Should you have a customer service strategy or plan? Should it have a list of objectives, strategies and tactics? Should you look for metrics? Yes, you should, if you are looking to institutionalize your customer service. But before you do all that, think about what customer service is–serving the customer. To serve the customer best you have to put yourself in the customer’s shoes. In other words, to do customer service right, think like a customer.

Christopher Elliot writes about the travel industry, and often discusses customer services issues with the airlines and hotels. In one of his latest posts, People Would Love Your Hotel If You Just Changed the Light Bulbs, Elliott discusses feedback travelers have given  about what they would like their hotels to do or not to do.  A simple thing that travelers want is better lighting.

Why do hotels not know that their customers/guests want better lighting? Simple: because they have never put themselves in the guest’s shoes. Has the hotel’s general manager ever checked into his own hotel? Probably not. Also, few hotels ask for specific feedback.

If you want your customer service to be the best, then ask yourself one simple question: if I were a customer of my company, what kinds of things would I be looking for? Think like a customer so that you can better serve your customers.