In the service stakes there are those that connect with the people they need to serve and those that quite frankly wish the customers would go away. There are of course levels within that and as always I would like you to focus for a moment on the top end.

People that serve in those lofty heights have a few qualities that make them stand out from the crowd, but don’t let that descriptor fool you, you probably will not see anything different in the way they interact with the customers to give away that they have this high end skill.

In simple terms what they do is often invisible, it has great depth, it is a level of intimate connectedness. This allows them to encourage, influence, involve, engage, be in alignment with, but above all it allows them to be effective with the customers.

It also means that customer loyalty is built in a way that makes it hard to erase, these customers do not fade away, they become advocates of what the service person has provided for them, which is much more than a product or service, it’s that intimate and deep connectedness that all great relationships have.

The customers that come into contact with this exceptional sales or service person will follow them if they leave the company, or if they walk in the door that they have a day off they will come back when they are there.

For the company to ensure these sorts of customer service people are attracted and retained they need to carefully look at their culture and environment they provide, the culture, personality that the other staff have and then weave magic within that. In short they need to become employers of choice.

For the employee that has or wants to develop this skill level they need to make sure they listen actively, find ways to connect genuinely with the customers (and most probably their team mates).

Great service is its own reward, and the return of customers time and again due to the intimate connectedness of the service people is what the sales and service game is all about.

Stumble it!