NACBA 07 Seminar Resources

1. Poor service is the number-one reason companies lose business. A full 68 percent of customers stop doing business with a company because of poor service.

2. Ninety percent of the customers that stopped doing business with a company made no attempt to tell the firm why.

3. Seventy percent of dissatisfied customers never complain because it is not worth their time; they think company personnel won’t listen if the customer does complain, or they think the customer won’t do anything about their complaint.

4. The average dissatisfied customer tells nine or ten others of their dissatisfaction.

5. Conversely, the average satisfied customer tells only five people.

6. It takes ten dollars in new business to replace one dollar of lost business.

7. It costs between five and ten times as much to attract a new customer as it does to keep an old one.

8. Quality service is the main thing that differentiates one business from another.

9. The first sixty seconds establishes the tone and first impression of a meeting.

10. Each time a customer comes in contact with a company employee for the first time, it is a new first impression.

11. The same attitudes that lead to increased customer satisfaction can lead to increased employee performance.

12. Customers pay more for better service.

13. Ninety-five percent of dissatisfied customers would do business again with that same company if their problem were solved quickly and satisfactorily.

14. The company person, no matter what rung on the ladder, should always ask himself or herself, “What can I do to satisfy the customer?”

15. Every company employee is involved in sales.

16. Excellent service leads to increased sales.

17. Companies should pay attention to how they spend money. It’s unwise to overspend in some areas and underspend in others.

18. Customers will tell a company where it needs improvement. We need to ask customers how we can make our business more pleasurable, convenient, and suitable for them.

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Source: Richard Tyler of Richard Tyler International, as quoted in Modern Office Technology, February 1993.

Assessing Customer Expectations of Service Quality

1. Excellent facility departments will have modern-looking equipment.

2. The physical facilities of excellent facility departments will be visually appealing.

3. Employees at excellent facility departments will be neat.

4. Materials issued such as pamphlets or statement will be visually appealing in an excellent facility department.

5. When excellent facility departments promise to do something by a certain time, they do it.

6. When a customer has a problem, excellent facility departments will show a sincere interest in solving it.

7. Excellent facility departments will perform their service right the first time.

8. Excellent facility departments will provide their services at the time they promise to do so.

9. Excellent facility departments will insist on error-free records.

10. Employees in excellent facility departments will tell customers exactly when services will be performed.

11. Employees in excellent facility departments will give prompt service to customers.

12. Employees in excellent facility departments will always be willing to help customers.

13. Employees in excellent facility departments will never be too busy to respond to customer’s requests.

14. The behavior of employees in excellent facility department will instill confidence in customers.

15. Customers of excellent facility departments will feel safe in their transactions.

16. Employees in excellent facility departments will be consistently courteous to customers.

17. Employees in excellent facility departments will have the knowledge to answer customer questions.

18. Excellent facility departments will give customers individual attention.

19. Excellent facility departments will have operating hours that are convenient to their customers.

20. Excellent facility departments will have employees who give customers personal attention.

21. Excellent facility departments will have the customers’ best interests at heart.

22. The employees of excellent facility departments will understand the specific needs of their customers.

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Source: Adapted by Facilities Manager from Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry, Delivering Quality Service (The Free Press, 1990).