The grandest Customer First rally on earth is powerless compared to a policy that sacrifices a potentially long term customer relationship to satisfy some company policy geared towards short term gain. I ve sat though countless customer service cheerleading sessions that were staged by companies whose true focus was cost-cutting or revenue enhancement at any price. Employees aren t stupid. They always know what the real deal is. And mixed messages just make matters worse.
Words are important.
Cheerleading can be a powerful tool. Reinforcement through visual aids is a good thing. But at some point, the talk must be walked or all is for nothing. So write the memo about customer service. Put up the posters.