Can good customer service be taught? (It’s not a trick question)

It would probably be impossible to answer that question with a simple “yes” or “no.” But it’s still worth asking, since many companies brag that their managers or employees have been trained to offer the best customer service.

What does that mean?

Usually, they’re referring to specialized training like the kind offered by Ritz-Carlton, which leverages its own reputation for great customer service to show other companies how to do it. Or maybe something more comprehensive, like the week-long courses given by the Disney Institute.

If it only were that easy. While it’s true that businesses can fine-tune their customer service through seminars, a series of classes almost certainly can’t fix a company’s service problems.

First of all, many of the courses out there are fakes — which is to say, they’re profit-optimization seminars masquerading as customer-service classes. Employees and managers are being taught how to make more money, not provide excellent service.

Worst of all, they’re being told that in making the company more profitable, they are serving their customers. That’s not true. They are serving their shareholders.

The legit seminars (I include Disney and Ritz-Carlton in the group) can only make good managers better. But if the company is hated by its own customers, it’s just a band-aid on a gaping wound. The classes are no cure for a toxic, customer-hostile corporate culture.

Fixing that is almost impossible. I’ve seen many companies try. They’ve held up their management training as evidence that they’re a changed company. But change — true institutional change — must start at the top. The executives have to walk a different walk, talk a different talk. Or they need to be replaced.

So the next time someone tells you about their company’s “leadership” training, using it as a selling point, be skeptical. Customer service training isn’t evidence of better customer service.

It’s just evidence that they have a customer service problem.

(Photo: Atelier Tee e/Flickr Creative Commons)

  • http://www.sanibel-rentals.net Sylvia

    Though I think customer training seminars and courses can help a bit, even the finer tuning of a corporate culture can only go so far. There are natural people pleasers and they often are the best ambassadors a company could have even when they have not taken a course or seminar. And though it may not be PC to say it, there are whole cultures that are, by nature, much more pleasing and attuned to what people want.

  • http://www.jetwithkids.com Anya Clowers, RN

    The best customer service I ever experienced was in Thailand. In the hotels, taxis, restaurants, etc. Why? Because it didn’t feel like they were “just doing their job”. There was a sincerity to their smile and a peace to their work I have never found anywhere else – even at the Ritz.

    I think it goes beyond “customer service”, instead reflects passion for their place in life -and being kind to others.

    Want to teach customer service? Teach empathy, kindness, and compassion. And that is best learned by walking a mile in someone else’s shoes. Bringing management down to the street level. What does it feel like to be a traveler or hotel guest?

    I became a much better nurse after being a hospital patient. There are somethings you must experience firsthand to truly understand.

  • Jean

    I believe that good customer service can be taught, but only to some people. Nordstrom is well known for its outstanding customer service. In a book about Nordstrom, the author said that Nordstrom executives told him that they hire nice people rather than good salesmen because they can teach people to sell, but they can’t teach people to be nice. I think that explains it in a nutshell – you can easily teach nice people to give good customer service, but you can’t teach people who aren’t nice to begin with how to serve customers well.

  • DFW ROAD WARRIOR

    I spent several years as a corporate trainer in this very subject.

    My experience is that “customer service” is first and foremost an attitude that begins with the corporate culture. The firms that promote customer service (Marriott, Disney, Southwest Airlines) in their corporate culture are the ones whose employees provide that service to the customer.

    I presented many customer service programs to firms whose employees provide the worst customer service today. I can’t, however, fault either the employee or the training. The firm never supported the program nor do they empower the employee to satisfy the customer.

    Excellent customer service requires employee satisfaction. It cannot be turned on and off. Employees who like what they do, who they work for, who are given the authority to do their job, and are treated fairly. They pass that experience on to the customer. If the employee feels any differently that is passed on to the customer as well.

    I once asked Robert Crandall when he was CEO at American Airlines what the standard operating procedure was at American during a training session I was presenting for middle managers. He did not hesitate and said there was no standard operating procedure at American because each customer situation was unique to that customer and every American employee had to determine what that customer wanted and satisfy them so they would continue to choose American each time they flew. He said if we had an SOP we would only satisfy a few of our customers and we would drive away business to the competition. Sadly, that was another era.

    In my opinion, if we had more Disneys, Marriotts, Crandells & Kellehers and fewer investment bankers running our businesses we would have better customer service.

  • cyn

    I worked for a hotel chain once and they hired people to come in and “teach” customer service. After one mind numbing, brainless session, big mouth me said, I could teach that class, better, it would be more fun and a whole lot cheaper. The rest is, as they say, history. I did teach several classes and my boss (who was an idiot) just considered it part of my job, so he saved his employers money! Then I was the Ops Manager at a big health/tennis/fitness club with about 47 staff members to supervise. I taught them all about good customer service and we got lots of recognition from our members and employers. It’s not rocket science and it can be taught. SHOULD be taught.

  • http://www.hoteletraining.com Jeanne

    If a company has a service problem and tried to “solve” it with a training class…it’s doomed. And that is coming from someone who make their living teaching service classes! There are so many layers to providing world-class service and it begins WAY before the employee encounters the external customer. Yes, I said “external” customer.

    I’d be happy to discuss the layers and how to infuse them into your organization with any leader who is serious about the topic.

  • LMH

    Brilliant article and comments! Each employee needs to be empowered not just to satisfy each individual customer but to see their role as fixing both the “little’ and “big” system problems. A recent example – I mentioned to our server the difficulty I had making reservations for a brunch at a Hyatt property in FL. The server took communicating this problem as her obvious and important responsibility. Within a few minutes, the restaurant manager came to the table – apologized, said she had heard this from others, explained what had likely happened, said she would fix this and gave me her business card to call if I had the same difficulty ever again. She mentioned that this may have been why their reservations were so “light” on this particular Sunday. Another example of how good customer service is good for both the guest experience and the bottom line.

  • http://nmdfreelance.com Nancy

    Rule #1 for customer service – wear a smile. Good customer service CAN be taught. The trick is finding employees who want to listen to the training.