A great service performance cannot occur by chance. It is the result of sound planning and management. To manage the service performance, you must establish goals, design and implement the systems to meet them, and maintain service excellence once it the goals have been reached.
A good service plan is an organized, systematic method of handling customer service. Planning involves analyzing a goal, situation, assignment, or problem and then developing a step-by-step method for handling it.
Plan your work, then Work your plan
The 5 key steps towards achieving consistent standards in customer service are:
1. Identify the problems and their causes
2. Set clear goals
3. Consider all available resources
4. Develop policies and procedures of the solution
5. Obtain feedback and monitor results
The manager who plans can shape and improve the future by developing the systems and policies that result in a great show. This is preferable to the all too common approach of reacting to situations caused by existing policies and unexpected crises.
The following example illustrates the process and value of planning.
Richard Parsons operated a chain-owned family-style restaurant. The system for picking up food from the kitchen, which had been used for years, involved the wait staff calling out their table numbers and waiting in line for the chefs to put up the food. The wait staff would then garnish the plates and put the order together. However, new marketing efforts resulted in more business and the system quickly became inefficient. Wait staff spent too much time in the kitchen waiting for food and service to customers suffered.
Richard did not question the system; instead, he blamed the cooks and caitiff. During busy periods, he expedited orders himself, keeping him from other management responsibilities. He responded to daily emergencies rather than correcting the underlying problem. The result was confusion, leading to poor staff morale and even poorer customer service.
Now here is the eventual resolution of the above example – as it applies to ‘Plan your work, then Work your plan system.’
1. Identify the problems and their causes.
When a new manager, Janet Miller, took over, she was unwilling to accept the inefficient ordering system.
2. Set clear goals
She considered her goal, which was to provide friendly and efficient service, and identified the cause of the problem as the faulty system.
3. Consider all available resources
Next, she considered her resources. She did not have the money for a state-of-the-art system or to hire an expediter, and she was unwilling to expedite herself, since it took her away from other responsibilities.
4. Develop policies and procedures of the solution
By considering the goal and her resources, Janet came up with a solution. She asked for a volunteer from the wait staff to act as expediter. She expanded the stations of the other wait staff on the grounds that they would be able to handle more tables when they no longer had to co-ordinate their orders in the kitchen. By asking the wait staff to tip the expediter, that person's earnings did not fall.
5. Obtain feedback and monitor results.
The system worked and was adopted permanently, the caitiff made more money with less stress, and customer service improved greatly.
The example shows how a simple solution can be found to a costly problem as a result of sound planning and management.
Check out next month’s article ‘Set Clear Goals; Step 2 of Plan your Work then Work your Plan.’
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