CUSTOMER DEFINED

SERVICE STANDARDS

BY
DR S SENA
SENIOR LECTURER
BUSINESS STUDIES DEPT
Customer-Defined Service
Standards
 Factors Necessary for Appropriate Service
Standards

 Types of Customer-Defined Service Standards

 Development of Customer-Defined Service

Standards

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Objectives
 Distinguish between company-defined and customer-defined
service standards.
 Differentiate among “hard” and “soft” customer-defined
standards and one-time fixes.
 Explain the critical role of the service encounter sequence in
developing customer-defined standards.
 Illustrate how to translate customer expectations into behaviors
and actions that are definable, repeatable, and actionable.
 Explain the process of developing customer-defined service
standards.

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Factors Necessary for Appropriate Service
Standards
 Standardization of service behaviors and actions
 Standardization usually implies a nonvarying sequential
process similar to the production of goods
 Customization usually refers to some level of adaptation or
tailoring of the process to the individual customer
 Formal service targets and goals
 Setting specific targets for individual behaviors and actions;
for example, the customer service standards set by Puget
Sound Energy and shown in Figure 9.1.

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Customer Service Report Card for
Puget Sound Energy

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Service Standards
Standards are based on the most important customer
expectations and reflect the customer’s view of these expectations.

Customer-
Customer- SOURCES
Customer Expectations
Defined
Defined Customer Process Blueprint
Standards
Standards Customer Experience
Observations

SOURCES
Company-
Company- Productivity Implications
Defined
Defined Cost Implications
Company Process Blueprint
Standards
Standards Company View of Quality

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Counting…
“Not everything that counts can be
counted...and not everything that can
be counted, counts.”
Albert Einstein

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Standards…

HARD STANDARDS AND MEASURES

Things that can be counted, timed,
or observed through audits (time,
numbers of events)

SOFT STANDARDS AND MEASURES

Opinion-based measures that cannot
be observed and must be collected by
talking to customers (perceptions, beliefs)

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Exhibit 9.1: Examples of Hard Customer-Defined
Standards

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Exhibit 9.2: Examples of Soft Customer-Defined
Standards

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Process for Setting Customer-Defined Standards

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What Customers Expect: Getting to Actionable
Steps

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Responsiveness Standards at Zappos.com

 Respond to 80 percent of all incoming calls

within 20 seconds
 Respond to all e-mail messages in less than four
hours
 Respond to live (online) chats in less than 10
seconds.

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Soft Standards at Toyota in Japan
 Standards for salespeople patterned
after samurai behaviors:
 Assume the samurai warrior’s “waiting
position” by leaning five to ten degrees
forward when a customer is looking at a car
 Stand with left hand over right, fingers
together and thumbs interlocked, as the
samurais did to show they were not about
to draw their swords
 Display the “Lexus Face,” a closed-mouth
smile intended to put customers at ease

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More Soft Standards at Toyota in Japan
 Standards for salespeople patterned after
samurai behaviors:
 When serving coffee or tea, kneel on the floor
with both feet together and both knees on the
ground
 Bow more deeply to a customer who has
purchased a car than a casual window shopper 
 Stand about two arms’ lengths from customers
when they are looking at a car and come in closer
when closing a deal
 Point with all five fingers to a car door’s handle,
right hand followed by left, then gracefully open
the door with both hands 

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Hard and Soft Service Standards at Ford
 Appointment available within one day of customer’s
requested service day
 Write-up begins within four minutes
 Service needs are courteously identified, accurately
recorded on repair order and verified with customer
 Service status provided within one minute of inquiry
 Vehicle serviced right on first visit
 Vehicle ready at agreed-upon time
 Thorough explanation given of work done, coverage
and charges

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Standards at Four Seasons

 Seven Service Culture  Core Worldwide

Standards Service Operating
1. Smile Standards
 Reservations
2. Eye  Hotel Arrival
3. Recognition  Messages and Paging
4. Voice  Guest Room Evening Service
5. Informed  Breakfast
6. Clean  Room
7. Everyone
Exceptions are permitted if
they make local sense
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