Customer Service vs. Customer Satisfaction
By Michael Walsh
In the battle for business results, two contenders struggling for your attention are customer service and customer satisfaction. After searching for popular published works at Amazon, we found 63,049 results for customer service, and 20,084 for customer satisfaction.
Clearly there is more expertise focused on customer service, with a three to one advantage. Does that mean, therefore, that customer service is where you should be focusing your attention?
Remember that the most effective goals you can create for yourself are the ones that have scope and mean something to you, that contain a degree of risk, and shape your perspective. So, does focusing on customer service as a goal work better than focusing on customer satisfaction?
Let’s define customer service and satisfaction. As I define it, customer service represents your inputs; what you and your company actually do in serving your client or customer.
Customer satisfaction is your customer’s perceived outcome. Keep in mind that if your customer perceives it, then that is what’s real for him or her. Perception plays a major role in customer satisfaction.
Let’s look at 2 examples:
Scenario 1:
You walk into a photo store telling the clerk you would like to process last year’s Christmas photos. You ask the attendant how long it will take to process them, and after looking at the stack of other orders waiting to be processed, he tells you they should be ready in three days.
You come back in three days, and he is not quite finished. After an apology to you, he asks you to return the next day, promising that your pictures will be ready. You return on day four and, sure enough your pictures are ready. You pay for them and leave. How do you feel about (perceive) this transaction?
Most people who are presented with this scenario respond that they weren’t too thrilled to be coming back again, but it wasn’t too big a deal, except for the extra trip. They’re not upset, but they’re not thrilled either.
Scenario 2:
You walk into a photo store telling the clerk you would like to process last year’s Christmas photos. You ask the attendant how long it will take to process them, and after looking at the stack of other orders waiting to be processed, she tells you it might take as long as six days. You say, "Six days? That’s a long time!" She explains that they are really backed up right now with a specialty order of photos from an event in town, and apologizes, but adds that she will call if they are done earlier, asking if that is OK with you. You figure that you have waited this long, so what is another few days…
After five days, you get a call from the photo store informing you that the pictures are done. You drive over and pick them up and pay for them. How do you feel in this scenario?
Next, compare the two scenarios. The most common response is scenario 2 is better.
If that is true for you, then what am I missing? In scenario 1, you get the pictures in 4 days and are not so thrilled. In scenario 2 you get them in 5 days… and feel better about it? How did that happen?
Isn’t the difference in the expectation that was created?
For all you know, the photo processor in scenario 1 might have worked diligently all night, every night, in order to attempt to complete his promise to you, falling just a little short. That would be maximizing customer service (his inputs). The second photo processor on the other hand, may have taken a day off to play golf.
The first store keeper estimated (a perceived promise) based on hope. The second store keeper managed the expectations of the buyer. As a result, the perceived outcome (customer satisfaction), when measured against the expectation, was delivered better in the second scenario.
Many people think that you should maximize customer service. I disagree! Your most effective action is about managing the perceived outcome and your effective goal is to maximize customer satisfaction.
However, a strategy of lowered expectations without ever delivering any customer satisfaction is not a winning combination either.
Think about your expectation of service from an airline, telephone company, or cable company.
In general now, is your expectation so low that you dread calling any company for service?
Smart companies are taking advantage of this.
How about when you call a company and an actual live, friendly, and interested human being answers? A live person who solves your problem? What perception would you have of that company?
Filed under Business Development by Michael Walsh.
