Want happier customers? Shift the focus away from “customer service”.  

Too many companies think about “customer service” the wrong way. No hiring entity says that they hired or fired someone because of customer service.  Don’t believe me? Look at the reviews for any company.  You rarely see the words customer service directly stated when referring to a company or individual employees – good or bad.

The phrase customer service spans a variety of actions with no singular meaning behind it. If I asked you what customer service is, you’d give me dozens of possible descriptions. They greeted me at the door. They spent extra time making sure the project was completed correctly, etc.  Instead of focusing on the phrase, focus on the examples. 

What beats all those customer service-related examples? Bottom-line results. A customer will be pleased no matter what if you’re able to deliver results for them.

Want to keep a customer happy? Focus on three things.

Speed, Quality, Value. 

I know what you’re thinking…that old adage that you can only choose two of those at the same time, not all three. My question is, why not all three? 

First, let’s examine each of the three challenges and how it relates to our industry.

Speed. Let’s just consider being on time a win, and even that is a challenge right now. Supply chain issues remain a huge challenge but are becoming more predictable. It’s the hiring element that’s often slowing down projects more than the necessary supplies. Yes, it’s hard to hire workers, but it’s increasingly difficult to hire the specially certified professionals required to verify you meet OSHA and other requirements. There’s nothing more frustrating to subcontractors and contractors than having to wait to have individuals or a site certified to start and complete the work.  

Quality. A safer worksite is better for everyone.  The workers as individuals, and the company financially. For instance, providing tile cutters with PPE is far better than being fined by OSHA or having to pay the healthcare costs on workers who get ill from the dust. This leads us to…

Value. Costs of supplies keep rising, but not as quickly as staff wages are increasing. Especially the cost of certified professionals, many of which companies can’t find, or even if they do, they don’t have enough full-time work to utilize the person every day. Having qualified workers to enable your service to be delivered on time to your customer drives value to their business– it may mean accepting more jobs or having to decline if they are not staffed.

If as a subcontractor you can do the work quicker, with better quality, and a better price, you’re going to keep a customer for life. Fail at any of the three, even if it’s not your fault, “customer service” will suddenly get a lot more attention.

So how can you achieve speed, quality, and value all at the same time? Use the right tools to eliminate risk, save money, and allow your crews to get to work faster.

One example of achieving all three is YellowBird‘s on-demand platform. It’s a nationwide gig economy marketplace matching vetted risk and environmental, health and safety (EHS) professionals with businesses on-demand. Its A.I.-powered digital platform helps companies eliminate wasted time searching for qualified professionals who keep people safe by conducting inspections, developing, and implementing training policies, handling OSHA reports, and other necessary tasks. In the long run, it is a better price because staffing a safety professional to do checks helps to avoid the priciness of OSHA violations and how much it takes to clean up after accidents or violations. It’s faster because workers on one site no longer must wait for the one specially certified employee to finish their current assignment on another site. More important than speed, it makes the overall project better by reducing risk and improving safety for all, knowing an individual with all the needed certifications signed off.

It’s still a good idea to offer good customer service by being polite and responsive as a good partner to all you work with.  But don’t deny the other truth, that even if you offer good customer service, that still won’t beat the trifecta of quality, speed, and value.

About the Author

Michael Zalle is the founder and CEO of YellowBird, a gig-economy marketplace that quickly and easily connects Risk and Safety professionals with businesses on-demand. By providing a fast and efficient method for insurance companies, business leaders, and skilled professionals to consult, YellowBird matches the right people, in the right location, with the right experience for the job. A career tech entrepreneur, Michael has accumulated successful exits throughout his 25-year career. He attended San Francisco State University and Pepperdine University with a focus on Business Management. He is a husband of 20 years and father of two great kids, Nicholas and Josephine.