5 Ways Work Ethics Lead to Better Customer Service
Whether you’re a small business or a large company, good customer service is the key to success.
I’ve got more than a half of a century of experience in the restaurant industry, and over the years, I’ve experienced common pitfalls which I’ve learned to avoid. By employing these strategies, you’ll be able to ensure that servicing your customers is always a top priority – whether you are physically present or not.
5 Things to Keep in Mind:
1. Vision
You can have the best vision for your business, but if your managers don’t share the same mindset, your principles won’t be upheld in your absence. People tend to justify what they are doing based on the needs of the employees, but your vision is to serve your clients or customers. Everyone on staff should share this common mission and work together to make sure that there is never a gap in service due to staffing, etc.
2. The Business of “Yes”
In the restaurant industry, we are in the business of saying yes. Yes, we can open early for customers if they are willing to compensate us for it. Yes, we can stay late when a dinner runs late, etc. Of course we expect to be compensated, but the business is there to serve the customers’ needs. Restaurant employees should expect to work around them, not the other way around.
3. Put the business first
I have always put my restaurants first. They have given me my livelihood, enabled me to pay for my teams and enhance their lives as well. If we don’t tend to them or prioritize them, they close, and no one involved will earn a living. One of the ways to put the business first is to staff adequately. Staff members should be doing one job each to the best of their ability, unless it is an emergency. When you change a schedule to accommodate non-critical requests, you create an imbalance in work that makes customer service even harder to achieve.
4. Recipe for Management
Good management = Good staff. A good staff sees the importance of customer service and the restaurant doing well. They prioritize their work and always put customers first.
5. All staff must take their jobs seriously
I believe all work is important work, and we should respect our professional positions. If you are in surgery, the doctor doesn’t leave or cancel because they have to go shopping or attend a social function with their friends. While I realize that working in other fields isn’t as critical as being a surgeon, the work ethic should still be the same. If you work in an office, or a restaurant, or any other field, you should value your work and give it your all. Schedule your personal activities outside of your work schedule so that you can have a balance. The more that you give to a business, the more that you will get back. If you are working in a position which you don’t respect enough to apply yourself to, you should find other work.
