The 17 Best Things Ever Said About Service

In ten years of writing this blog, one of the most frequent request I receive is to forward a collection of my so-called “Sullivan-isms,” quotes about service. So here’s a collection of my personal list of The Best Things Ever Said About Service. Share them with your team:

  • The customer is why.
  • Good service means never having to ask for anything.
  • Bad service happens all by itself, good service has to managed.
  • Good service can save a bad meal. A good meal cannot save bad service.
  • Make happy those who are near and those who are far will come.  –Chinese Proverb
  • If a customer has one genuine grievance, do two things to resolve it.
  • Customers are like spouses, if you don’t show appreciation they will go somewhere else.
  • “Product expertise can be duplicated, so any competitive advantage based on products will eventually go away. But customer expertise is competitively defendable, unique and permanent.” –Martha Rogers
  • A Customer will forgive us for a higher price but they’ll never forgive us for lower quality.
  • Our business is run for the enjoyment and pleasure of our customers, not for the convenience of the staff or the owners.
  • A customer should never have to get out of their chair or car to do some part of our job.
  • Worry about being better; bigger will take of itself.
  • Service is our invisible product. It’s free. Heap it on.
  • A happy customer buys more.
  • The most expensive thing in a restaurant is an empty chair.
  • Handle every single transaction with each and every person, no matter who that person is, as if you will have to live with them in a very small room for the rest of your life.
  • Know the difference between “Service” and “Hospitality”: Service fulfills a need—so does an ATM–but hospitality fulfills people
  • “There’s no magic to magic, it’s all in the details.” –Walt Disney

Jim Sullivan is a consultant, author and speaker. Companies using his training products or programs include McDonald’s, Starbucks, Walt Disney Company, Panera Bread and Applebee’s. You can get his leadership enewsletter and product catalog at www.sullivision.com 

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