Almost no matter what type of business you operate, one of the most important aspects of your business should be the level of customer service which you offer. This is often to some extent dictated by the type of business you have or the industry in which your business operates.
Every industry has companies that land somewhere between great and poor customer service. It would seem that all businesses look at what sort of customer service they provide in different ways. Some will be priced higher and provide better customer service, while others will sell at low prices and provide the absolute minimum customer service that they have to.
The biggest problem that i find with companies and the customer service they provide, is often the difference between the service they promote and they claim to provide, and the actual reality is quite different. It would seem that they want to be seen as providing something, but then feel they can almost get away without providing it but still get the boost from claiming to provide it. This has started to become more visible to me, especially in how i want to work with No Fixed Office. Lets take a look at one industry that best fits here specifically, that being Cafe’s where as a mobile worker we do most of our work.
CAFE CUSTOMER SERVICE
What’s on offer – When you look at cafe’s there are a few different style’s of customer service which you will encounter. Each is dependent upon the type of establishment, and is often reflected in the prices.
- Counter Service only – In reality these are not really Cafe’s however there are a number of different businesses that could be seen in this category. They mostly offer Coffee and Cake take away options without seating (or very little) and is usually reflective in the price.
- Counter/Table Service – This is similar to the above however you place your order and it is served at the table. Pricing is entirely relative, you pay a little more for being able to sit down and have the order brought to your table. Dependent upon the cafe though you may still need to wait for your order at the counter and take it to the table yourself.
- Full Table Service – Just as the name suggests this is where you are fully served at the table. In other words you can walk in and sit down, have a menu brought to you, have your order taken at the table, and served to you at the table. Of course this service is a little going to cost a little more in the price of food and drinks, however it can often make it easier.
What to expect – As you may see there can be a big difference and there is certainly a different in the pricing as well. The difference can be anywhere up to 30-50% more for table service. Which is maybe rightfully so. There are definitely more cost associated with providing full table service in leasing of space, additional staff, costs of furniture and reusable cups and glasses, and a need to wash it all up.
Why this post – Well maybe you are asking why this post and why the focus on Cafe’s particularly. Well as a mobile worker we rely on cafe’s often as a quick place to work and easy to get a cup of coffee or something to eat or drink. For many people, but i know for myself especially i choose where i go for the level of service.
I choose the cafe that i go to because of the fact they offer Full Table Service. I also am happy to pay the little bit extra for that service. What i cannot stand though are cafe’s that claim full table service that do not really provide it. Now with table service you have to be willing to accept a little variance in time to take the order and getting that order to your table, and the busier the cafe the longer this might take. Which i can completely understand.
However I have been becoming more aware of a drop in service at the cafe that i am very much a regular at. Where for quite some time the level of service often saw me with a coffee in less then 5 minutes. However more recently this has been more like 10-15 minutes to take my order, and on occasion anything up to 30 minutes before getting a drink at the table. While on occasion this has not been much of an issue for me, as i always have something to do on the laptop. With it becoming more frequent and longer wait time, it just becoming more and more obvious to me, that the extra I end up paying for the table service, is not worth the extra.
Whats the morale – The first part of the morale starts with the fact that due to the service getting worse there is a good chance that i will be making a change in the cafe that i visit often. This leads to the second part, you need to ensure that your business can live up to the claim of the service that it is going to claim to provide. If as a Cafe you want to offer Full Table Service, then you need to be sure that is what you are able to offer, not just in the respect of eventually, but in a reasonable time frame that the customer is going to be happy with.
So take a look at your customer service level, even find someone that can test the level of service provided by your business, and be sure that the service provided when you are there is the same as the service provided when you are not.
The information that you provide people, especially on the internet becomes the impression that is framed around you. If you continually share information that adds a lot of value, and is interesting and what people want to see then they are going to be hanging to see more information from you. However if on the other hand you are sharing information of now use, people will quickly disappear seeing that you are just wasting their time.