In his books and speeches, he challenges businesses not just to excel, but to “create distinction” in their fields. But what happens after a business achieves that pinnacle of becoming best-in-class? According to Scott, the next step is to attain an iconic status that sets a company apart so profoundly that it becomes a benchmark within its industry. It’s like being named “the Nike” or “the Cadillac”. As both Scott and I believe in the power of continuous improvement, our conversation naturally evolved to explore what comes next after reaching iconic heights.
“Tools change, and times change. Values shouldn’t.”
Scott McKain
Scott takes us there in his latest book, The Ultimate Customer Service Experience. While many of his other books are for business leadership, this one is for everybody. Why? Because everyone at your organization is responsible for creating the ultimate customer experience.
Have you ever:
tried to shop in a store and had multiple employees tell you, “That’s not my job?”
waited at a restaurant for your server while multiple staff walked by your empty table?
been passed from one person to another on the phone only to end up where you started?
Those all point to an organization’s failure to give every employee a sense of ownership over the customer experience. And while many companies have very “vertical” organizations where different departments are in charge of different aspects of customer service… Scott reminds us that the experience is always “horizontal” from the customer’s point of view. I know that I don’t care what department someone is in. Do you?
“Company’s may be organized vertically. But the customer experience is always horizontal.”
Scott McKain
This must be modeled from the top down, of course. We all know companies where the leader’s attitude is more “throw anyone under the bus” instead of “the buck stops here.” And we know that creating the ultimate customer experience requires leadership. But if you can’t count on everyone to be part of that team? Then no one person—not even the CEO—can save the day.
As always, Scott isn’t just smart, he’s fun to listen to. His books and presentations are always filled with interesting and inspiring stories because he understands that, in his case, that’s part of creating the experience for us, his audience.
I hope you’ll listen in. It’s a fast-paced conversation with some great takeaways for everyone.
“Leadership can’t just be from the top. It must come from everywhere.
Skip Prichard
“We need to share a vision not just about who we are, but where we want to go.”
Scott McKain
For more information, see The Ultimate Customer Service Experience
Image Credit: Bence Boros