It may sound a bit of an odd question, but it is one that is nevertheless worth investigating. Let’s take the airline industry for example.
For a number of years now, Singapore Airlines has been held up as being ‘top of the pile’ with regards to service quality within the airline sector. They are only one of five carriers to have been awarded Skytrax 5 Star status, which is the recognised industry quality standard. There can be absolutely no doubt that they are excellent at what they do.
There are a number of reasons for this. You could argue that much of this comes down the organisation’s commitment to professionalism and customer focus, much of which is detailed within this blog article. Some people suggest that the strong customer focus is a result of the cultural predisposition of the Singaporean people themselves, who have a reputation for being friendly and outwardly focused. This all being said, Singapore Airlines may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
What is Good Service?
On Singapore Airlines you are likely to be treated like a king… however this might not be what everyone wants from a travel experience.
I recall the first flight I ever took with Virgin Atlantic, where rather than being treated like a king, I felt as if there was a high likelihood that a member of the cabin crew would ‘high-five’ me or give me a hug. I certainly remember smiling a lot. For me, despite their 3 star Skytrax ranking, Virgin Atlantic has been the best long-haul flight experience to date. Why? Well, the reason why this is the case, is because we are not all the same.
This is something that needs to be considered and remembered by anyone responsible for building, maintaining or changing their organisation’s service proposition. Not all customers are the same, so when a business attempts to map out it’s ‘ideal’ state, it needs to consider the fact that there may be more than one ideal. Good service is not the same for everyone.