by Elizabeth Campbell

Created on: October 04, 2008

The best customer service I ever had was at a hotel in South Carolina. A country mansion, transformed into a traveler's paradise, the concierge and staff catered to every whim. Upon arrival, they found they had an extra room un-rented, beside our reserved room and offered it free of charge for our children to allow us extra room! They provided a snack basket in the bedroom, complimentary bicycles to ride around the property, and standard turn-down service. These services were not optional but the staple of this hotel which consequently has earned prestigious awards for first class in service.

However, it doesn't take a fancy hotel, or freebies to provide exceptional customer service!

Working in the service industry for over ten years, and being a consumer for over thirty years, I have seen customer service run the gamut from a New York Information Desk refuse to assist on a Subway map, to the sublime vacation experience explained earlier.

To train good customer service start with a training manual that provides your staff clear-cut information on how your company treats its customers. A training manual is important because it provides your staff a frame of reference they can consult at any time as well as study for mastery as they become more seasoned. Also, it provides you a tool to refer back to when you are coaching your staff and there is not any chance for error if you keep your manual up-to-date and hold your staff accountable for performing by the specifications you have documented.

The manual should detail your expectations for each media and type of customer experience your employee will encounter. By media, I mean the way in which the customer is contacted. For instance, if your only customer service contact is via phone, then all of your training will concern the phone. However, if your staff provide customer service in person, via phone, and via e-mail, then each of these areas needs to be covered in your training manual. The types of customer service you train in are the specific types of interactions your staff will have with a customer. For example, at a hotel front desk your types of customer service may be made up of something such as the following:

- Taking new reservations
- Changing reservations
- Cancelling reservations
- Checking in a guest
- Handling a guest complaint
- Providing restaurant recommendations
- Scheduling a wake-up call
- Providing directions

Your manual needs to be very concrete including information regarding how the phone is answered,

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