Customer Service:
How Much Is Too Much?

I had a root canal earlier this month. Why am I bringing this up? Because my root canal experience highlighted an important rule of customer service: ASK the customer how much detail they want to hear.

Here's what I mean:  my dentist gave me a lot of detail about the root canal/dental crown procedure. He drew a diagram of my tooth, showed me the X-rays and thoroughly described what he was going to do. I loved that!  I'm a very detail focused person. Being a geek, I even went home and Googled "root canal" to find out more about it.

During the procedure, my dentist gave me a running "play by play" of each step. I appreciated his commentary since it kept me involved in the process.

On the other hand, my wife, Jana, said she would never want that much information. It would drive her nuts! She just wants to hear about the end result, plus any decisions that need to be made.

How does this scenario translate into a customer service situation?

Well in some situations, you may be required to give mandatory details or disclose certain rules. Obviously, you must obey that edict.

But in situations where the details are optional, give a general description to your client. Then ask, "Would you like to hear more?" If they are an analytical type, they will ask for more detail. If they are intuitive, they may only want the big picture.

So, adjust your customer service style to suit each client's needs. Give them the information they need to hear, with enough detail to make them happy.

© 2009 Reflective Keynotes Inc., Toronto, Canada

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