#11 Thoughts on Leadership: The Importance of Quality Service

By Gino Blefari

This week, while working from California, (average temperature, 85 degrees) I was reviewing Real Living’s Premier Service® 2014 National Customer Satisfaction Results, and I’m happy to announce that for a seventh consecutive year, our Real Living agents scored a 96% customer satisfaction rating, significantly exceeding the industry average. This number speaks to the strength of Real Living’s customer service culture and its hard-working brokers and agents but it also gets to the heart of an issue that must always be top-of-mind for all leaders across any industry: service.

We can discuss service from every angle possible; in fact, I could probably dedicate “Thoughts on Leadership” to the topic for the rest of the year and still have more to say about service in 2016. Today, I want us to take a look at service from the perspective of the challenges we face as leaders and how it can be used as a remedy in even the most difficult situations.

We’ve all been there: We’ve all received that phone call or email from a less than happy client. Often when adversity strikes, our first instinct is to react with similar passion, defending our actions or practices. However, when the going gets tough, the tough need to maintain their composure and remember the high standard of service they must provide.

In a recent blog post by the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, the organization stresses adopting a “cooperative attitude” and choosing “empathy over orders.” For this service-first company, compassion is the best combatant to controversy. And I couldn’t agree more.

So, what’s the message? The next time you run into a tricky situation in your business—and I promise, we all will—think about the importance of quality service and then respond with poise, calm and efficiency because that’s what every customer deserves.

GINO BLEFARI is CEO of HSF Affiliates LLC. You also can follow Gino on Facebook and Twitter.