Five Star Service: How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service

Excellent customer service is more vital than ever in today's competitive marketplace. Clients are more demanding now, they've got more choice, and social media means customers can tarnish a reputation or a brand name in minutes. They can tweet about a bad meal or a delayed train, or post pictures of a defective appliance or a dirty hotel room on Facebook. They can sing a company's praises too, of course, but bad news travels faster than good news, and it can do a huge amount of damage.

So how do you wow your customers so they feel great, keep coming back for more, tell their friends, and tweet to their followers? And how do you do that without breaking the bank?

This book will show you how. "Five Star Service" is packed with simple, easy-to-follow tips and tricks to help you deliver top-notch customer service at minimal cost. It'll help you master the basics – from firm handshakes to what to wear – and it'll show you how to go the extra mile to keep your customers satisfied.

So who's this book for? "Five Star Service" is most relevant to leaders, managers and employees of organizations in the service industry, particularly those in client-facing roles and people involved in training others. But anyone whose work involves dealing with other people, or who wants to build a personal brand and maintain a good reputation, will find the author's suggestions useful.

Michael Heppell is one of the UK's top motivational trainers. He's a recognized expert on customer service and a best-selling author. He works with big-name companies including Microsoft, Pizza Hut, GlaxoSmithKline, and HSBC, as well as the BBC, Britain's National Health Service, and government bodies. His books include "Flip It," "How to Be Brilliant," and "Brilliant Life."

So keep listening to hear how to treat your customers like kings and queens, how to locate your customer service blind spots so you can up your game, and how to deal politely but firmly with complaints.

"Five Star Service" is a revised edition of a book first published in 2006. Heppell's updated it with new chapters to reflect today's more demanding customers and he's added further practical tips.

Heppell wants readers to put his suggestions into practice immediately. He wants us to take action, not just read his book. This isn't a big ask. Some of his ideas are little more than common sense. In fact, we think a few are so simple they risk insulting the reader's intelligence.

For example, in a section on first impressions, he tells us to smile, say please and thank you, wash, wear deodorant, and avoid colorful Homer Simpson socks. Bad breath and body odor put people off, while a smile, good manners, and professional dress can make a difference, he points out.

We think this is stating the obvious. Other tips are equally basic, but probably worth repeating: always be on time, don't put people on hold without asking them first, and shake hands firmly.

Fortunately, the author offers plenty more sophisticated tips and techniques too. He explores how to define your service values, recruit the right service staff, keep suppliers sweet, and deliver excellent telephone service, among other topics. He backs up his ideas with real-life examples from his own experience and from companies including Virgin, Disney, Dyson, easyJet, and some of the world's biggest hotel chains.

The book's structure makes it easy to skip parts that aren't relevant and to jump in and out. "Five Star Service" is split into 51 short chapters, some of which only take a minute or two to read. Heppell livens up the text with cartoons, and includes action steps at the end of the chapters. He also offers a 90-day framework that organizations from different sectors can use to produce instant improvements in their customer service.

So let's now take a closer look at some of the author's tips, starting with how to treat your customers like royalty.

Many of us have had bad experiences staying in hotels – unpleasant food, noisy neighbors, dirty bathrooms – but the author's probably had more than most because he travels so much. In a chapter called Putting on the Ritz, he describes two business trips – one to a large city-center hotel in Glasgow, Scotland, and one to the Ritz Carlton in Singapore.

In Glasgow, Heppell had to wait in line for more than 45 minutes to check in. The receptionist couldn't find his reservation because she mistyped his name into the computer, and she impatiently snatched his credit card. The author wasn't impressed.

Heppell's experience at the Ritz Carlton in Singapore was something else. As his car drew up at the front door, the doorman greeted him with a big smile and the words, "Welcome back to the Ritz Carlton, Mr Heppell." It had been seven years since he last stayed at the hotel, but the doorman had checked the system, knew his name, and knew he'd stayed before.

The doorman then welcomed Mrs Heppell, saying, "I believe this is your first visit," which it was, and one of the concierge team gave his 11-year-old daughter a bunch of flowers.

As the author walked through the lobby, several other members of the concierge staff greeted Heppell by name and his registration card was ready for him to sign at reception. The receptionist still had to ask for his credit card, but she did so in a way that didn't imply he was a potential security risk.

"You may wish to purchase something from one of our boutiques or join us for a meal in one of our fine dining restaurants," the receptionist said. "Perhaps it would be convenient for you to allow me to take a swipe of your credit card so you don't have to worry about carrying money," she added.

She achieved the same thing as the Glasgow receptionist – a swipe of his credit card – but the experiences felt very different to Heppell.

