Is customer service being left to chance? In retail and particularly in hospitality, the customer experience is vital to build a loyal customer base, people who rave about the service they received and shout from the rooftops so that others can also share in their great experience.
Although consumer-facing businesses, especially those that operate offline, do provide their staff with customer service training, which is vital, they also need to consider whether people are suited to the jobs they are doing. In some ways everyone who works in such a business is providing a key service to the customer. However, not every role is directly customer facing and different styles of people are better suited to specific types of customer facing roles.
The Right People In The Right Customer Service Roles
I am a practitioner of a first rate, non-psychometric tool called iMA. iMA accurately identifies four different styles of communication and behaviour; two of which are particularly useful for people who have jobs speaking/communicating directly with customers. The other two styles suit job roles which while ultimately delivering customer service are doing so indirectly and rarely needing to engage with customers face to face.
Customer Service Training for Front-of-House And Reception Teams
For customer facing businesses particularly hospitality organisations with a large number of staff, it is important that everyone in the organisation is trained not only in customer service techniques more generally but iMA training more specifically. This ensures that people with the right communication styles are in the right jobs where they will thrive, jobs that they will enjoy and as a consequence become better and better at doing over time.
High Reds and High Greens both have a task led focus. They will offer a huge amount of value to the customer indirectly by working behind the scenes. High Yellows and High Blues both have a relationship-led focus, so are best deployed on the “firing-line” of customer service; meeting and greeting, table service, bar service amongst others. One of those others is reception, arguably the most important job of all. This is a significant role for every business, of any sort, that welcomes their customers/clients or prospective clients/customers into their building. The reception that visitors receive when they arrive, can set the tone for the remainder of their visit and also often dictates how they feel about the company as a whole. The big question (and it is important) is: Who do we have as our first contact? Are they the right person? Are they the right iMA colour? Are they an iMA High Yellow? (the right iMA colour for this job).
Everyone has an iMA colour: High Red, High Yellow, High Green or High Blue (https://imahigh.com/ashleyboroda-ima/). In addition, every job also has an iMA colour and if each individual is matched to their iMA colour job, customer service magic will happen. In the case of the person furthest to the front of the house, that is a job for a High Yellow.
Why Hospitality Staff Need Customer Service Training
I distinctly remember speaking to the General Manager of a 5 Star hotel about iMA training for his entire team. He was surprised that I suggested that everyone should be trained on iMA and not just the senior management. While the senior management does indeed need training so that they are delivering the highest quality service to the business, its staff and its guests, they are not the people who represent the hotel to the guests every day. As a guest you will meet the reception team, the concierge, the porters, the food and beverage team and housekeeping on a regular basis. All of these team members need to be trained so that they are the right people in the right jobs and communicate perfectly with the guests. They are all the face of the hotel and are on the front line the entire time they are working. The guests might only have a fleeting moment with a member of the senior management team, unless they experience a problem or have a complaint.
McDonald’s: Putting Customer Service Training into Practice
The best example I have seen in action has been working with franchises of McDonalds Restaurants. One franchise, Edge Restaurants, based in the North-West of England adopted iMA and are experiencing the benefits of using it across all of their restaurants and all of their teams. The training has been far reaching with a programme of iMA Ambassadors who are on hand in each of the 20 restaurants. Recently I witnessed some outstanding customer service from a crew member in one of their Restaurants in Salford. His manner, energy, friendliness and appreciation all shone through, making the customers feel happy, important and appreciated. I saw some very skillful and what seemed to the naked eye to be effortless and indeed a natural way of overcoming potential complaints. He offered the full frontline customer service because he is the right person in the right job, a High Yellow who is the face of the restaurant to the customer. He is then supported by those with the other iMA colours who are also doing jobs that match their personal iMA colours in the back of house. This way the service the customer expects from McDonald’s is perfectly delivered and with a smile.
M&S: Creating a Better Customer Experience
I recently also experienced some really good customer interaction when shopping in M&S Food. I have noticed that in the last 12 months or so the level of customer engagement and friendliness has increased, which makes going there much more enjoyable. The customer experience has to be of such a level that people want to willingly return to the store.
Overall, there is a nice atmosphere in the store, but what stood out for me was that the security guard said goodbye and thanked me for shopping there (I spent under £10). What a great way to utilise a team member. His prime role is that of security, helping people and reducing the shoplifting epidemic. This was pure attention to detail, the security guard is having to stand at the door to do his job, but while he is stood there, knowing that the vast majority of M&S Food customers are not stealing anything, he can provide a little bit of sunshine as they exit. My abiding memory of my trip was that, I left with a positive feeling so much so, that I am sharing the story.
Once again, the right person in the right job. All too often, stores don’t pay attention to this and they post scary looking security guards on the door, who make all customers feel uncomfortable and treating everyone the same. Just like with communication itself there is no one-size fits all solution.
Train the People Who Create the Customer Experience
Customer service cannot be left to chance it has to be closely considered; What are the roles? What is the customers expectation? (Or their previous experience, which if good they will be expecting
again) What iMA colour is best suited to the job? Is the person with the right iMA colour doing that job? High Reds and High Greens deliver top customer service behind the scenes while High Yellows and High Blues provide outstanding customer service right up front.
To talk further about iMA Training, iMA Styles and iMA Jobs, please drop me a line enquiries@ashleyboroda.com I would love to hear from you.
