Have you ever felt the difference between customer service at Chick-Fil-A and Burger King? Have you ever felt the difference between grocery shopping at Publix versus Wal-Mart? Have you felt the difference between buying Christmas decorations at Hobby Lobby versus Family Dollar? What about Moe's versus Taco Bell? Or Disneyland versus the Sate Fair? I would propose that the better customer experience is at an organization that is proactive in its approach to managing, hiring, training, and supporting its employees.
When I want to take my kids out for dinner, the most family-friendly fast food joint is Chick-Fil-A. There is a play house for the kids, the food is fresh and tasty, and they treat you like a million bucks. Whenever I tell people I shop at Publix, they say, "I love shopping at Publix!" Publix is known for its exceptional customer service, AKA "where shopping is a pleasure." The employees at these organizations appear to actually enjoy working there. They may be faking it, but to the customer, it counts and they feel better shopping where they are proactively helped, served, and greeted with a smile and positive attitude.
Would you choose to work for an employer if you knew its average employee only stayed for three months? Or would you prefer to work for an organization in which employees stay for ten or twenty years?
It takes more initial effort and cost to run an organization that cares about its employees. But the payoff is higher employee satisfaction, employee retention, and employee engagement. This yields better customer service and greater productivity. Isn't that the reason you have employees--to be productive and to serve customers? The more productive you are and the happier your customers are, the faster your customer base increases.
One way to be proactive from the top of your organization is to invest in injury prevention for your staff. I have never taught a group of employees that did not enjoy being trained on how to prevent work injuries. It is a win-win for the employer, the employee, and the customer. #PainTalks #WorkInjuryPrevention #ThinkLikeaPT
Www.PainTalks.org
