There is a significant difference between customer service, outstanding customer service and WOW customer service — and it is important to understand before creating or running a customer service training program.
Customer service is, fundamentally, the act of providing a service to a customer. A customer needs something, and you provide assistance in fulfilling that need.
Customer service can be in-person, over the telephone, via email, social media or through a number of internet-based technologies.
While customer service, as identified above, is focused on what you do for a customer, Outstanding customer service is the manner in which you provide it.
Outstanding customer service consistently conveys to customers that they are important to you, and that you genuinely care about achieving a positive outcome for them. it involves a demonstrably positive mindset, and the consistent use of core skills and behaviours identified in The 6 Pillars of Customer Service.
Wow customer service refers to a service experience that a customer is likely to shared with family, friends and social media connections.
Wow customer experiences are notable because of uniqueness and memorability. They can be positive or negative experiences.
According to the 2016 Science of WOW research, the core of positive WOW experiences are: Ownership, Caring and, in over 70% of instances, created by recovering from a service failure.
