The Power of Service

In preparation for my itSMF-A LEADit presentation in Canberra this year (‘Around ITIL in 30 analogies’), I was having a good look at the various analogies I use during my training and other ITSM related activities. I love the use of analogies as it is an easy way to explain complex, abstract concepts such as service management.

This was confirmed when last week I was delivering an ITIL Foundations course, using many of those analogies (sorry, you’ll have to come to the presentation to hear them all) and once more seeing their effect. In particular when explaining the concepts of service management and a service I spent a lot of time emphasising that this is not so much about ITIL, but more ‘zen’, a state of mind whereby the whole organisation is focused on delivering value to the customer, in a fixed-price, black-box, guaranteed, repeatable and managed way.

ITIL is merely a way of achieving this (and then only the Process-part of the 4 Ps). In the course we then move into the various processes and their intricacies. It is not until I reach the Service Desk function (in our course, on the last day, after all the lifecycles & processes) that I truly get to focus on the delivery of service again.

This of course as the Service Desk is the Single Point of Contact for the User and as such the visible part of the IT Service organisation. I have once before sung the praises of the Service Desk and how important it is to get it right [HERE]. But I extend this by explaining how important service (perception) is, far more important than (product) quality.

Take for instance a mobile phone (an easy to understand analogy, as most of us will have one). If you buy a mobile phone from shop X and it never fails, you would be a satisfied customer. And when it comes time to replace the phone, you may go back to shop X, but perhaps shop Y has a better offer at the time. The perfectly delivered product (meeting service targets/expectations) has not generated a particular relation\commitment with the provider.

On the other hand, if you buy a phone and it breaks, you’ll take it back to the shop. If this shop is hard to reached (closed, not answering phones, …), not friendly (‘have you touched it’, ‘it’s your fault’, …) and not good in their response (they’ll charge you, take forever to repair, …): you will never go back to this shop. A bad service has destroyed the relation.

But if, when you go back with your broken phone, the shop-assistant is most apologetic and offers you a satisfactory solution (replacement, credit, …), not only are you walking away a satisfied customer, but you will almost certainly come back to this shop for future purchases (provided of course the phone doesn’t break every month). The excellent service here has turned a negative (broken phone), into a positive: a satisfied customer with an improved relation with the provider.

Now, this part of the service is often called ‘service’ as well, although it is far more intangible, more about perception. It is the people-aspect put on top of the actual service delivery against its targets. This is things like the availability of the Service Desk, the friendliness of its staff, the response and follow-up provided.

A bad product (or service) will lose you customers, but a good one will not necessarily gain you any. People more or less expect this and you won’t get credit for something that work the way it is expected to. This is a similar issue as Problem Management faces, in particular the pro-active part: the better you do, the less people notice it!

However where bad service-perception will also lose you customers, good service will gain you. Perhaps not so much new customers, but it will cement and improve the relation with your existing ones. Hopefully improve this beyond the black and white numbers of the contract, but more into a mutually beneficial relationship whereby the IT Service Provider is truly able to provide service (and added value) to the business.

So, back to the starting point of explaining concepts: Whilst ITIL has a definition for service, and explains the function of the Service Desk … people (in my case course attendees) need to understand the true objective of a service, one that goes beyond ITIL, any of its process or functions and should be at the heart of all your staff and their actions: delivering value to your users\customers!

the ITIL Zealot
April 2013