The 10 Service Commandments

Please note these commandments are not enlisted in order of importance, they are all equally crucial for an excellent customer experience. The Service Corner Team recommends service providers to:

1) Communicate with your team

One of the biggest issues for customers is finding the right person to answer their questions or solve a problem for them, this is because, in reality, it takes more than five people in some cases to get to the solution. Here is when communication becomes essential when it comes to delivering a great service.

When everybody is on the same page, the information needed for the customer is delivered more efficiently, and this environment encourages all collaborators to be in the same mindset.

2) You shall not deceive your customers 

Without customers there are no businesses; they are the reason for the existence of companies. Remember the importance of treating the people who choose your product or service with respect and sincerity when it comes to what you are selling. Do not hide important details in small print or promote things as additional when they are tied to the necessity that your product is supposed to resolve. 

Customers know when they are being taken advantage of (they are not as naïve as you think they are), or being pressured to buy an unnecessary, additional, or improved service. This means that these types of upselling practices shouldn’t be the main business strategy of a service provider to earn more profit.

3) Stand by the promises you make

Bookings exist to reserve a service or product, this should be respected and businesses must stand by the promise they originally made to the customer when confirming said booking. 

A very common practice to create revenue from guests is overbooking, simply defined as selling more than what you have in case of a no-show. Sounds good on paper but in reality, this affects your client’s perspective and deflates completely all expectations and experience with your services (even If you put them in another hotel, which they don’t get to choose.) 

Here is a video satirizing this type of situation with a very common outcome from the customer’s perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM&t=10s

4) Be a good sport

Remember that cheating to get ahead can be both harmful and illegal. Other businesses are not there to be a threat, but rather a motivator to improve your own and overcome your weaknesses.

Your business will thrive regardless of the type of clients you have, but in the long run, what differentiates a business is the fair game in the sector you will be competing in.

5) Be human with your team

Hospitality starts from within the company. A great leader should be kind and treat people with respect and dignity. Businesses have a responsibility to ensure that their collaborators are taken care of to do the same for others (a happy server is a productive server). We are all humans and everyone deserves to be heard.

6) You shall not prioritize stakeholders before clients

We want to point out the negative impact a business can face when owners and associates demand to use services and products over the customer himself. One of the main goals of a business is to make a profit, when the previously mentioned actors make it a habit of regularly using a service and demanding management to prioritize them above anyone else, the business will not thrive. We recommend that you as a service provider set the right expectations for the owners from the start, they too also need to understand how vital the customer is for a business and therefore the customers should be of the utmost importance rather than those “fake VIPs”. 

7) Keep your exceptions clear as day

If you know there will be exceptions to your established processes, it is important to document them and write down what the procedure is to make an exception.

We have identified that most businesses do not train all staff to handle exceptions and oftentimes, when collaborators are doing their best to reinforce policies, the supervisor may say otherwise depending on the case. When this happens collaborators end up being perceived as incompetent by the customers, for denying their requests, when in reality they could not comply with it thanks to lack of preparation.

8) You shall not receive feedback in vain

Please do not ignore the valuable opinion of your customers especially when it is perceived as negative, they are providing you with the opportunity to improve your business by letting you know when they don’t have a good experience. 

Excellent service providers learn from their mistakes and don’t overcompensate in these situations. They don’t lie to the customer, nor promise them they will correct it and not follow through with it (and please just don’t give things away without proper reason. You know what we are talking about!). All businesses should make it easy for the customer to provide feedback when they please and not force people to provide it at their convenience; this can result in ruining the customer’s experience altogether.

9) Be supportive but objective

The client is not always right, there are many Karens in the world! This old saying we reference is very popular, but in reality creates more issues when it comes to handling “difficult-to-deal-with” customers and as a result puts a heavy weight on your collaborators. The expectation of making every single customer happy is not realistic. We advise you to be objective when dealing with said type of customers, some people get used to getting away with anything they want just by putting on a show and we see these situations happen time and time again in the service industry. Collaborators need to feel supported and trusted when it comes to situations like this, as morale tends to deflate when they need to be humiliated to make troublesome customers happy. Just remember there is a reason why all businesses are entitled to have rights of admission inside their establishment.

In contrast, recognize and reward good customers for their fidelity and trust in your brand. Your collaborators will remember these customers as it is often a pleasure to be of service to them. 

10) Work when they rest; rest when they work

We know everyone loves to rest over the weekend, and being home on a Sunday is quite nice, but please remember there is a huge opportunity most businesses miss out on when they decide to close their doors to customers during weekends or holidays. This is true, especially for the service industry, and should not be exclusive to hospitality alone. Think about it: if you see your competitors close their doors on a Sunday and you decide to open yours, you will be available to fulfill your customers' needs, therefore people will choose you. This will potentially increase your profit and allow new customers to know you, try your product, and fall in love with it.

With these service commandments, we intend to give both new and old service providers clear guidelines to improve their businesses. Service is a dynamic force that fuels connections, drives innovation, and leaves a lasting impact. Let us know what you think about this in the comments and share your thoughts on implementing them!