Why do firms fail at delivering great service?

Is your staff required to give great service? Have you fully trained them on how to act, what to say and how to handle service issues? If you have, that’s wonderful, of course, but it will not guarantee great service. Unfortunately, the delivery of above-and-beyond service at firms both large and small is required. Required activities are often performed because a person has to, not because they want to…and people can tell the difference.

Recently I was at a very nice hotel in New York. The staff there had most certainly been trained well on how to deliver service. They were committed to service but did it without the proverbial smile. Personally, I don’t want other people going out of their way to open doors, carry my bags around and greet me by name if they seem to be doing so begrudgingly. I’d rather lug my own bags around than inconvenience someone else.