Customer-Defined Service Standards

Factors Necessary for Appropriate service

Standards
 Standardization of service Behaviors and Actions
 Translation of customer expectations into specific Service quality
standards
 Ex: Federal Express standardization service behaviors and actions

 Factors Necessary for Appropriate Service Standards

 Standardization of Service Behaviors and Actions
 Substitution of Technology for personal contact and human effort
 Improvement in work methods
 Combinations of these two methods
 Formal service Targets and Goals
 Delivering consistently high service quality are noted for
establishing formal standards to guide employees in providing
service
 Customer-Not Company-Defined Standards
Customer-defined Service Standards
 Company-defined vs. customer-defined service
standards.
 Company defined – Productivity, efficiency, costs, technical quality.
 Translating customer expectations into behaviors
and actions that are definable, repeatable, and
actionable.
 Explaining the process of developing customer-
defined service standards to employees.
 Emphasizing the importance of service
performance indexes in implementing strategy
for service delivery.
 Customer-defined Service Standards

 Standards that fill the gap 2 are customer defined standards-

Operational goals and measures based on pivotal customer requirements
that are visible and measured by customers

 Types of Customer-defined service standards

 “Hard” Customer-Defined Standards
 Things that can be counted, timed, or observed through audits
 Ex: Federal Express, Dell computer

 “Soft” Customer-Defined standards

 Understanding and knowing the customer through discussions with
customer and opinion based measures
 Ex:General Electric, American Express

 One-Time Fixes – are technology, policy or procedure

changes that instituted, based on customer requirements
Examples of Hard Customer-Defined Standards
Examples of Soft Customer-Defined Standards
 Development of customer defined
service standards
 Basing Standards on the service Encounter
Sequence
 Expressing Customer Requirements as
specific Behaviors and Action
 Measuring Behaviors and Actions
 Hard Measurements
 Ex: Missing Proofs of delivery, Wrong day late
deliveries
 Soft Measurements
 Adapting standards Globally or locally
What Customers Expect: Getting to Actionable Steps

Requirements: Diagnosticity
Satisfaction Value Abstract Low
Relationship General
Solution Provider
Concepts
Dig Reliability Empathy
Deeper Assurance Tangibles Dimensions
Responsiveness Price

Dig Delivers on Time

Deeper Returns Calls Quickly Attributes
Knows My Industry

Dig Delivers by Weds 11/4

Deeper
Behaviors
Returns Calls in 2 Hrs
Knows Strengths of and Actions
My Competitors

Concrete High
Developing Customer-Defined Standards
1. Identify Existing or Desired Service Encounter Sequence

2. Translate Customer Expectations Into Behaviors/Actions

3. Select Behaviors/Actions for Standards

4. Set Hard or Soft Standards

Measure by Measure by
Audits or Hard 5. Develop Feedback Soft Transaction-
Operating Data Mechanisms Based Surveys

6. Establish Measures and Target Levels

7. Track Measures Against Standards

8. Provide feedback about performance to employees

9. Periodically Update Target Levels and Measures

End