Synergy Partners Small Business Resource Centre

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Moments of Truth
Key Interactions to Improve Customer Service

Improving customer service tends to be incremental – lots of little things rather than one big one. If you look at a typical customer service interaction, it can be broken down into 6 key ‘moments’. One model puts the first letters of these key moments into a acronym ‘gelati’ –

Greet & make them feel welcome
Enquire about their needs
Listen to the response
Attend to their request
Thank them for their custom
Invite them back

1. Greet and make them feel welcome
This first step is often forgotten. It is based on the ‘golden rule’ of customer service –

‘Treat them as people before you treat them as consumers’

This means that you will ask how they are before you ask what they want. But it starts before you say a word.

A recent survey showed that 24% of customers chose to spend their money with a business because of the ambience. It simply ‘felt’ friendlier. They felt more welcomed and comfortable. And this can happen before they get to talk to a sales person.

2. Enquire about their needs
When asking customers about their needs, using ‘open’ questions gives the best information and creates the best impression. ‘Open’ questions are those that cannot be answered easily with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Open questions (that usually start with ‘how’, ‘what’, ‘when’, etc) invite a customer to explore their needs more fully. ‘Closed’ questions are most efficient (for busy times) – but they can limit a customers options – causing them to not ask for something not offered.

3. Listen to the response
Proper listening involves complete attention. This includes eye contact and attentive body language. It means you need to be quiet enough not to interrupt those who need long pauses to gather their thoughts. Questions to gain more information or to clarify are part of the ‘active listening’ process. Listen as much to how something is said as to what is said.

4. Attend to their needs
Just the smallest extra touch can take your service from ‘good’ to ‘exceptional’. The little unexpected extra can be so easy to add, for example “Would you like a jug of water for your table?” or “Is it a present - would you like the price tag removed?”

5. Thank them for their custom
Simply thanking people for choosing to spend their money with you can make you stand out because so many forget this most basic courtesy.

6. Invite them back
Everybody likes to be asked to come back. If you invite people back, there’s a good chance they will take you up on it. Try to invite them to a specific occasion – an upcoming ‘one-off’ event or a regular ‘special’. If not a “Hope to see you again soon” will achieve the purpose.

Creating Your Moments of Truth
The easiest way to build a customer service standard that will continually exceed customers’ expectations is to create a list of the Key Moments – like GELATI. Then examine each of those key moments for opportunities to do something exceptional – however small. Gradually, all the little things will come together to provide a memorable service experience for your customers.

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