Customer Service Goes to School

School is about learning, getting better, focusing on fundamentals and being part of a

community. At the recent convocation, I had the chance to hear Dr. Brett Jacobsen, Head

of School at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School, pose an interesting question to the

students, teachers and staff. The question starts with, “How might we?” This question

will change during the year but the first three words will remain the same. At convocation

the question was “How might we make the world more awesome?” It didn’t take long for

me to see how this question relates to customer service in all businesses. Here are some

endings to this question to make the customer experience one that creates loyalty.

• How might we improve one single process immediately to make the company more reliable?

• How might we find the gaps and work to reduce the customer’s hassle?

• How might we create a customer experience that is memorable?

• How might we be more responsive via social media?

• How might we create an improved first impression?

• How might we make a difference with every customer everyday?

Ask the team for the answers and allow them to create new ones. Get the team involved

for ownership over the implementation of improvements. Get involvement from across

departments to make a real impact.  Mary Cantwell, one of 24 teachers in the nation to

be named a Teacher of the Future by the National Association of Independent Schools,

said, “Find the cracks, discover the gaps or focus on what may be broken.” She is vigilant

in looking for ways to make education better.  Take this advice and check your basics

and fundamentals. Everything can be improved. It’s time to go back to school – learn,

improve, fix and innovate. Your customers will be glad you did.