Every contact your organization has with its customers and clients is either cultivating or deteriorating your relationship with them. That means every letter, every ad, every phone call. It also means every contact your employees have with them, too: from the franchise owner to the broker/managers, to the agents, to assistants, to support staff, to strategic alliances and so on.

In other words, your business is only as good as your worst employee, agent or partner. It's a sobering thought, isn't it?

The real estate industry is particularly vulnerable to customer complaints for several reasons - the industry is comprised of entrepreneurs and although it is subject to regulations and codes of ethics through such trade organizations as the National Association of REALTORS®, each state has its own laws and enforcement perimeters. Good service, unfortunately, cannot be regulated - except by the consumer, who has the option to use or not use a service again. And when consumers are unhappy, they tend to blame the industry as a whole, rather than the individual practitioner.

How are you training all your personnel to cultivate your customers? Or are you training them at all? Almost all companies tout the importance of customer service, but it is surprising how few have clear guidelines on how to implement it - especially in out of the ordinary situations.

Let me give you some dramatic examples of the importance of developing a strong sense of customer service in all your employees.

Your personnel is your business

A Crown Zellerbach truck was moving a load along a narrow, winding road in the northwest. Its course was delayed by a slow-moving sedan.

After 20 minutes, when the truck driver was finally able to pass the car, he rolled down his window and let the driver of the car know in no uncertain - and profane - terms just what an idiot he was for driving so slowly. The driver of the car, who just happened to be Zellerbach's largest buyer, was so incensed by the truck driver's behavior that he canceled all their orders and swore never to do business with Zellerbach again.

This incident took place in the early days when Isadore Zellerbach was still managing the company. Mr. Zellerbach, who tried repeatedly to find out why this client had suddenly canceled all orders, could not get through to the buyer. It was when he flew to the Northwest to meet the client in person that he learned of the Zellerbach truck driver's rude behavior.

That was undoubtedly a rough way to learn that your company is only as good as your worst employee. One of the goals of customer service training is to instill in all your employees the sense that it is their business, too.

See it through your customers' eyes. Who answers the phone? Is that person trained in phone etiquette? Do you get answers to your customers/clients in a timely fashion? Do you check your e-mail several times a day?

On a visit to New York my brother and I decided on a whim, to see a movie. It was the last show of the evening and though we were ten minutes late, we didn't feel missing a few scenes would matter. The ticket taker refused to sell us tickets because she had closed the cash box for the night.

We asked her if it were possible to enter it into next day's business and she said no. After speaking to two more employees, including the manager, we left without seeing the film because they couldn't take money after the till was closed.

Had the theater's employees been trained to see situations through the eyes of the customers, they would have encountered three uncooperative and uncaring individuals.

Taking money after the till is closed is undoubtedly a nuisance, but it is revenue, after all; and obliging customers brings repeat business. And repeat business is what we all strive for.

Your personnel needs to have a sense of ownership

Whether you are an international franchiser or a single agent with an assistant, instilling your values into your personnel is crucial. That goes for your outsourced personnel as well. When your client has hired you to provide services for them such as staging or painting the home or a mortgage company, you want to make sure that these outside vendors perform the way they are supposed to.

Ask these people to see a situation through your eyes before they act. If the movie theater employees had a sense of ownership about the movie theater, they never would have turned down money. Whether it was entered into one day's business or the next is not the point; taking in money is what keeps the doors open.

Seeing through your customers' and your bosses' eyes is a winning combination.

Take the case of a manager for American Express in Phoenix, Arizona who visited a local mall to buy 10 boxes of chocolates for his employees as thank you gifts.

There were two candy stores and he made sure the first store in which he stopped accepted American Express. Having made his selection - totaling $150 - he noticed that even though the store accepted American Express, they only posted Visa and Mastercard signs.

He noticed that the candy store across the way and saw the American Express logo clearly posted.

The manager explained to the sales person that as he worked for American Express he couldn't give his business to a store that did not advertise the card. "I hope you'll understand that I'll have to take my business to a store that does," he said.

Just then a 16-year-old stock boy asked the manager if he would please wait and then ran to the other candy store, picked up an American Express application, ran back, cut out the American Express logo and taped it to the till. "Is that good enough?" the stock boy said. It was and the first candy store got the sale.

Now that stock boy had no long-term career strategy with the candy store, yet he instinctively knew to treat customers as he wanted to be treated. He also knew that if he didn't act as if his name were on the door... it never would be.

Customer service begins at the top

You set the tone for customer service in your company. Everyone else looks up to you. If you see someone else, a peer, employee or partner giving poor service, call them on it right then and there.

Do your assistants, support staff, outsources have a clear idea of where you stand on customer service? Are policies outlined clearly? Do you teach by example so that your behavior serves as a guidepost for your personnel?

If you feel you are fielding more than your share of unnecessary complaints or misunderstandings from customers or clients, or that you are not getting the repeat business you feel you deserve, your customer service ethics could be at fault.

It could be as simple as just giving the customer what they want. The best strategies are usually the simplest aren't they?

Let's all keep that in mind.

Published: November 13, 1998

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