Consistency is a hallmark of service culture.

Imagine if every employee, on every team, in every location served customers the same way. Service so consistent, it became part of your brand.

This level of service is not organic.

Customer-focused companies use carefully cultivated steps of service to guide their employees. These service steps ensure employees take the same approach every time.

There's plenty of flexibility (more on that later). Employees are not robots. They're members of a high-performing customer service team.

The HELP steps of service are the foundation. Use them as is, or adapt the framework to suit your team's unique needs.

Introducing the HELP service steps

The HELP framework consists of four fundamental service steps. You can use these steps in virtually any customer service interaction.

H = Hello. Offer a warm greeting.
E = Engage. Build genuine rapport.
L = Listen. Understand your customer's needs.
P = Provide Solutions. Assist your customer.

Let's dig a little deeper into each one.

H = Hello

Offer each customer a warm greeting.

Greetings are the first impression in any customer encounter. They set the tone for what's to come.

A warm greeting accomplishes a few things:

Makes customers feel welcome
Gets them to let their guard down
Creates anticipation for a positive experience

E = Engage

Build genuine rapport with each person you serve.

Rapport is a process for getting customers to like, know, and trust you. Genuine rapport is characterized by authenticity. For example:

Smiling and using positive body language
Asking questions that display an interest in the customer
Offering gestures of hospitality, such as a bottle of water on a warm day

L = Listen

Understand your customer's needs.

In conversations, use active listening skills to identify your customer's needs. This includes both rational and emotional needs.

Listening really means reading comprehension when serving customers in written channels. This includes email, text, and social media.

Your goal is to understand what your customer is trying to achieve so you can guide them towards a great experience.

P = Provide Solutions

Assist your customer.

This can sometimes mean service recovery, but not always. Customers come to you for all sorts of advice and assistance. Your ultimate aim is to help customers have a better experience.

This includes:

Giving useful advice
Completing tasks to help customers on their journey
Defusing negative emotions
Advocating on your customer's behalf
Solving problems

Can you customize the HELP service steps?

Absolutely! The HELP framework is the foundation.

You can easily customize the steps to fit your team or situation. This includes adding steps or extra details to make them more specific.

For example, there are endless choices around greetings.

Scripted or unscripted?
Formal or informal?
What's the vibe? (casual, fun, polished, etc.)

In-N-Out Burger is famous for its consistency. Visit any location and you'll be greeted a simple, "Hi, how are you?"

You can customize the steps with this guide.

Do employees always have to follow the steps?

Generally, yes.

The HELP service steps are designed to create a consistent customer service experience. It doesn't work unless every employees follow the steps.

There does need to be some flexibility. Employees should be able to adapt to each situation. It’s also important to avoid adopting too many or conflicting service steps.

Here are some examples:

Too Rigid: A grocery store required cashiers to offer carry out assistance with every purchase. I once bought a single pack of gum, and the cashier dutifully asked me if I wanted help carrying it out. The cashier wasn't allowed to deviate from the service step, even when it didn't make sense.

Too Many: A contact center required agents to follow 37 steps of service. Many were unnecessary or not needed on every call. Agents sounded like robots running through a checklist and customer service suffered.

Conflicts: A restaurant chain had 14 steps of service that conflicted with its customer experience vision. Servers were unsure which was the priority.