Almost everyone with some aspect of Customer interaction will likely put some tagline similar to those I’ve listed above within their company mission statement or as a general remark somewhere on their website.

However, how many of these ‘taglines’ are true? How many of them were the result of a brainstorming session amongst the CEO’s and Marketing experts of a company around a boardroom table? The outcome was the line that sounded the best or the line that fit into a certain spacing on a web page, or the line that they each thought would attract more customers.

At what stage do they involve the Customer and ask them to give their opinion of their service? Do they consult with their customers at all? In some instances yes; maybe?

How important is it to include them? If the customer isn’t involved, does the tagline mean that they are in fact just words? The words are simply put together with nothing substantial in place to support the claim they are making.

What makes each of us buy a product or service? Are we drawn to these bold statements that the company makes? When visiting a store on the internet with the knowledge that they are the ‘Leading Service Provider’, does this give us a more confidence in their level of service that they will provide us with? The likelihood is yes, it will.

It is only at a point when in the unfortunate circumstance that you are let down by their ‘Outstanding’ service that it becomes apparent they were only words. The knock on effect of this is that once we receive poor service, the lasting impact stays with us. Whether it is a more cautious approach when using them again next time or making a vow to never use them again, either way, the bad service leaves us with a bad taste.

When this happens, we are automatically on the lookout for a better service provider. How do we do this? Do we again look for the bold, confident statements that are jumping out at us like a shiny coin? It is hard not to. But what other options do we have?

Next time, try looking for how the company incorporates their customer feedback to help substantiate the claims they make. If they have ‘9 out of 10 of our customers would recommend us’, located in small print somewhere on their website, it actually speaks volumes. They are providing evidence that they do care about their customers and they do ask for their customers input. They are backing up the claims they make.

If you fail to see substantiating support such as this example anywhere on their webpage, be aware. You may well be in for another let down.

After all, without the proof to back up their claims they make when they say ‘Outstanding Customer Service Provider’, they are simply… just words.