Culture and Customer Service

At first glance it seems as though customer service standards would be similar throughout the world. Yet this is not the case as culture appears to put its own flavor on the subtleties that make up a strong customer service experience. This cultural difference can range widely from country to country depending on the populations mental outlook and personalized difference. Those countries, like the United States, may have a more difficult time putting away their impressions of cultural superiority in order to humble themselves for great customer experience.

Let us fly to South America for a moment and you might find service to be exceptional despite obvious language barriers. The people smile, are eager to place and take the extra step in order to earn higher wages. It isn't hard to find someone standing next to your table to serve you the entire meal for 20 or 30 extra pesos ($1-$2 USD). This is one of the reasons why Cancun, Brazil and many other parts of South America are popular tourist destinations.

This level of humbleness is rarely seen in many major U.S. cities. Certainly, one could say that the people in Mexico will run themselves near collapse for a $4 USD tip. There is no doubt that the money is a motivating factor. Shouldn't a 17% gratuity ($51 USD) on a $300 bill be a motivating factor for Americans as well? Some cocktail servers and bartenders have been known to earn $200 to $500 USD in well known resorts and hotels. Yet the service level is often different and many times subpar. This difference is caused by culture and personal perception of one's importance.

The concept of cultural superiority exists because of America's dominance in the intellectual world, manufacturing world, and wealth world. It can be very difficult for Americans to humble themselves in the front of others in a culture that appreciates materialism, dominance, loudness, and forwardness. If we also add the fact that Americans are rugged individualists we might see that there is a sizable hurdle to jump.

Just because we have a sense of cultural superiority doesn't mean that Americans can't succeed in providing great customer service. It only means we have to focus on processes and professionalism more closely. Strong processes are learned through training and professionalism is learned through occupational importance. Therefore, training and caring about ones occupation are primary considerations in the recruitment process. Companies that desire to have excellent customer service should consider improving recruitment, screening out candidates and training them well.