SPECIAL NOTE: As of this week, this weekly customer service 'e'letter will be called "Touchstones".
A touchstone is a standard or criterion. It is also a 'stone' for testing gold alloys. We trust that you will continue to find 'gold' each week as we bring you ideas and inspiration to keep ahead in this 'high-tech, HIGH TOUCH' world. A world where customers can now make or break your business in an instant. Treat them like gold!
Quote of the week:
- "All good things happen to those of cheerful disposition." - Voltaire
Recommended book of the week:
- The Secrets of the Rainmaker. - Chin-Ning Chu, Stealth Productions
Website link of the week:
- www.zdnet.com Jesse Berst will give you a daily update on what's happening in the world of high-tech, the internet and world wide web.
This week's customer service "moment of truth".
Correct height chairs for customers.
I'm sure you've had it happen to you. You enter a place of business and the receptionist asks you to take a seat, so off to the waiting room couch you go. As you lower yourself into it, you begin to wonder if there is a frame supporting the cushions as you plummet further towards mother earth. Finally you come to rest. The question that then enters your mind is "how will I ever get out of here?"
Sometime later, you get to see the person with whom you had an appointment. After being escorted to their office, they also ask you to take a seat. What happens next can tell you a great deal about the person you are dealing with. Is the seat you are sitting on the same height as the person you are visiting? Hopefully the answer is yes, however this is not always the case. Sadly there are still plenty of people around with 'ego' deficiencies that require their chairs to be higher than those of their customers. This situation is particularly prevalent with men suffering from 'small man syndrome'.
So what is the correct height for customer chairs? Well that depends on who your customers are.
For Doctors surgeries that are frequented by people of all ages, shapes and sizes, two or three different sizes of chairs are preferable. For shoe stores that cater for children, an elevated bench adds fun for the kids and saves shop assistants from having to awkwardly bend over. For restaurants, it depends on who your regular customers are.
The desirable height above the floor of the chair seat for an average adult is 450 - 500mm.
But what about your internal customers? Again this depends. It firstly depends on the 'chair requirements' of staff. For office staff who are required to sit for long periods of time, ergonomically designed furniture is an absolute must. These chairs need to have multiple adjust functions including height and lumbar support. For staff who sit at drafting and design boards, specifically designed stools are required.
But what about staff lunchrooms and other staff amenities? Again, I have seen far too often an array of hand-me-down cast-offs that community aid groups would discard as not being suitable for human use.
Just how important are your staff to you? What you ask them to sit on is one sure way to finding out the answer to this simple question.
How important are you customers to you? Once again, you can never put too much thought into all aspects of your customer service delivery system, including those little things such as the correct height of customer's chairs.
Until next week, stay true to yourself and to your customers. And remember great customer service relationships happen by design, and occur in the moment, one customer at a time.
