Your employees may be good at customer service, but do they know how to consistently deliver outstanding service? Giving your customers the "WOW" factor takes a lot of practice and skill!

What is the WOW? The short answer is service that makes your customers say, "WOW!" It's memorable, it's positive, and it leads to repeat business and referrals.

There are only three ways I know to deliver WOW-worthy customer service:

• Build relationships to make customers feel special.
• Exceed expectations with extra service.
• Solve problems like a super hero.

Do your employees have the knowledge, skills, and ability to deliver WOW-worthy service all three ways? Here's a short assessment to help you start the conversation:

Building relationships: How do your employees typically interact with customers?

• Outstanding. Employees treat customers like old friends and know them by name.
• Good. Employees are polite and friendly.
• Poor. My employees need to take a smiling class.

Exceed expectations: You have to know what a customer wants if you plan to exceed their expectations on  regular basis. What do your employees do to learn their customers' expectations?

• Outstanding. Employees listen intently with both their hearts and minds.
• Good. Employees generally do a good job of understanding what the customer wants.
• Poor. My employees have too many of their own problems to care about what a customer wants.

Solve problems: Super hero problem-solvers identify the issue, spring into action, and save the day. What do your employees do when they observe a customer with a problem?

1. Outstanding. Employees find a way to leave the customer even happier than before.
2. Good. Employees generally solve the customer's problem.
3. Poor. My employees do whatever they can to avoid blame and responsibility.

OK, so now what? Chances are, there's a little room for improvement. In my next post, I'll share some suggestions on how you can quickly help your employees develop new skills at little or no cost. You can also drop me a line or give me a call at 619-955-7946 if you'd like to brainstorm at no cost and with no strings attached.