Transform the Service Experience through Tangibles

In my previous blog in this series, we discussed how to transform the service experience through ‘assurance’. In this blog post, we will consider what we can do to transform the service experience through the tangible aspects of the service we provide.  Our customers will make judgments about the quality of our work and the competence of our technicians based on tangible clues that they can see.

Recall that the name RATER[1] is an acronym with each letter representing the first letter of one of the five key dimensions of service quality.  They are:

R eliability: Our ability to provide what is promised, dependably and accurately

A ssurance: Our knowledge and courtesy, and our ability to convey trust and confidence

T angibles:  Our physical facilities and equipment, and our appearance

E mpathy:    The degree of caring and individual attention we provide to customers

R esponsiveness:     Our willingness to help customers and provide prompt service

The challenge for us when considering tangibles, is to define how we can contribute to the service experience through the tangible clues that our customers see.  Everything that the customer observes says something about the quality of our service.  Therefore, every tangible aspect of our work must be consistent with the image that we want to portray to the customer about our service.  For example, if we promote ourselves as providing a premium level of service, then our technicians must be dressed in a neat and professional manner, their truck must be clean, free of rust and dents and well organized, and the tools they use must be in tiptop condition and of recent vintage.  Anything less will cause the customer to question whether they are really getting the quality of service that they have been promised.

Other things to consider include all areas of our business such as:

• The quality of our written reports
• The content and appearance of our literature and our proposals
• The condition of the work area before, during and after service is provided
• The appearance of the equipment after it has been serviced
• The use of appropriate safety equipment during the performance of the work

The list can be extensive but the effort is worth it.  Next time we will consider how we can help the customer experience our empathy – the E in RATER.

What tangible clues are you providing your customers? I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Until next time,

Jim

“Costumes are the first impression that you have of the character before they open their mouth 
– it really does establish who they are.”

Colleen Atwood