Customer Service & the Church

Fantastic customer service is something all people hope for when they walk into a place of business. I tend to do more business with those who give me great customer service. You know the WOW experiences. Restaurants, car repair, home repair, online stores, clothing stores, and churches are the places that I have etched out in my mind as places I want to re-consume. I am loyal to those who go above and beyond. I want to be WOO'ed. As a consumer I want to put my money where I will get the best deals and the best customer service. The CHURCH is one place where customer service has got to be the best. I have had some bad experiences at churches-and I work for one. I also have had above an beyond service in a few churches. I believe that the fastest growing churches are the ones that have some of the best customer service. On any given day of the week, a guest will walk onto the campus. I view a guest, as ANYONE who enters the church. Guests on Sunday include the youngest person to the oldest person, volunteer or non-volunteer, first time or life long attender, the staff member or the non-staff member. Here are some places you should consider as you think about customer service:

• The Hospitality
• Behind the Scenes
• The WOW Presence or Factor
• Follow-Up
• Signage & Flow
• Am I Important enough to go noticed or am I unnoticed?

I have walked into churches and walked out declaring I would never go back. I have also been a guest at churches and said, I would go there if I lived in that town. Part of my current position is to make sure that we leverage people to make guests experiences great. I'm looking at making great experiences from the moment someone drives on to our church campus-on any given day. Whether you work for a for-profit or non-profit, I will tell you this- people are consumers and they will be return customers if you have great customer service. If not, you'll see their car parked at your competitor next go around. Something to think about, because all of us can tweak one thing to be better at customer service. So take that as an opportunity to put your thoughts to action. GO!