In Retail, There Is Nothing Special About Being Exceptional

Remarkable service in any environment can be easily placed into two simple classifications: Exceptional and Cultural.

When it is the former, there is no guarantee it will occur again. In fact, in most instances, it won’t. As the root word suggests, it was the rare exception to the otherwise common norm. It was, simply, someone having a good day. Or the fortuitous luck of the draw by you as a patron with the server or sales associate who had your cards. Heck, it is for good reason we rightfully suggest that the toughest customer to satisfy is the person who had an awesome experience the last time he or she visited . . .

For just a few seconds, consider this hypothetical: the impression made on someone who had a wonderful engagement with your enterprise, only to have it bested in an even more recent interaction.

Wow. Amazing, eh? How powerful is that notion?! Even just the thought of a repeated occurrence that is fantastic—and getting better each time—moves us.

Now let’s return to the more likely reality. To do so fully, we must consider this uncomfortable (but validated) statement: in many organizations, impressive moments are an exception.

As a result, we do not objectively confuse the term “exceptional” with the term “impressive.” Or “outstanding.” Or “transformational.” Or any other adjective we desire to repeatedly hear regarding our service proposition.

Exceptional May Not Be Special – But It Is Valuable

To be sure, when someone has a tremendous experience—even just once—he or she can serve as an effective mouthpiece for your operation or ambitions. He or she may, in fact, tell friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family members about what transpired. While basking in the immediate afterglow, it is almost certain that a recent customer will sing the rightful praises of their time with you! And in the coming weeks and months, if something reminds them of their experience, they will pipe up and regale an audience with a memory that serves your enterprise well . . .

So, yes, an Exceptional experience is valuable. Very much so.

At the same time, please understand this distinction: reminiscing on a positive episode from your life is not the same as presenting your hard-earned, battle-tested credibility to someone with whom you have influence. Nor is it the same as honoring your relationship with someone you care about with a bona fide recommendation.

Cultural Is Way Better

Think of it this way: remarkable service that is Exceptional will result in the retelling of a positive and productive story about your enterprise when it is relevant and recollected. But as an important and achievable upgrade, remarkable service that is Cultural will result in proactive, implicit referrals of your business that arrive with regularity. Even better, this type of endorsement evidences the extreme confidence necessary when someone puts their reputation on the line. Even though your service proposition and performance are outside of their realm of control, your consistency and their satisfaction negate the inherent risk that always accompanies a personal recommendation. Said differently, all they have come to know about you is too reliably special to keep to themselves! And this is when the pilings go deep—and the sky is barely a limit for the influential reach of a perennially satisfied and immensely grateful group of beneficiaries!

Of course, the obvious question and challenge is, “How can my enterprise be assured that a remarkable service proposition is Cultural?”

Is Your Service Proposition Winning this “Culture” War? (Etymologically Speaking)

For years, it has been increasingly popular to highlight the importance of “culture” in an organization. A cursory query of the word’s etymology produces topics ranging from the biologically beneficial bacteria in yogurt (cultures) to identifying the relevant dangers and/or merits relating to the root word, cult. And while such wordsmithing trivia can be interesting and handy, retailers benefit most from the civilizational context. In fact, formal definitions of the word connoting this theme provide us with everything needed to determine whether a service-first culture has been reliably established in your business. Let’s consider two entries for cultural from America’s leading and largest provider of language information, Merriam-Webster:

• the characteristic features of everyday existence shared by people in a place or time

• the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization

So for those who wonder whether a favorably remarkable service proposition is definitively Cultural in their enterprise, unabashed truthfulness with the following questions will provide the answer:

• Is remarkable service a “characteristic feature of everyday existence”?

• Does remarkable service “characterize (your) institution or organization”?

When we are bold enough to ask ourselves these questions -- and brave enough to seek legitimized feedback from our constituents pertaining to them -- rest assured that clear indications of our “characteristic features” and our “institutional characterization” will emerge. And no different than an answer key for the most difficult of exams, the committed honesty will plainly indicate whether remarkable service is Cultural in your enterprise.

Next month, we’ll tackle what to consider and do if the answer isn’t what you want it to be… In the meantime, build it strong, y’all!

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