A service can be provided in many different ways, and surely each client will be more satisfied with a particular mode. On the other hand, when customers notice that a service is rigid and unable to go out of its structured form to adapt to our needs, this causes us great discomfort. Has it ever happened to you…
You have probably heard or read about the need to provide your service with "empathy". Does this mean that I must have a different way of providing the service for each client? On the one hand, they say that quality is achieved by standardizing service, but on the other, we must adapt to each client. Are these two requirements compatible?
Perhaps it happens to you that when you attend clients in person, you can act with empathy, you know perfectly well what “pieces” you can move to adapt it to their needs. But how do you transmit this criterion so that your employees can do the same?
I am going to show you a concept that will help you a lot in this regard.
Imagine that you have a hostel on the side of the road, where mostly travelers come. One day, already at night and with a terrible storm that has flooded the city, a family arrives with two children and a puppy. They are moving from home and the storm did not allow them to reach their destination. They need to spend the night at your hostel. But there is an internal provision that indicates that the entry of animals is prohibited. What could the receptionist do to provide the service they need while still complying with the provision? It occurs to him to propose to the family to locate the puppy in a sector of the laundry where they can place a box to sleep and occupy the room next to it that, although it is the furthest away, will allow them access to where the animal is.. To avoid disturbing other passengers,It tells them that they should leave it tied up, and clarifies that they are making an exception, since the entry of animals is not allowed but, due to the flood, it would not be possible for them to reach another shelter that is prepared for these cases, and indicates to them Where is it to be taken into account on future trips.
Let's analyze the situation to find the items the receptionist used.
First, it has detected a need that, to be satisfied, must violate internal regulations, but analyzes that it is a genuine need, since inclement weather does not make access to another more suitable establishment viable.
Therefore, it is seen in the need to transgress these regulations. The key is in the "how" to do it. He understands what the spirit of that standard is. You know that animals can damage facilities and disturb other passengers. So you have to neutralize these two effects, and you do it with a suitable location (a box in the laundry) and avoiding contact with other passengers (through distance and being tied).
In turn, he explains to clients that he is violating this norm and what measures they should take in this particular situation, for this reason they will accept to be located in a remote room.
An additional resource he uses is to give them information about a place where they accept animals, for the future; This will surely greatly increase the satisfaction of these customers.
These are the three key elements:
• a genuine need, • know the spirit of the rules to know the “how” and
• Explain that there are regulations that they are not complying with, to prepare the client to collaborate.
Si logras transmitir estos conceptos clave a tus empleados, y ellos conocen el espíritu de las normas de tu empresa, conseguirás que puedan adaptar eficazmente y sin consecuencias negativas el servicio a las necesidades de cada cliente en particular, incrementando en gran medida su satisfacción. ¡Quedarán encantados!
