The customer’s Taste Buds Are Always Right if Customer Service Excellence is the Goal
When I tasted the Greenwich Pizza ‘Garden Delight’ in the Philippines, my tastebuds got a shock!
The pizza was covered with sweet tomato sauce and the cheese on top was cheddar.
I’ve been eating pizza all my life. Pizza is made with tangy tomato sauce and should be covered with mozzarella cheese, right? Sweet sauce and cheddar is no way to make a pizza.
Unless you want to sell a lot of pizza in the Philippines.
Greenwich Pizza doesn’t care what pizza is known for in Italy or New York or anywhere else for that matter. Greenwich wants to dominate the Philippine pizza market. As far as they’re concerned, when you are in the Philippines, Filipino tastebuds rule. This business has one of the most important factors in customer service excellence down pat.
If the local market wants sweet, then sweet tomato sauce it is. If local customers prefer cheddar, spread on the cheddar cheese. Although I wasn’t thrilled with the pizza, Greenwich’s recipe is an example of customer service excellence in action.
Global brands Pizza Hut, Shakeys and Domino's all sell pizza in the Philippines. But local Greenwich is the market leader.
Why? Because Pizza Hut, Shakeys and Domino's all make their pizza to global (not local) pizza standards. With plenty of tangy tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. While this might be an example of customer service excellence elsewhere, it doesn’t fly in the Philippines.
Responding to the market is customer service excellence in action.
Key learning point for customer service excellence
Question: Who knows best what customers really want? Local businesses or global corporations?
Answer: Neither. The people who know best what customers really want are the customers themselves! Businesses that want to succeed listen and respond accordingly to customer desires.
Action steps for customer service excellence
Do you think you already know what’s best for your customers? Or do you really listen to learn what your customers prefer? Ask yourself these questions and decide what you can do to boost your record for customer service excellence.
Copyright, Ron Kaufman. Used with permission. Ron Kaufman is the world’s leading educator and motivator for upgrading customer service and uplifting service culture. He is author of the bestselling “UP! Your Service” books and founder of UP! Your Service. To enjoy more customer service training and service culture articles, visit UpYourService.com.
