MORE INTERNAL SPARKS FROM THE SPARKSPACE STAFF
Sutton Smith, our Director of Exceptional Experiences, was sharing some passionate thoughts about customer service and our 100 SPARKS! project in the office. Needless to say, we thought it was great blog material so we asked him to write up his thoughts so we could share them with the rest of the world. Enjoy.
"Make no mistake about it; 100 SPARKS! is designed to ignite a customer service revolution. It isn’t supposed to show the financial benefits of good service. It doesn’t include a 12 step process to dealing with angry customers through foolproof communication. It isn’t a guide to gaining trust and rapport through understanding your customer quotient. It’s not loaded with consultant speak and corporate jargon. It’s a commitment to providing exceptional service because it’s the right thing to do, and because when you do, you feel good. It’s the same customer service advice your grandmother would give. The financial benefits are bound to follow, but if they’re your main motivation, you’ve missed the point.
Once you've altered that fundamental understanding of customer service, people shift the way they see and understand service itself. When people practice exceptional service because it’s personally important to them, a company as a whole experiences a shift in culture. It is this central idea- that customer service is important to the people who provide it- that sets 100SPARKS! apart from other customer service programs. When the focus is properly put on the service, not the value, then true service is experienced.
After this culture shift has taken place, people become customer service revolutionaries- they become acutely aware of the service they give and receive. This awareness not only improves their service to others, but draws attention to the need for a service revolution everywhere.
100 SPARKS! is that shift."
"Make no mistake about it; 100 SPARKS! is designed to ignite a customer service revolution. It isn’t supposed to show the financial benefits of good service. It doesn’t include a 12 step process to dealing with angry customers through foolproof communication. It isn’t a guide to gaining trust and rapport through understanding your customer quotient. It’s not loaded with consultant speak and corporate jargon. It’s a commitment to providing exceptional service because it’s the right thing to do, and because when you do, you feel good. It’s the same customer service advice your grandmother would give. The financial benefits are bound to follow, but if they’re your main motivation, you’ve missed the point.
Once you've altered that fundamental understanding of customer service, people shift the way they see and understand service itself. When people practice exceptional service because it’s personally important to them, a company as a whole experiences a shift in culture. It is this central idea- that customer service is important to the people who provide it- that sets 100SPARKS! apart from other customer service programs. When the focus is properly put on the service, not the value, then true service is experienced.
After this culture shift has taken place, people become customer service revolutionaries- they become acutely aware of the service they give and receive. This awareness not only improves their service to others, but draws attention to the need for a service revolution everywhere.
100 SPARKS! is that shift."
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