Service through Excellence and Diligence | Lisa Mae Agard | TEDxLamahaSt
The speaker posits that true service excellence requires the fusion of continuous attention to detail (excellence) and purposeful, consistent effort (diligence), drawing lessons from personal experiences and suggesting organizational change through training, measurement, and leadership. This shift requires adopting emotional intelligence, viewing service as dynamic rather than stagnant, and fundamentally changing organizational culture.
## Theses & Positions
- True service excellence is not static but a *"continuous and dynamic"* endeavor that requires purposeful rendering effort.
- Service excellence empowers employees to move beyond basic customer service to create memorable experiences that customers will never forget.
- Diligence is defined as the *"purposeful consistent productive work ethic to accomplish a predetermined task with the possibility tee's of realizing an objective."*
- Achieving service excellence demands nurturing a *"national culture of service excellence"* to correct the "adverse imprint of poor customer service."
- A holistic service-centric approach must incorporate addressing individuals' emotional needs via emotional intelligence.
- The speaker posits that maximum potential can be attained if individuals embrace a mindset and lifestyle of superior performance, believing *"there is no one stopping us but ourselves."*
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Service Excellence:** Attention given to details that give birth to superior performance, causing the realization of maximum potential.
- **Diligence:** The purposeful consistent productive work ethic to accomplish a predetermined task with the possibility tee's of realizing an objective.
- **Emotional Intelligence:** The ability to be aware of and to manage emotions and relationships.
- **Service through Excellence and Diligence:** The guiding framework for achieving superior service standards.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Samsung's Approach:** Embracing a holistic approach to service excellence.
- **Improving Standard:** The necessity to *"continuously raise our standards to meet the current dimension of things"* to remain relevant.
- **Achieving Service Excellence:** Requires implementing strategies including:
* Training and development.
* Measurements and benchmarking.
* Effective leadership.
- **Character Training:** Must manifest externally through attitude, behavior, and approach.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Life Progression:** As life progresses, processes change, and development occurs, necessitating constant standard raising.
- **Anecdotal Incident:** The speaker's negative experience with a sales attendant when trying on a dress in a store, which inspired the discourse.
- **Structural Shift:** The need to update talents and develop new ones via training.
## Named Entities
- **Coco Chanel:** Mentioned in relation to dress impeccable style.
- **Samsung:** Cited as a good example of a company embracing the holistic approach to service excellence.
- **Ottoman Sultan:** Cited as having shared in 2017 that training serves as an engine to promote employee abilities, skills, and knowledge.
## Numbers & Data
- Year of Ottoman Sultan quote: **2017**.
## Examples & Cases
- **Personal Anecdote (Dress Store):** Remembering the experience of being told a desired dress *"would not look good on your body type"* by a sales attendant, which caused the speaker to question future patronage of that store.
- **Samsung:** Used as a positive example of adopting a holistic approach to service excellence.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- None.
## References Cited
- The Ottoman Sultan (sharing that training is an engine to promote employee abilities, skills, and knowledge).
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Basic Customer Service vs. Service Excellence:** Service excellence requires going beyond basic levels to create memorable experiences.
- **Maintaining Status Quo vs. Improving:** The importance of *improving* business practices against best-in-class competitors rather than merely maintaining the status quo.
- **Ignoring Emotional Needs vs. Addressing Them:** The alternative to assuming one can "leave your problems at the door" is the necessity of emotional intelligence training.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The speaker addresses the potential notion that *"when you come to work leave your problems at the door."*
- The initial premise that service excellence *cannot* be ascertained is challenged by the speaker's proposed model.
## Methodology
- **Reflection:** Drawing philosophical discourse from personal negative experiences (dress store incident).
- **Analysis:** Structuring improvement plans around three pillars: training, measurement/benchmarking, and leadership.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- A *"national culture of service excellence"* can be attained through the unified pursuit of service through excellence and diligence.
- The ultimate call is for attendees to commit to improving service excellence and diligence in their own professional lives.
## Implications & Consequences
- Lack of commitment to service excellence leads to the perpetuation of poor customer service paradigms.
- The neglect of emotional intelligence in the workplace stunts the realization of maximum human potential.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"I can remember it like it was yesterday I had finally saved just enough to get the perfect outfit for my cousin's wedding in my mind."*
- *"This dress would not look good on your body type."*
- *"Auto pens the words that today's excellence is tomorrow's mediocrity."*
- *"Diligence is a rare trait in our culture and oftentimes you find that people who lack diligence usually exude beautiful excuses and they're oftentimes influenced."*
- *"A good leader has a futuristic vision and knows how to make ideas become reality."*
- *"We must never be afraid to have a standard for service."*
- *"We must believe that we hang to it and there is no one stopping us but ourselves."*
- *"How many was sitting in here today are willing to improve our service through excellence our diligence today"*