The Tribune

By Scott Farrington

Everything in life has a cycle. There is a high tide and a low tide. There is a slack tide and an ebb tide. The ebb tide is the period between high tide and the next low tide, in which the sea is receding.

The objective in maintaining good service is to minimise the outgoing low tide with service levels. We all have our challenges, and I believe maintaining a consistently high level of service has to be the most challenging.

I certainly am challenged with this aspect of the business. There are so many variables that affect consistency that it is virtually impossible to stay on top of the curve. The level of consistent service directly affects sales, which in turn impacts your bottom line.

Here are some basic principles to implement to help with staying on top of the wave/curve of tide . I will later, in another article, get into each principle in more detail.

* Maintaining good service starts at the top. The message conveyed from owner/president/director has to be clear.

Let’s start with the vision and message. This has to come from the top and filter all the way through the business. Bottom line: I believe there should never be a reason why a client/customer should ever have a complaint with to basic service. I’m talking about how the employee handles, treats and talks to clients/customers.

There may be product issues, such as delivery times, quality, clear human error, malfunctions etc, but never a reason for poor attitude or lack of willingness to serve on a professional basis.

* Systems in place

Systems need to be in place and refined on a continual basis. As mentioned, I will drill down on this at a later date.

Follow up, follow up and follow up. Did I mention follow up?

* Redundancy/back up

Always have back up plans, persons to cover sick days, employee terminations, resignations, system malfunctions etc.

* Open lines of communication.

There should also be an open line of communication and reporting. This process is in reverse to principle one outlined here. The client/customer should always have access to a manager, senior manager, vice-president etc until they are satisfied. Any reports or complaints should be passed back up the chain of command.

The process then starts all over again. These processes are basic yet fundamental , and must be ongoing. The reason why armies train and drill frequently is so that systems and principles become second nature. Almost involuntary reactions, if you like.

Implementing these measures and consistently repeating the principles will help with maintaining a ‘high tide’ level of service and keep you on top of the curve.

I know I will be drilling down, training and retraining, to stay up with the ‘high tide’ level of service, and hope you do as well.

All of these marketing strategies are certain to keep your business on top during these challenging economic times. Have a productive and profitable week.

• NB: Scott Farrington is president of SunTee EmbroidMe, a promotional and marketing company specialising in uniforms, embroidery, silk screen printing and promotional products.

Established over 27 years ago, SunTee EmbroidMe has assisted businesses from various industries in marketing themselves. Readers can contact Mr Farrington at SunTee EmbroidMe on East Shirley Street or by e-mail at scott@sun-tee.com or by telephone at 242-393-3104.