The Lifeboat Theory Still Is Valid In Customer Service

Most successful Customer Service organization deploy something along the line of The Lifeboat Theory.


Simply put, the theory is that in an emergency it is a good thing to have other people in the Lifeboat with you. Go it alone and you're least likely to get through the ordeal.


It is a bit of a twist on the old axiom that "all of us are smarter than any of us."


The first thing a Customer Service practitioner should do when there is a problem is to get other people "in the lifeboat" with you.


Ocean liners have a plan and drills to move people to lifeboats quickly. Good Customer Service Departments should do the same. Order and speed often are critical to an optimal solution.


Who do you need with you in the lifeboat? Some good choices might include:

• Your Manager


• Managers of other departments touched by the problem


• The salesperson on the account


• The most experience operations person you can find


• Someone representing finance


• Representatives of suppliers/partners which may be involved


• Perhaps someone good at thinking outside the box

Once in the lifeboat everyone needs to be rowing hard ... in the same direction toward a reasonable solution and a common goal to DELIGHT CUSTOMERS!