Many businesses today are coming to the customer experience party by making customer concern a bolt-on afterthought that goes like this: “We want a good bottom line, so we need to care for our customers.” This produces mediocre experiences built from minimum-necessary service. But creating great experiences requires more; it requires a shift in the order of priorities to something like this: “We put our customers first so we give them great care, and because of that we have a good bottom line.”

The company needs to ask itself a question. Do the needs of the company come first, or do the needs of people come first? As the historical narrative has traditionally been dog-eat-dog, win-at-all-costs, most business people are hesitant to speak of, if not downright dismissive of, compassion, care, and concern for people. But this is misaligned with the true purpose of business. You see, business has only one reason to exist, and that’s to help people achieve things. Business is a service thing, period. It is all about people. Yet, it is hard to find business leaders who really believe that and live it out in their cultures.

So, if you wonder why service seems so fake, it’s largely due to this misalignment. “Our business is all about our customers… until money is on the line or shareholders get a little unhappy. Then we trim and cut until we feel better… unfortunately, customers just have to take it until we can get back in the customer business.” When employees know that’s really the truth of it all, they paste on fake smiles and do a song and dance where they check off all of the boxes the company requires… and that’s as far as they go. That is inward, self-focused, we-really-come-first, how-can-you-help-us behavior where service is just a facade. It’s a marriage of convenience.

To truly be of service—to solve problems with care and courtesy—requires something more; it requires an outward, other-focused, you’re-our-priority, how-can-we-help-you mindset.

This is a shift in thinking for sure, but making it will separate you from the pack of mediocrity. 

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