There are differences on how to approach your business. You get to decide. How conscious is that choice? Has inertia taken over?

It is important to think through, plan and execute around creating a better customer experience.

Some companies really understand customer service. They know how to hire for it, train for it and deliver it. Other companies claim to give customer service, but in reality, they are grounded in an operations mentality with rules and policies that allow for little flexibility, preventing them from being anything more than just average or satisfactory. 

via Six Differences Between Customer-Focused Companies and Operations-Focused Companies.

Here are some ideas to focus on:

1. Empowerment – employees can make decisions in the best interest of the customer
2. Hiring – bring people on who fit the customer-focused culture
3. Training – spend time and money on soft skills like relationship building
4. Leadership – create a vision and mission that is focused on the customer
5. People first – employees and their engagement make a difference
6. Customer service – service comes first, no matter what