{"id":31983,"date":"2019-08-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/customer-service-may-not-be-your-first-priority-and-thats-okay\/"},"modified":"2024-01-04T08:21:16","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T08:21:16","slug":"customer-service-may-not-be-first-priority-thats-okay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/customer-service-culture\/customer-service-may-not-be-first-priority-thats-okay\/","title":{"rendered":"Customer Service May Not Be Your First Priority, and That\u2019s Okay"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Customer<\/a>Tony Hsieh is the CEO of the online shoe and clothing company, Zappos. The company\u2019s reputation for amazing customer service is almost a clich\u00e9 in the customer service world. Zappos stories have become customer service legends. The Zappos phone call that lasted 10 hours and 43 minutes is one such legend. There are many others, and this is just one of the reasons Zappos is recognized as one of the top customer service companies on the planet. Their secret to success? Contrary to what you might think\u2026\r\n\r\nCustomer service is not the first priority.<\/em><\/strong>\r\n\r\nWHAT?! How can that be? This is what Zappos is known for. Well, hold on! We\u2019ll get to the reason in a moment.\r\n\r\nRecently I was in Las Vegas for another CCW (Customer Contact Week) convention, and Tony Hsieh was one of the general session speakers. I\u2019d seen Tony speak before, and he holds nothing back. He briefly told the Zappos story about why it has been so successful. That\u2019s when he dropped the \u201cbomb\u201d on the audience\u2014several thousand customer care professionals, all anxiously awaiting Tony\u2019s comments. He informed them that the customer was no longer the first priority. Culture<\/em> had replaced the customer as the top priority. Hsieh said, \u201cGet the culture right, and we\u2019ll deliver the customer experience we want our customers to have.\u201d\r\n

The focus on culture is really a focus on people.<\/h3>\r\nSounds simple enough, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s easy. Creating a culture that sticks\u2014where everyone buys in\u2014is a tough battle, but one worth fighting. The focus on culture<\/a> is really a focus on people. Get the right people on the metaphorical bus, all happy to be going in the same direction, and you\u2019re on the way to creating the culture you want.\r\n\r\nEntire books have been written about how to create a culture. For this lesson, let\u2019s keep it simple. (Remember, simple doesn\u2019t mean easy.) Leadership must decide what they want the company to be. That\u2019s where the culture begins. It needs to be clearly articulated. If your culture is focused on service, create a defining statement about that service culture. Keep it short\u2014one sentence or less. For Zappos, that defining statement is the first of their core values, and it is to \u201cDeliver WOW Through Service.\u201d Once you define it, you must live it, hire for it, train to it, and constantly remind people about it.\r\n\r\nBy the way, Tony shared his goals and priorities over time. When the company first started out, he wanted the company to be the Internet\u2019s largest footwear\/clothing company. Then they shifted the focus to being number one in customer service. Eventually, the top priority at Zappos became all about the culture. Culture drives everything!\r\n
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