Customer (Over) Service | Accelerated Business Results

Posted by Chris Mann, July 5, 2011

Recently I?ve begun to experience something I like to call customer over service. It?s a rare monster to encounter, but when you come face to face with it, you?ll immediately know. First, let me break down what over service is. It can come in many forms, but typically it manifests its nasty head in the ?over check.? It may sound like this: ?How?s your meal?? (Then two minutes later) ?Isn?t that veal great?? (Two minutes later) ?You made such a great decision with your meal. Don?t you just love those potatoes?? Thanks for convincing me that my potatoes are great, but you?ve just over served me.

Over service can come in many forms but typically happens at companies that really value customer service but communicate it to their employees without mentioning where the line is. There is an off switch to service and knowing when to hit the off switch is just as important as knowing when to hit the on switch. When an employee misses the off switch, the great customer service becomes creepy. All of a sudden, an attentive server has become a stalker. You feel as though you are being watched while you eat, analyzed while you shop, or worst of all, bothered at your home with unnecessary follow up.

So how should owners and managers communicate to employees how to serve but not over serve? The best way to do this is to think like a customer. This is something that is often forgotten by management because we get so close to our business that we sometimes forget what it?s like to actually participate as a client. If you were a customer in your own restaurant, would you want to have your drink refilled when it?s empty? Would you want the chair to be pulled out for you? Would you want the door opened for you when you leave? The answer to these questions is probably yes. However, when a server tells me what a great choice I?ve made and then continues to extol the virtues of the grilled Mahi Mahi every five minutes throughout the dinner service, that?s over the line.

Obviously the examples I?m giving are quite extreme and finding the actual line is a more meticulous process. So check on me, but not too often. Talk to me, but not for too long. Open the door for me, but skip giving me a high-five on the way out. You get it. When you over serve, you look desperate and seem creepy. Acknowledge me, serve me, and then leave me alone.

Source: http://www.acceleratedbr.com/blog/customer-over-service/

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