Customers Come Second

Source: ConvergenceCoaching, LLC Inspired Ideas

The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from a blog post by Michelle Baca.

In May 2011, Consumer Reports ranked Southwest Airlines as the “Top Airline in Customer Service,” so when I started to conduct research for a recent presentation on Delivering Exceptional Client Service, I looked to the book NUTS!: Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success. I was taken aback when I read the title of the 11th chapter, “Customers Come Second.”

Part of Southwest's recipe for success is adopting many of the principles of “servant leadership.” A servant leader looks to the needs of the members of his or her team and asks him or herself how he or she can help them to solve problems and promote personal development.

Yes, you need satisfied clients to survive, but without a team of satisfied service delivery people, you can't possibly expect to have satisfied clients. Satisfied employees tend to enjoy their jobs, provide better work product, are more productive, and are much more likely to deliver the quality of service that will compel clients to keep you as their professional service provider and refer you to others.

Many firms are focused on client retention right now, so it may seem counter-intuitive to shift your focus from your clients to your employees, but if you do so, you will see that employees who feel heard, attended to, and highly valued lead to higher client satisfaction levels.

[Editor's note: The post goes on to discuss 10 characteristics that are central to development of a servant leader, including “listening,” “empathy,” and “commitment to the growth of people.”]

For the complete post, read “Why Your Clients Shouldn't Come First.”

From Convergence Coaching, LLC Inspired Ideas, blog.convergencecoaching.com, August 17, 2011.