Quality Service doesn’t demand a premium price

The expression “You only get what you pay for” may be relevant in the manufacturing industry, but in the service sector it’s a misnomer, and often just an excuse for justifying inflated prices. By definition, ‘service’ is work done by a person or a group that benefits another, and if it’s done well it generates competitive advantage, and results in a successful business. But delivering a quality service shouldn’t mean a high price tag.

You can entice new customers with special offers or promotions, but unless you can deliver the quality service customers expect, they just won’t come back. What’s even worse, customers talk and a bad reputation spreads like wildfire.


Good customer care is about understanding and meeting customers’ needs and expectations. It doesn’t matter how inviting your reception, how appealing your restaurant or how luxurious your bedrooms, in the hospitality, leisure or the public sector, the quality of the service is the only thing that differentiates the excellent from the average.

From day one, I recognised that customers aren’t just important; they are the very reason for our existence. You can’t create quality service by throwing money at bricks and mortar. Quality service comes from the people, their attitude, and the way that they interface with customers. That’s the way that we have established a reputation throughout the meetings and conference industry for delivering the highest quality service yet still offering customers excellent value.

This is a highly competitive market, so what are the secrets behind our success, even in difficult times?

The culture
I developed a successful tactic for delivering the highest standards of service and that’s been embraced across all five Chartridge venues. Customer focus is the very foundation of the work ethic, and not just for reception and front of house staff, but also for those behind the scenes, from the chefs and housekeepers, to admin staff and the gardeners. If everybody from the top down eats, drinks and breathes customer service then it shows and is appreciated by the clients.

The right people
You need to recognise that not everybody is a natural ‘people’ person, so when we are recruiting we look for staff who are naturally amiable, have good interpersonal skills and a positive outlook. It’s what we call a Chartridge person. It’s much easier to teach job skills to a real ‘people’ person than to change someone who has all the business skills but requires a personality transplant. Having good quality staff is at the very core of building and maintaining the culture of excellent customer service through the business.

Training
Every employee must be aware of their company’s customer care values and be empowered with the knowledge, resources and skills to provide excellent customer care. We constantly undertake customer research to identify changing customer expectations, and that information is passed directly to all our staff. They are taught from induction the importance of being able to anticipate and deliver those expectations at the time it’s needed, and with a natural enthusiasm. Not only does this create good customer relations, but it’s self fulfilling. Customers who are treated in a helpful, courteous and friendly way respond in a similar manner and are equally expressive of their appreciation. This in turn engenders a sense of job satisfaction in staff which results in increased staff retention.

Leading by example
A welcoming approach and an enthusiasm to help customers is an example constantly set by colleagues at every level, from the managing director through senior management to supervisors and workmates. Good eye contact, a ready smile, and a warm greeting really does make customers feel welcome and at ease. A friendly “Good morning”, remembering people’s names, giving directions with an open palm rather than pointing with a finger - little things perhaps, but it makes a huge difference to customer perception.

Flexibility and empowerment
Nothing annoys customers more than passing the buck. This inevitable happens if you have rigid policies and don’t give staff the opportunity to use their initiative. They quickly become those ‘jobsworths’ we all resent who are the antithesis of good customer service. Ensuring flexibility within the job role and empowering staff to use initiative means that any issue is quickly resolved.

A customer focused company culture, recruiting the right people and leading by example are all approaches that do not add to financial cost of service. But the positive return in public image, staff retention, customer loyalty and increased business will continue to ensure success, even when times are hard.

Remember, it’s a very competitive world out there, and if you don’t care for your customers, you can guarantee your competitors will.

Peter Darnell

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