It Takes Great Execution to Deliver World Class Customer Service

It takes great execution to deliver world class customer service. I experienced it this past week at John DiJulius’ Secret Service Summit. The speakers were good. But, so what? That’s table stakes for conferences and summits. The speakers are supposed to be good. What was exceptional was how John and his team made me feel while I was at the summit. I had a great time, and I really want to come back next year… and bring a friend!

Sometimes it’s not what you learned or what people said to you, but rather it’s how they made you feel. And John make me and the other 500+ attendees feel special. Here’s how he did it:

Memorable Surprise: The AV guy sings too?

The Summit kicked off, and they had sound problems. The microphone volume was going in and out. An AV guy came up to help and test the microphone. Then, he started singing. Then, the guitar came out and the saxophone player came out as well! Turns out he was not the AV guy, rather, he was an entertainer. They turned an AV problem into a fun and memorable experience.

Secret Service Concierge: It’s their pleasure

Every table had a concierge to make the conference experience special. Ella was ours. I have been to many conferences. But I have never experienced a concierge at my table to help my conference experience. When Ella asked if she could get us anything, we all responded politely with the usual “No thank you, we are fine.” But at lunch time, Ella really wanted to get us anything we wanted to complete our summit experience. A person at my table mentioned chocolate. I noticed some Starbucks cups coming in, so I asked if Starbucks was possible… so I ordered a Grande Soy Latte. Someone else at our table laughed and jokingly asked for a bottle of Scotch. I received my mid afternoon soy latte. But “amazing" happened the next morning when we came back for the second day. Sitting on our table were 3 bars of chocolate for the lady and a bottle of scotch for the gentleman. We were all stunned. Ella asked me if I wanted my “usual.” My “usual”? I had only been there one day! Was that long enough for “usual”? I smiled and said yes, just would like a bigger one. Ella promptly answered “Great! So you would like to have a Venti Soy Latte?”

This was great execution, getting the details right, and making everyone feel loved and cared for. Different, memorable and amazing. And now, I want to come back next year… and with a friend!

Congratulations for delivering such an amazing conference experience, John.

Think about your business. What lessons can you apply to your business? What is the potential impact on your customers being serviced in such a remarkable way by your team? Will they feel the way I felt? Will they want to come back for more... and bring their friends along with them as well?