14 PROCESS AND PRACTICE

LEARN FROM YOUR

COMPETITOR
... is a TOPdesk consultant. He oversees and leads improvement
trajectories at organizations both large and small.
ROELAND VAN RIJSWIJK
Even though we have many customers, in services we
always refer to the customer. It is not always easy to
predict what they expect and it can be hard to meet
their diverse expectations. We can easily nd out how
other service providers deal with this issue. You are,
after all, a customer yourself.
Service employees and their customers: they dont always get along.
If you ask around at a random help desk you will hear positive and
negative stories about its customers. And thats a shame. Grateful
customers make working in the service industry fun. They are also
more understanding when there happens to be a problem. This
understanding results in an easier collaboration in the search for
a solution. That is how satisfed customers lead to satisfed service
providers.
Striving for customer satisfaction is all about meeting expectations.
And there are many. You have more than one customer and their
wishes vary per person and situation. High expectations make
things diffcult, unknown expectations even more so. That is why
it is important to understand your customers and manage their
expectations. Where do expectations come from and can you
infuence them?
Expectations and experience with your competitor
Expectations are not only formed by good knowledge and logical
reasoning: past experiences are equally important. Your customer does
not only have experience with your services, but with many others. And
with every new experience, they can adjust their expectations of you.
This gives us an important insight: you are competing for customer
satisfaction. All other service providers are your competitor. You could
see it as an unfair competition; your competitors are very different
companies and organizations, with different goals and budgets. All of
them create their own mix from the aspects that defne services: the
measure of personal approach, the speed, clear information, freedom
of choice, fexibility, and how they unburden their customers and offer
them independence. And your services are compared to that which
they do best.
Photography: Menno van der Bijl
Cribbing in the battle for customer satisfaction
PROCESS AND PRACTICE 15
Learn from your competitors
It is good to be aware of your competition. It keeps your organization
alert to the quality you offer and possible improvements. And when
you are a customer yourself, you can notice the effect someone
elses service has on you. You can learn from your competitor. It is an
instance of healthy industrial espionage, so to speak. So, where do
we start?
Restaurants are a good example of a competitor in the service industry
from which we can learn a lot. When we visit a restaurant, we are
as sensitive to the server as we are to the food itself. We want to be
served attentively, but do not wish to be disturbed in our conversation.
We want a clear explanation of the menu and do not want to repeat
our order. This is why the tables in a restaurant are divided into
sections. Each table has one waiter who checks on you during the
evening. We receive timely updates if something takes a little longer
and the waiter knows when we need something. The waiters are well
informed and know the menu, the processes behind it, and the current
status of our order and our wishes. They are in direct contact with the
kitchen and are easily approachable. If this is not the case due to the
restaurant being extremely busy, we can understand. After all, we see
how busy it is.
Another example of a service competitor is a home furnishing store.
We visit because we dont want to trawl through an endless number
of stores to furnish our homes. And forget about hiring an interior
decorator. These furniture stores have long opening hours and large
stocks. The photos in the catalogue and the showroom displays
provide inspiration for our living room or bedroom. We can even
design our own kitchen on their website. The products are not pre-
assembled and can easily ft in the car. Transporting them yourself
saves money and time. The furniture is easy to assemble, and the store
employees are always available for questions. Customers can share
their designs on the website: our competitor lets its customers inspire
each other.
What can we learn?
Both the restaurant and the furniture store have very different
approaches, but they provide exactly the services we expect. The
former excels in a personal approach, accuracy and unburdening its
customers. This is cannot be done with large-scale services, but you
can go a long way with an accessible and knowledgeable service desk.
Particularly if the service desk has immediate insight into the status
of a call or request, communicates well with the back offce, and is
proactive in offering updates and compromises. Fixed and visible
contact persons are also an option. And if you want your customer to
show consideration during busy times, you must let them know that it
is busy this isnt always clear.
The furniture store on the other hand excels in fexibility and
offering the customer independence. Everything is clear and
understandable, so customers can easily arrange everything
themselves. You can also let your customer do this. Make sure that
you have a catalogue that clearly lists your products and services. Let
your customer easily place an order, reservation or request and pick up
products at their convenience.
A good copy is better than a bad original
We know what to expect in advance from both the restaurant and the
furniture store. We choose them for their type of service and we are
satisfed when they meet our expectations. Our expectations can also
be managed, though. Service providers love to show off their strong
points, but they also mention what they believe is less important. Pay
attention to the slogans of web shops, internet providers, insurance
companies and the government. They not only rouse your interest in
their services, they direct your attention to their strong points. It is
worth taking a closer look at this aspect of your competition.
Set out and start copying. Discover what you like or what bothers
you as a customer. And see how your own expectations are managed.
Consider which concept suits your services and what slogan you
should use. Healthy company espionage isnt a bad thing. A good copy
is better than a bad original.
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
AT YOUR COMPETITION