Christopher Myers

One of the most important elements for establishing a "Perfect Service" program is to establish and boldly promote a "Perfect Guarantee." This one act sends a message to potential customers, as well as current clients, that your company is serious about providing satisfaction.

Another element is for your customers to promote their happiness with your services. Companies need to get creative in how they get the word out.

I am seeing a lot of work being done in both of these areas, and while I believe they are not fully developed, the trend is a good one:

SuperGuarantee Designation

Your company has worked for weeks and months on positioning your services exactly the way you want. The client has given the right signals that it values your service proposition, and thinks your approach is intriquing. There seems to be a connection forming between the decision-makers and the sales team.

And then you get the word....you have won the big sale! Congratulations. Time to brew the pot of coffee...the real work begins.

Now comes a critical stage in the relationship...the Implementation or Conversion process. This stage is the first time your company moves from typical sales hype to reality of having to deliver what you sold. In many instances, this is a sobering time in the deal for both parties, one that Perfect Service companies need to critically analyze and design.

Bruce Temkin, in a recent blog post, describes this as the "Engagement Phase," the underappreciated stage between Point of Sale and Service. He believes that during this stage...

In a private moment after a particularly tense meeting with an important client, the senior manager at the client wrapped his arm around my shoulder and said, "Sometimes the quality of service is about the art of recovery." That lesson stuck with me throughout my career, and I was reminded of it recently while reading a letter from Delta Airlines this week.

In short, the letter apologized for a recent unpleasant flight experience when my bag was left behind (made even more frustrating since I had to pay $25 to check the bag in the first place.) The letter announced that I was going to be awarded 1,500 frequent flyer miles for my troubles.

Last week, I received a similar letter from Delta Airlines awarding me 1,000 frequent flyer miles for a cancelled flight.

Despite the inconveniences from the delays and the baggage mishap, I did not walk away from those incidents at the time with a poor feeling about Delta, rather sensing it was just my time to have problems...