National Customer Service Week: Day Two

A brief recap from yesterday’s great presentation from the General Manager at The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, Darryll Adams:

There were a lot of takeaways from Adams’ presentation, but perhaps the most valuable element he brought was opening up the floor for questions and comments. For City workers, having an opportunity to ask a question to an expert outside of the public sector is incredibly valuable. Granted, not everything relates between the two, but the fundamental principles of customer service are universal. Adams pointed out that his employees—no matter if they are on or off the clock—are instilled with a customer-centered attitude. Even when we are not at work our friends, family, and neighbors know that we are city employees, therefore, our actions and attitude should reflect that in our day-to-day lives.

For many departments, customer service is not the highest priority, and that’s why workshops like Darryll’s are important; they are geared towards training and development of the every day heroes. These City employees came out to discuss the importance of quality customer service because they believe in their calling. Getting employees invested in your mission is directly connected to your efficiency. In a cyclical way, when your employees are invested and believe in what they are doing they provide better services and the customer satisfaction rate increases dramatically.

In the private sector, companies compete for customers. The choice of service provider helps keep companies working to improve their services. The customers of the City have their families here. People who choose to work for local government have decided to participate in the civic responsibilities of this city. That is an admirable commitment. Our motivations in the public sector are driven, not by competition, but by the desire to help build a better city for all of us. We want our customers to keep coming back to Philadelphia. As a place to live, start a new business, or to visit and enjoy.