How customer service is like professional baseball

Baseball’s spring training is now underway so I thought I’d offer a simple analogy to describe how customer service is like professional baseball:

Many of us think we’re experts, but only a few of us truly are.

Both baseball and customer service are easy to understand at a fundamental level. Even the most casual baseball fan knows that it’s a good thing when your team scores a run, three strikes and you’re out, and the seventh inning stretch is when we all stand up and sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Customer service basics such as prompt, friendly, and attentive service are also universally known.

The trouble with having a little knowledge is it tends to make us susceptible to believing we have a lot of knowledge.

Sometimes referred to as the Dunning Kruger Effect, researchers have consistently found that the less knowledge or skill we have in a particular area, the more we overestimate our ability. This has proven true in arenas as diverse as grammar skills, humor, or multitasking.

You see this happening all the time with baseball fans. Go to a game and you'll hear no shortage of opinions about what’s wrong with the hometown team and what should be done to fix them. Yet none of these rabid fans get so much as an interview when their team is hiring a new coach.

The same holds true in customer service. Everyone has an opinion about what it takes to provide amazing customer service but we’d see more great examples and fewer service failures if customer service really was simple. 

In reality, customer service, like professional baseball, is hard. Very hard. We have to deal with faulty products, dumb policies, crabby co-workers, and domineering bosses. If we’re lucky enough to work at a company that is largely free of these problems, we still have to contend with a wide range of customer expectations and needs. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I am saying it's not always easy.

There’s one more part of the Dunning Krueger Effect that is as true in customer service as it is in baseball. 

While nearly all of us overestimate our ability, the very best underestimate their ability. They never stop trying to improve. They worry that the competition has somehow figured out how to do it better. For them, good enough never is.

I hope this is the reason why I work hard every day to provide my clients with the best possible service.

Unfortunately, I also know this means that I really don't know what I'm talking about whenever I get a brilliant idea about how the Padres can win more games.

Comments

[Adam]

Jeff, this is a perfect post for our online world. I was just discussing with another person how often people criticize businesses without even a rudimentary understanding of the business model. "I can't believe my corner flower store doesn't have free shipping to Zimbabwe; haven't they ever heard of Zappos!" That type of thing. People overestimate their business acumen -- to frame it as you do above -- and their opinions are only strengthened by the bandwagon effect that occurs online.

Hopefully, those who can remain humble about their imperfect knowledge can continue to grow and be in a position to add true value with what knowledge they do possess.

[Jeff Toister]

Thanks for sharing that example, Adam! I think you are spot on that the ease of online communication has strengthened customers' unusual and unreasonable expectations.

[Lex DeNovo]

And by "Padres," he means "Giants."

(Off to Scottsdale next week!)

Gm.