Now, you might be thinking the Ritz Carlton Singapore has more money to deliver top-notch service than the Glasgow hotel, and that may be the case. But Heppell argues that good customer service requires minimal investment. A friendly, helpful, patient attitude is free. Good training requires an initial outlay but lasts a lifetime. And the computer system that allows the doorman to access guests' names, so he knows if they've stayed before, uses basic technology.

We think Heppell makes good points, but his approach is quite simplistic. He doesn't delve into the complexities of running a hotel or the cost of keeping a reception well staffed, so employees don't get stressed, forget their training, or let their manners slip. But we agree businesses that invest even just a small amount in good customer service will reap the rewards through returning guests and referrals.

This case study is taken from the hotel industry, but we think it's easy to apply its lessons to other sectors. It's all about finding small, low-cost ways to give customers a personalized service so they feel they matter as individuals.

In another chapter, Heppell suggests organizations give employees the green light to go the extra mile for clients, even if this requires spending money or using up valuable time. Empower employees by setting a budget in terms of cash and time, he says, so they know how much they're allowed to spend to give customers a special experience, and how much time and effort they can put into it.

For example, at Michael Heppell Limited, staff can spend one hour and up to £50 to make a customer's experience memorable. If employees know their budget, they're more able to respond quickly and make a difference.

Let's now look at ways to discover the weak link in your customer service chain.

Blind spots come in all shapes and sizes. It could be that your website is hard to navigate, your pricing policy is misleading, there's a problem with your software, or there's nowhere to park near your store.

The easiest way to find your blind spot is to ask your customers, but they won't always tell you the truth. If you ask, "How was everything today?" you're likely to hear, "Fine," or something along those lines.

So be more creative and specific with your questioning, either in person or on feedback forms. Try asking, "What's the one thing we could have done better today?" or, "What three things could we change to improve your experience?"

Another way to find out where you're going wrong is to employ a professional secret shopping company to test your service. The secret shopper eats at your restaurant, calls your phone line, emails in a complaint, or tries to buy something on your website, and then gives you feedback.

You may think the exercise would be most effective if your employees aren't aware you've hired a secret shopper. But Heppell says you need to tell them, or they'll feel they're being spied upon and this will drain morale.

You may also worry your staff will raise their game when they know they're being watched, defeating the point of the exercise. This may be the case, but it means your customer service will improve immediately, and the secret shopper can point out everything your company does right, as well as what it does wrong.

Whether or not you invest in a secret shopper, we agree it's important to find ways to test your service, so you can work out how user-friendly it is, locate any blind spots, and respond to customer feedback.

Let's now look at Heppell's tips on dealing with customer complaints.

Today's customers are very aware of their rights and aren't afraid of complaining. But the old adage "the customer is always right" doesn't apply in all situations. Companies need policies and guidelines to remain profitable – for example, setting a specific window of time for returning unwanted goods – and employees need to uphold these. But how do you stand up to an unhappy client without losing their custom?

Heppell suggests you use three magic words: feel, felt and found.

Imagine your company offers a 16-day satisfaction guarantee period but a customer rings up on day 18 demanding a refund. The product's not faulty – the customer's just changed his mind. "What difference does a couple of days make?" the customer asks. Using Heppell's technique, you could say something like: "I understand you may feel unhappy about that and I've had other customers who've felt the same. But we've found our satisfaction guarantee is one of the most generous on the high street and we've also found the vast majority of people are happy with it."

You don't dismiss the customer's frustration. You acknowledge it. But you defuse the situation and align your customers to your way of thinking by suggesting the majority of people are satisfied with your service.

Heppell gives a number of examples of how you can use these three words to respond to customers' complaints. We don't think they're a cure-all, but we can see how they'd be much more effective than phrases like, "It's company policy," or "I don't make the rules," which are virtually guaranteed to get the customer's back up.

We also like another of the author's techniques for dealing with customer service issues. It's a five-step process and the steps are: Realize you have a problem; Assess the situation through brainstorming; Decide your response; Act; and Review and change tack if necessary. He's trademarked it RADAR – the word formed from the first letters of each step – and he suggests using it in weekly or monthly staff meetings.

RADAR is common sense, like many other ideas in this book, but common sense isn't always common practice, as you'll know if you've been on the receiving end of poor service.

"Five Star Service" covers a lot of ground. You'll learn how to greet people in person and over the phone, and what to say and what not to say to customers. You'll hear some top tips from household names on service values and client loyalty, and you'll understand the importance of valuing your customers and of sending clients thank you letters and cards, so they keep coming back and spread the word to their colleagues and friends.

Some readers may get frustrated with the simplicity of Heppell's approach and his cheerleading tone. And he does tend to repeat some of his ideas, particularly on the topic of good first impressions. But given this book is such a quick read, and given the importance of top-rate customer service in today's competitive times, we have no problem recommending this book.

"Five Star Service," by Michael Heppell, is published by Prentice Hall Business, an imprint of Pearson.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Thanks for listening.