Customer Serving is Customer Service

Great Service Matters. I agree. It’s the name of this blog, but more importantly, it is a true statement. It’s what retains students once they have arrived and begun their academic pursuits. Great Service. And that’s why I concur Great Service Matters.

But, what makes service great? What makes our interactions with students different from the way they might be treated in any other college? What is it that allows us to deliver the kind of service that leaves students feeling good about their experience rather than disappointed.

What I have found as a college president and now as an academic management coach is the key to delivering great service is serving others. To become the servant to others.

I knew that as President of Macintosh College, I served the faculty, staff and students. I led by being a servant to their needs and in so doing, not only did I deliver customer service, more importantly I helped others serve our mission and learning.

Providing great service requires us to see the needs of others and to engage in each interaction with them from the place of their interests rather than our own. It requires us to get outside of ourselves and to put others and the needs of others before our own.

And to do that? People want to be heard and to know that their concerns are seen as being important. We all want to be treated with respect and patience. And we would want to feel as though there may be a reasonable solution to even the toughest problem.

So the next time you are faced with the opportunity to serve one of your students, put yourself into the role of servant. Set aside your agenda and step into their experience. Then, make their experience the best possible experience they could have. They will know they have been served, and you will know you have provided Great Service.

Guest Posting by Marylin Newell,
President of Life Matters- Coaching for Maximizing Performance
Marylin is a great academic coach and has helped colleges, their presidents and community members become better and stronger leaders as well as better and stronger people. She is also one of the best and brightest people I know. It is well worth contacting her at info@lifematters.us or at 207-345-3100 www.lifematters.us