Our Brand of Customer Service

10/24/11 Our Brand of Customer Service

Many highly successful companies have been recognized for their amazing customer service and satisfaction. But, we are NOT, nor will we ever be, Disney, Pikes Place Fish Market or Southwest Airlines. We aren’t a hotel or a government agency. We aren’t the same as a local university down the road or the next town’s community college. We will only ever be Delta College. We have a flavor and a mission and a customer base all our own. The customer service we provide is best when we realize that we are serving OUR unique customers in OUR unique environment and working to meet THEIR unique needs and uniquely exceed THEIR expectations. Jerry Fritz said, “You’ll never have a product or price advantage again. They can be easily duplicated, but a strong customer service culture can’t be copied.” I agree. Our product isn’t that different from what is offered by other colleges and universities. If it were, our classes wouldn’t transfer. We can look to the kinds of service philosophies those above companies have and choose portions to emulate, but we can never graft them into our culture. The good news is that our institutional culture is one that drives good customer service. We will mold that culture incrementally as a group by our collective actions. So, let’s push daily with an unlimited drive to empower students and community members to develop and meet their educational and career goals. And, let’s provide services that meet only the highest bar for planning and quality. Already, other groups are attempting to copy our models. We know, though, that they will never achieve what we do in the ways we do- because they aren’t Delta College.