Successful customer-driven organizations understand that training is the primary pillar upon which all else is built. They train and re-train until the desired performance characteristics are imprinted upon the employee's brain. Repetitive training guarantees that proper customer treatment will become rote behavior on the part of the employee. Most organizations can do some things well, but rarely do they perform all customer functions flawlessly. Consistency is hard to deliver because it means that every element must work perfectly by itself and in harmony with those to which it's linked.
Hotels provide the perfect working example.
That's why great hospitality providers like the Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton practice teamwork and lateral service. Management reinforces its obsession with the customer by constantly reminding the employee of the importance of the customer. Failures are dissected, debated and analyzed. Successes are acknowledged, highlighted and praised. The internal communications process demands meetings, memos, newsletters and e-mails that tell the employee that management is serious about the customer.