Customer Service ON Your Fingertips!
I have to warn you that this post might gross you out a little… but it really shows how we take customer service, and the “assumed knowledge” of employees for granted. We all assume that people receive a base level of knowledge growing up and that we don’t have to teach them certain things when we hire them. But take a look at this story:
One of my husband’s doctors went to a wedding over the weekend. When it came time to cut the cake (not the fun “cutting of the cake” by the bride and groom, but time for the staff to cut it into slices and serve it to the guests), she was appalled by what she saw.
Every time the server sliced a piece of cake, he got frosting on his fingers, which he then proceeded to LICK OFF HIS FINGERS before cutting the next slice, when he again plowed into the cake with those same fingers and got more frosting on them… which he licked off again – well, you get the picture! She was so disturbed by this that she finally took over the task herself to keep him from slobbering all over the entire cake!
Obviously, this hotel’s catering staff had not been trained in basic hygiene necessary for handling food and serving guests. (Simply putting up a sign in the rest rooms that says, “All employees must wash hands before returning to work” is not enough!)
Coincidentally, we were also told by friends at a different wedding in a different hotel on the same weekend, that the cake slicer there was so young and inexperienced (and apparently no one had told him how big to cut the cake slices) that by the time he got done, the slices were too big and there wasn’t enough cake for all the guests!
Bad weekend for weddings!
Here are some tips that can help you turn an OW! into a WOW! by not assuming that your employees have a basic knowledge of job duties when they arrive:
- Never ASSUME they know what they should know! There are many homes where children are not being taught things that in the past were taken for granted, such as cooking, cleaning, hygiene, sanitation. Unfortunately, when working in a critical situation like food service, it is up to the employer to fill in those gaps – and in fact ASSUME that gaps exist by taking no level of knowledge for granted.
- Make a list of all job duties and if it makes a difference (as in the case of hygiene), HOW they should be performed, then train employees on both aspects – the what and the how. Then add the WHY. Most people will simply forget what you’re telling them if you don’t tell them why it’s important, so don’t forget the why.
- Observe them actually performing those tasks before they go live with real guests. So many things can be corrected before they cause harm if we just look at what people are doing, and how they are doing it in the training situation. Let them practice concepts because “hands-on” training beats lecturing any day!
- Reinforce it consistently. It does no good to tell people something once and then forget about it… again assuming they will remember it, and then assuming they will do it.
- Observe them in live customer service situations. This doesn’t mean intimidating them, but simply letting them know you’re there and want to ensure that every experience is the biggest WOW possible for everyone involved.
We see situations every day where assumed knowledge is taken for granted, and it creates a customer service OW! Become more observant and apply those lessons to your personal and professional life. By doing this, you can improve upon everything you do – and turn any potential OW! into a WOW!
What have you seen that you can share… and from which we can all learn?
