Writing a 'Relentless' Service Culture Plan   

ne of the major weaknesses of most organizations is top management’s lack of a service strategy. They fail to realize the strategic opportunity of how to use superior service as a vehicle to build market share and market dominance.

Sam Walton built Walmart on customer service and price. They are now known only for price. The value of their company as a service leader has dropped as they have lost their focus on customer service since Lee Scott took over as CEO in January 2000. When Scott left in January 2009, the stock value was less than when he started as CEO. I always had trouble understanding why management for Walmart has simply focused on price alone for the last 13 years.

The $1,000 I invested in Walmart and eight other service leaders in May 2003 is only worth $3,499 as of October 2022. The investment at Amazon is worth $73,478, Costco $19,648 and Home Depot $14,858. All three companies provide Relentless Customer Service. Very few executives understand the financial impact when you provide Relentless Customer Service year after year. Covid gave most companies in the world an opportunity to abandon customer service. A fatal mistake.

Along came Amazon. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and executive chair, is one of the world’s richest people as of October 2022 with a net worth of $138.6 billon. He built his company to become the most trusted and well-liked brand. No one can challenge them.

Bezos is responsible for creating more than 352,000 new full-time jobs for the American economy since 2020 and is on schedule to create more.

Use these guidelines in making decisions about the features of your service culture plan:

1. Under-promise and over-deliver. Don’t make a promise you can’t keep.

2. Only the customer knows what they want.

1. Make it easy to do business with your company
2. Customers want speed of service              
3. Customers want to talk to a live person
4. Return phone calls immediately
5. Always deliver on your promises

3. Communicate. Be like Amazon and have a “relentless” focus on customer service through regular communication.

4. Continue to drive the plan strategically. According to Jeff Bezos, “Focus on the things that don’t change.” Bezos built Amazon around things he knew would be stable over time.

John Tschohl is a professional speaker, trainer, and consultant. He is president and founder of Service Quality Institute,with operations in more than 40 countries. He is considered one of the foremost authorities on service strategy, success, empowerment, and customer service. His monthly strategic newsletter is available online at no charge. He also can be reached on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.