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One of the first things you let customers know with your greeting is the level of service they can expect from your establishment. Are they going to get non-compliant service, compliant (reactive) service, or true anticipatory service?

The lowest level of service, non-compliant service –

“May I get some water from you, please?’’

‘”Uh, I think there’s a vending machine at the end of the block.”

will of course push away customers every time. They asked for a glass of water and received nothing—except a grudging set of directions.

Compliant service (‘‘May I have some water?’’ ‘‘Certainly. Here you go!’’) is pretty much the baseline for the contemporary business world. It doesn’t offend customers, but it won’t win them over either. Compliant service can be well-executed, but it’s not going to build loyalty for your brand.

Anticipatory service (‘‘Welcome. It is such a hot day today. May I offer you a glass of water?’’) is extremely rare. But this is where customer loyalty is created. When customers’ wishes are anticipated, they get to bask in the magical feeling of being cared for. That feeling creates loyalty, which builds strategic value for your company. So, you can tip your hand at the front door that this exceptional level of service is what they can expect—if you can manage to literally ‘‘have them at hello’’—you will predispose your customers to think well of you throughout the rest of the service experience.

–Micah Solomon

(Jonesing for more on this specific subject? Check out Chapter 11, Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit: The Secrets of Building a Five-Star Customer Service Organization, Leonardo Inghilleri and Micah Solomon,  foreword by Horst Schulze, Founding President and COO, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Publisher  AMACOM BOOKS, international distribution by McGraw-Hill, available here.)