This morning, I attempted to attend a yoga class at Lifetime Fitness. The class was packed but I was lucky enough to get one of the last decent spots on the floor before it was filled to capacity. I’ve only taken three other yoga classes before at this location and had a wonderful experience each time. The instructor was informative, tranquil and easy to follow.
This time, there was a different teacher. As I walked into the room she said to the group, “I need everyone to be quiet. This is the second time I’ve asked. I can’t get into the right frame of mind with all this noise. Please don’t make me ask you again.” She was irritated and a bit rude. This wasn’t quite the Zen attitude I had expected.
The session began, but a few minutes in, she became distracted by the music coming from the step aerobics class in the next room. It was loud enough to compete with the tranquil music she was playing. She left us stretching while stomping into the next room to adjust the sound levels. At this point, I assessed the situation. I asked myself, do I trust that this teacher will create the kind of experience I want? I decided I would rather go hit the exercise machines than deal with an instructor who appeared in desperate need of serenity herself.
After working out hard on various machines, I went into the locker room to change. I overheard two women talking about the yoga class. I asked them how the class turned out and told them that I had left because of the teacher’s agitated mood.
“Oh my gosh, you should have stayed,” the women said. It turns out that this particular instructor is actually known as being the very best instructor around. People fill her classes at her primary location and follow her wherever she teaches. Their workout was fabulous. They also told me that at her primary location she creates a quiet welcoming start to the session and everyone honors that, but there were a few people who refused her kind requests before I got in the room and she did indeed lose her cool over it.
It reminded me of one of our primary customer service tenets - service is in the details. As a new customer, I didn’t know the great reputation that this woman had earned. All I had to form my opinion was her manner of addressing the group when I arrived. I lost out on a high quality yoga class because the details of her behavior didn’t match the quality of her service.
Reflections:
How does your company put service into the details of day to day business?
What is one area of concern that challenges your ability to show that you care? What can you do to change that?
Posted by Marilyn Suttle at www.WhosYourGladys.com
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