“People seem to think Customer Service and Marketing are separate departments. I say they go hand in hand. There is no better way to increase or decrease your brand impression than through customer interaction. Every person in your company is a marketer, especially those on the front-lines. Every employee is your brand ambassador, your marketer and the face of your company. They make a difference.”

Imagine cutting your hair and transforming yourself into an entirely different person. The change is so dramatic that your loved ones wouldn’t even recognize you.

Now picture yourself working every Joe job in your organization. You know those positions that nobody really wants to do. Like being a janitor, or working the night shift.

Why would you want to do this?

To find out how bad your company is sucking.

This is exactly what Steve Joyce the president and CEO of Choice Hotels did recently on the show Undercover Boss.

He sweated like a maniac, worked harder than he had in years and learned a couple of things along the way.

He went undercover and worked Maintenance, Housekeeping, Sales, and even went all creature of the night on the graveyard shift.

Tears started to flow during Steve’s time in Housekeeping.

Housekeeping Manager Christina put him to the test both physically and emotionally.

During a much needed water break she became a Customer Service Guru and dished out this sage advice to Steve, “You have to have a passion for it. People lose the value of being in hospitality. They think it’s just a job. For example if your guest is not feeling well we can get a card together and we can all sign it. Put it under the door. Let them know we’re thinking of them.”

She went on to say that, “It takes a different kind of person to want to help.“

There’s the kicker.

The person that’s in service must want to be there. It has to be part of their DNA. Some people can’t handle Customer Service. Like my Dad. He hates dealing with people so much that he’s worked night crew for over 40 years.

There’s maybe 5% of the population that live and breathe service. It’s what gets them off. It’s their “calling”. And no matter how much dirt you throw at them they take it with a smile. F-bombs and all.

These are the people that you want to be attracting to your business.

When I was doing the hiring and interviewing for Toronto’s largest day spa I didn’t really care about the standardized HR questions. I wanted to know if this person was born with the Customer Service gene. We’re they part of that special 5%?

Did they care?

Really care.

Not only about the customers, or “guests” as we like to say in the spa industry. But did they care about the industry, organization, and people in general.

Customer Service can’t really be taught.

Either you have it or you don’t.

Sure I can hone your customer service skills but if you don’t care about people or the business you’re going to suck at your job. And then the whole business suffers in the end.

It still amazes to see businesses who think that customer service isn’t really marketing.

People who’ll invest thousands of dollars in their business, then pick some schmuck off the street to be their front line staff.

You might as well just close your doors now. Because if you’re rude to me, ignore me, or just make me feel like my money doesn’t matter to you I’m going to go somewhere else and spend it.

Let me make this clear…

Customer Service is an integral part of your Holistic Marketing strategy.

Choose your people wisely.

When you’re interviewing you next Customer Service rep try asking them the following questions and see how they respond:

• Out of all the places that you can work at why do you want to work here?
• So, let me get this straight, customer service really gets you fired up in the mornings?
• What does customer service mean to you?
• What’s your long-term plan or vision for yourself?

Since my office was in the back, whoever was coming in for an interview had to talk with my front-line team before they saw me. After the person had finished the interview I would chat with my team and ask them:

• What did you think of them?
• Were they polite or rude to you?
• Would you want them to be a part of the team?

Take the time to build your front-line team. Those same people will be building your business for you. One customer at a time. One interaction at a time.

And remember what Scott said earlier, “Every person in your company is a marketer, especially those on the front-lines. Every employee is your brand ambassador, your marketer and the face of your company. They make a difference.”

And be sure to…

Have fun, make money and change the world.

Ian