Is the Bar You Set for Excellent Customer Service Too Low?

I recently was approached and agreed to judge a national customer service contest.  Contestants submit their entries and describe what they have done in order to improve their clients’ experience.  I have probably evaluated 20 or so submissions to date.  What has struck me, however, is how many people feel they should receive an award for what is pretty basic.  For example, a number of contestants who run call centers have described how they recently implemented quality monitoring software.  When you think about it though, shouldn’t quality monitoring be standard when any process is in question, and definitely not award-worthy? 

Our clients have certain expectations.  For example, when it comes to a clients’ phone experience, clients expect us to be available when they call.  They expect us to be polite and have an expertise in that subject matter.  If we don’t do these things, it will impact our clients’ perception of us negatively.  However, it is not as if our clients will recommend us to their friends and relatives if we do them.  It is simply expected. 

Reevaluate the experience your firm provides to your clients.  Is the bar you’ve set for providing great service set too low, and what you consider great service your clients simply consider to be the basics?  Chances are you have if your clients are not selling your firm for you.