Updated 5/20/2023
The Difference Between Customer Services and Customer Satisfaction
Customer service refers to the assistance and support provided by a business to its customers before, during, and after a purchase. It involves activities such as answering inquiries, resolving issues or complaints, providing product information, and delivering a positive overall experience.
On the other hand, customer satisfaction is a measure of how pleased or content customers are with their overall experience of a product, service, or brand. It is the result of meeting or exceeding customer expectations and fulfilling their needs. Customer satisfaction is influenced by various factors, including the quality of the product or service, the level of customer service provided, and the overall value received.
In summary, customer service is the process or action of assisting customers, while customer satisfaction is the outcome or result of a customer’s perception of their experience with a business. Good customer service is one of the factors that can contribute to higher customer satisfaction.
While cleaning contractors may provide acceptable service for their clients, they often do not take it to the next level. When this occurs, contractors may not be able to ensure true customer satisfaction, and as a result, customer loyalty—one of the ultimate goals of any contract cleaning or service business.
Orig Post Customer Service vs Customer Satisfaction | Re-Post System4 3/22/2016
Acceptable Service vs. Satisfaction
Providing “acceptable service” essentially means the contractor is meeting the expectations of an agreement with a client. Providing “satisfaction,” however, requires taking the level of service above and beyond the stipulated service agreement. There are different ways to accomplish this, but the bulk of the responsibility rests on supervision, upper management of the company, and/or the actual owners of the contract cleaning company.
So what are we saying here? Specifically, making sure the customer is satisfied is the responsibility of those key segments within the company—supervisors, managers, and owners. These are the personnel who invariably make service promises to the customer when submitting a proposal.
These promises go beyond the scope of services for the client. They become key performance indicators, and it is based on these that the customer determines if they are genuinely satisfied with the cleaning and maintenance performance at their facility.
Interestingly, this may be just the opposite of what many cleaning contractors believe. Often, service providers assign the responsibility of ensuring customer satisfaction to the actual cleaning staff. The belief is that if the crew is doing its job, the customer will be happy.