandth parachuters did not share their satisfaction! One day it was decreed that once a week the packers would make a jump with the parachutes at random. The error rate promptly sank to zero. 

If 100% is available we should always aim to achieve it - just being good is never enough. 

Ways To Meet Or Exceed Customer Expectations.....

- Encourage your staff to take a little extra time explaining to the customer what they are doing and what they expect to happen and / or the result to be

- If your staff can't help in the first place instead of referring the customer to a third party make arrangement with that third party to call your customer 

- Send a regular note to all your current customers thanking them for their continued custom and expressing your pleasure at doing business with them (in your own unique way perhaps!)
- Write to or call customers who have complained to thank them for doing so
- Write a note or send an acknowledgement to those who have increased his or her level of spending or commitment to the organisation
- Add something extra to your service where possible e.g. a free smaller product with a large product that has just been bought