“Work like you own it”: not-so common sense in the service industry.

Last Wednesday, the Biltmore Hotel hosted Dr. Bryan K. William’s workshop and keynote speech concentrated on bettering the service industry.

Albeit the keynote speech was engaging, it shed light on the not-so common-sense tips that help raise a company’s customer service and overall service, highlighting the loss of humanity in today’s corporate and cold business environment.

Mr. Williams outlined 6 habits to enforce in the workplace in order to better service: for an employee to ask him/herself how and who he/she will “wow” today, to identify customer preferences, to give fellow teammates recognition, to be an ambassador of their workplace and company, to sign off work/personal service standards, and to acknowledge, resolve and own complaints and help avoid them in the future. While these are good habits to enforce in the service industry, I was indeed surprised that they are not common-known let alone enforced habits.

In a time where there are dozens of consumer possibilities and outlets, it is a surprise that companies in the service industry do not seem to be stepping up their customer service in order to retain customers and build loyalty relationships. Miami is a tourist-town, sadly allowing establishments to waver in quality and service, as many customers are only there once on a visit; however, this should not be an excuse. Companies in the service industry must do more and more to make the customer feel less like a cog and more like a person.