"Customer Service" FROSTBITE !!!!

I heard a story this weekend that I thought was a perfect analogy to the lip service many customers and executives are paying today for their "Customer focus" and "Strategic Customer Experience Initiative" ... sounds good in the board room and in the press to share holders but VERY few live it and make it a way of their company culture.

The ones that DO we all know, the ones that just talk the talk we all know too... we see them in the recent Hall of Shame service rankings from MSN
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/ConsumerActionGuide/the-customer-service-hall-of-shame-2009.aspx

if you drill down into the ratings you will see the canned responses from their spokesperson re the "new commitment to service" etc..., OK so here is the story...

I was at a father & son Indian Guide (like scouts) camp out this weekend and the Dads were sitting by the fire chatting about the economic meltdown and who is to blame. One of the Dads told a story about his time in the Army... They were stationed in Germany and frostbite was a big concern as they went out on maneuvers. The top leader (not sure of ranks...) at the European HQ told his next in command to check feet for frostbite at the end of every day. That guy told his next in command that the commander wants to have a frostbite check after every day. This went down through the chain of command until the squad leaders got the word. After a few weeks one of the soldiers got frostbite. Word went up the chain and the European HQ leader went ballistic. He showed up on site and ripped his next in command a new one and reassigned him. The leader also got reprimanded by the Army for not following through on orders. It was not enough just to say it "Check for Frostbite" his duty was to make sure someone was actually "doing it !"

I thought this was a great analogy to what we see today as quality and service become buzz words "we are a customer service leader" oh really ? then why do none of your customers agree ? "we have a new Chief Quality Officer" so what ??? what power in the organization have you given him/her ? can they impact your organization with your backing ? It is not enough to say it, you have to do it !!! Make it a way of life in your organization. Customers are too connected today and too savvy to put up with poor service, they can see right through the smoke... when options become available, they will leave you in the dust to a provider that treats them like a valuable asset.