4 Manifestos for Customer Service Change Makers

Change! Change! Change! We scream for changes, so why does the customer service landscape seem to always stay the same?

We all want change, yet too many of us fear change. We dream of change. We desire change. We aspire to change things. But then when it comes to it, we slink back into our comfort zones and continue doing things as they've always been done. Kelli Schmith's manifesto for change makers get it right.

It's easy to ask for change, but when the answer is: Go ahead and start, we pass on our chance and hope someone else will step up.

If customer service is to ever be the force for good in redefining the corporate/customer relationship we need to step up. We can't wait for someone else to do it. We can no longer wait for a group of managers to come up with an idea and implement it. We have to start rounding up allies. We have to start making the changes.

Is change in the current customer service corporate environment hard? You bet. But is it impossible? It's not.

Too much is depending on it. Competition is fierce. And one of your weapons to fight back the competitors clawing at what you've worked for is developing the type of customer relationship that will make loyal customers. You have to stand out. You have to change.

Change may scare. But mediocrity kills.

A manifesto is the beginning to customer service change.

A manifesto is your declaration of independence from the way customer service has always been done. Your manifesto will be your customer experience bill of rights. Inalienable rights of the customer and your customer service people. It's a call to action. It's a rallying cry.

So why a manifesto? Because customer service representatives everywhere have had it with policies that perpetuate bad service actions. Because your customers are fed up with the corporate chains of bad service. The people have spoken and they've had enough of being pushed around by corporate suits, managing by spreadsheets.

We're at a point of no return regarding consumer and buyer leverage. They have a lot of pent up energy and are using every possible social technology to get it off their chests.

Kelli Schmith, Marketing Strategist ' Dig Deep Thinker

4 Manifestos to change the world of customer service from the inside out

These standards will inspire and drive change in customer service. All are from ChangeThis.com, and are the foundation of a customer service change program.

1. The Finch Effect: How Adaptability Will Customer Service Experience

The economic downturn has changed the way people work. Customers work differently. Businesses act differently. Customer service professionals everywhere much adapt to the new landscape of how customer service needs to be done. We need to adapt. We need to recognize that service matters. Service is part of the new economy. People want service. People demand value in what they get. Hoops, red tape, bureaucracy is the path to extinction. Simple. Action. Value is the only way to survive.

2. Be the Best Customer Service Communicator in the World

Be the type of customer service person that customers demand to talk to when they contact your company. You can create a fantastic, positive customer experience because it's not policies that make the experience. It's your ability to connect with customers on a human level. Don't fall back to corporate speak, the ugly communication that is stale, bland, and lifeless. You are not a corporate robot.

3. Shine: Customer Service Brain Science, Practical Customer Psychology, and the Cycle of Excellence

You can change your customers' lives for the better. Everything you need to do it is already inside of your. The only thing that keeps us from achieving customer experience excellence is our own ability to believe that we can do it. You can be the best. You just have to choose to be the best.

4. How To Be Creative

Good ideas, alter the power balance in the customer relationship. Focus on doing good, in each customer interaction. Forget what's been done in the past. Think of the quickest way to doing good. Your customer experience doesn't have to be the best in the world, it just needs to be different enough to wake your customers out of their customer experience slumber. Your ability to make different decisions often outweigh the decisions themselves.

Now your turn

These four manifestos about about personal development, but I've given you a customer service experience spin on them. Now it's your turn. What inspires you to deliver an exceptional customer experience? What are you doing today that you didn't do yesterday to take your customer service experience to the next level?