What'S The Secret?: To Providing a World-Class Customer Experience

Chapter 1. The Smoking Gun

Definitive proof of the return on investment in providing superior service

You can have a great product, but it takes world-class service to create brand loyalty.

Based on extensive research, interviews, and analysis of various businesses, The DiJulius Group has determined the following trends in levels of customer service:

Level	Description	Companies (%)
1	Unacceptable	12
2	Below average	29
3	Average	38
4	Above average	18
5	World class	3

According to this study, 41 percent of companies are operating at unacceptable (1) or below average (2) levels of customer service, while 38 percent of companies are delivering average customer service (3). If you total that up (1, 2, and 3) 79 percent of the companies provide a level of customer service which is average at best. Which leaves us having a good customer experience about one-fifth of the time (level 4) and we only have an exceptional experience with 3 percent of the companies we deal with (level 5).

Note

You can say what you want about who you (think you) are, but people believe what they experience.

—Jack Mackey, Vice President, Service Management Group

In Denial

Think about your business, what level of customer service does your company deliver? Now, from a customer's perspective, reconsider your answer. The sad truth is that the majority of businesses rank their customer service higher than their customers rank them. The following research reveals how much companies are in the dark about the level of service they are providing. ...