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It was a bright and sunny day in June. I drove into the parking lot of the dealership with my music blaring, looking forward to standing after my two-hour drive. The first thing I do when I arrive at a client’s office is a walk around.
The only way I can ensure that the teams I’m working with and myself are driving in the same direction is to make these rounds, ask my questions and hear the responses. This exercise is something I do during every visit and with every person!
We had been on our customer experience journey together for just a little over three months, and so far, we had already had some small victories along the way with much work.
I will never forget this particular moment. When I started with the dealership, the team was dysfunctional, the leadership had no accountability, and the customers were suffering from it.
On this day, I started conducting my usual walkabout to greet every employee of the dealership.
In our short time together, I could see and feel the transformation; there was one conversation that day that solidified the gut feeling I had. I walked into the Business Development Office with a smile on my face and a skip in my step. The ladies in the office swung around and met my smile with theirs. We spent a few minutes catching up and like I always did, I asked the question,
“tell me the good, bad, and the ugly. What is working, and what are our opportunities?”
These conversations always reveal the good, bad, and ugly, usually followed by a rant about who is not pulling their weight. (PS, this is normal until the team starts driving in the same direction) This beautiful afternoon was different. I was knocked back by the response I received.
One of the ladies looked at me with her bright smiling eyes and said, “Katie, I am starting to see change and progress. We’ve never had this happen in our history. Our team is starting to work together, and the customers are sharing the same feeling. It’s like you have a magic wand that you have waved over the dealership.”
As I mentioned, I was knocked back with this response. I was overjoyed and thrilled to see the progress take shape. Inside I was bursting with excitement (if it were professional to do so, I would have done a happy dance!). I was quiet for a moment then responded, ” I don’t hold a magic wand, you and the team have always had the magic within each of you. We just needed to uncover it and free it. YOU are the magic you feel.”
That’s the thing; Customer Service is not magic; it is a decision to make magic happen for your team and your customers.
I was doing my regular CX article reading this morning and happen to stumble upon the fact that it is Customer Service Week 2019 this week; the theme is “The Magic of Service.” I am ashamed to admit that I don’t pay attention to CX week and when it is each year. I believe that there should be a heightened awareness of customer service in organizations EVERY DAY.
However, the theme this year piqued my interest. “The Magic of Service” reminded me of this story, and I thought it was worth sharing with you.
While experiences can feel magical to customers when done right, magic is not something that happens sometimes. The magic of service is within everyone, every organization, and every employee if you’re willing to see it and cultivate it.
If you are going to focus on anything during ‘Customer Service Week 2019’; choose to focus on uncovering the magic that already exists and nurture it.
Walk into your organization today with a skip in your step and a smile on your face. Show your team what magic looks like and foster it within them.
