During my 3.5 weeks overseas in February, I saw customer service with fresh eyes. When one is in a foreign culture for that amount of time it’s a lot easier to notice the nuances of customer service … or the lack thereof.

Being in fresh environs is different than being in and around your own place of business, where little things that make a difference can easily get overlooked.

For example, when you’re in your own city, you know how to get around, what to expect at regularly-visited places of business, and what constitutes acceptable service. Things that are missing can easily go unnoticed because you have other things on your mind or you mentally rationalize their absence.

But my time overseas took me out of my familiar zones. I experienced things as a totally new customer much more than usual. And, with different languages and different cultures, everything was magnified much more, as well.

Eye contact, mannerisms, and the employees’ willingness to serve the customer were all magnified. I’d forgotten how strongly these factors can impact retail customers.

Surprisingly, signage (or the lack thereof) also made a huge difference. Well-placed, instructive signs go a long way to helping new customers understand something about how your business operates. The lack of them easily leaves new customers wondering where to find things or which way to go.

I found myself quickly wanting to go back to places that had good customer service, and wanting to avoid the places where it didn’t exist — even if the company had what I wanted.

And so with these glaring experiences I exhort people to look at their customer service with “fresh eyes.” Have someone who’s not been a customer at your place of business before come in — and then find out their thoughts about the experience. What could have been better? What would help them want to do more business there?

Then — do it again … and again. Look for ways to improve, and then make the improvements. Just remember: The way to get the best insights is to keep using fresh eyes.

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Filed in Business, Management, Customer Service, Workplace