One of my favorite movies of all times is “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” starring a young Clint Eastwood. As I recently watched that movie again, it got me to thinking about things that are good, things that are bad and things that are downright ugly. And one of the first things that popped into my mind was customer service.

I’ve always stated that customer service is either good or bad and that there is no in-between. However, lately I’ve witnessed some service and service-providers that appear to practice being downright ugly!

In today’s competitive environment, the company or individual that will walk away with the business is the one that provides WOW, knock-your-socks-off service. Not only do they get the business, but their customers return again and again and direct and bring new customers with them. Those providing bad service lose their customers on a regular basis and the ugly don’t even understand what customer service is all about.

The Good

If I had to list companies that provide excellent customer service, the list would include such names as Starbucks, Ukrop’s, Southwest Airlines, Westbury Pharmacy, Ritz-Carlton, UPS, FedEx, L.L. Bean, J. Peterman, USAA Insurance, and Disney. These companies understand that they work for their customers and that their customers pay their salaries. They also understand that there is no magic to customer service and that consistency in their message and actions is essential to their success. These companies have developed the philosophy that if they support and take care of the people that work with them (no one should ever work for anyone), these employees will take great care of the business. We’ve always believed and practiced this at Owens&Minor.

These companies also want their employees/teammates to own their jobs and take responsibility for what they do. Think about it. When you own something you take pride in it and go to extra lengths to take care of it. Make your employees/teammates owners and give them the authority to make decisions.

The Bad

I know that everyone reading this column has experienced and been subjected to inferior or bad customer service. It could be as simple as someone struggling to work the cash registers, taking an inordinate amount of time to act upon your request, or returning a phone call three days after you’ve called them. I’m always amazed when telecommunications and other companies put you through a series of prompts and finally state, “Your call is important to us, however we’re experiencing a high volume of calls at this time. "We’ll be with you shortly." Shortly can turn out to be 20-30 minutes! Now, if my call is so important, why not put on enough teammates/employees to take my call?

Every company I know of experiences problems at some time or another, but their response time in fixing the problem is what makes them special.

The Ugly

Ever been in a store trying to pay for something and the sales person is talking on their cell phone? They act like they don’t even know you’re there and gradually get around to helping you while they are still on the phone! Talk about ugly!

Another ugly situation is when you’re dealing with an individual that is chewing gum like a cow chews its cud. What’s worse is that they breathe beautiful flavors of juicy fruits, raspberry, licorice or some god-awful concoction right in your face!

And the ugliest of all is the person that lets you know that they are doing you a big favor by waiting on you or answering your questions. They are what I call the “Draculas,” as they suck the life right out of their organization. If you put their brains in hummingbirds, they would still fly backwards (and the hummingbird is the only bird that does fly backwards!).

Make it a goal to ensure that your teammates/employees are customer service pro’s. If you do, the only bad and ugly you’ll experience is watching Clint Eastwood’s movie!