We’re all customers.

I am a customer of our local bank, our not-so-local mortgage company. As a parent, I am a customer of our daughter’s school. I’m a customer of our utility companies, our insurance company, our waste removal company, our phone/cable/internet provider, and the U.S. Postal Service. I’m a customer, in any given week, at various local stores and restaurants.

As customers, we know what we want, don’t we? We want what we want, we want it now, and we want it with a smile.

A bad customer service experience can send us packing. I’ll never – eat there, shop there, call them, choose that provideragain.

A great customer service experience, on the other hand, can transform us from passive consumers to engaged and loyal allies.

What can an organization do to excel in customer service? How can leaders in the organization encourage employees to maintain focus on customers?

I think the Golden Rule is a great place to start.

Treat others the way you would like to be treated.

Put systems into place within your organization to ensure that customers are treated the way you would like to be treated. Set an example. Make fantastic customer service your organization’s goal and make the people who provide it your organization’s heroes. Put caring for customers at the center of your organization’s story.

Extraordinary customer focus starts with remembering and recognizing that we’re all customers and following the Golden Rule.

Join the conversation!

What customers do you interact with daily?

What can you do to improve customer service within your organization?

This was originally posted at Mountain State University LeaderTalk and is reposted with permission.