{"id":66,"date":"2010-09-20T11:00:01","date_gmt":"2010-09-20T17:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/2010\/09\/07\/a-culture-of-service\/"},"modified":"2010-09-21T14:40:03","modified_gmt":"2010-09-21T20:40:03","slug":"a-culture-of-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/20\/a-culture-of-service\/","title":{"rendered":"A Culture of Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Does your parish staff resent its parishioners? That\u2019s kind of a strong statement, but at a certain level, it\u2019s true of many parishes. As a parish worker myself, it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve had to work on over the years. Let\u2019s face it, bending over backwards to accommodate the individual is a hassle. It\u2019s hard not to have an attitude of \u201cI\u2019m glad you\u2019re in my program but kindly don\u2019t make any trouble.\u201d The simple fact is that Catholic parishes don\u2019t generally see themselves as being in the business of customer service. I think that is a problem.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an attitude I find in a lot of businesses and organizations, though. They want to put out a product or service and they want people to like it without a lot of fuss. I had a Targus computer bag once with a design flaw in the strap. It kept breaking in the same place from normal use. I liked the bag and got two replacements but they kept breaking. So I asked for a different kind of bag, or my money back. They told me to pack sand (not exactly in those words). End result, I don\u2019t buy Targus bags anymore (Booq has the best computer bags in the world anyway).<\/p>\n

In fact, it\u2019s so startling when I run across a business that\u2019s not like this, it makes me want to go back…and bring my friends! And that is exactly the point I want to make about customer service and Catholic parishes. If people are treated well at a business or service, they\u2019ll go back and tell their friends.<\/p>\n

I recently heard an interview with Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos. Hsieh created Zappos with a culture of great customer service. Zappos is not really about selling shoes, they are about outstanding service, and because of that they create amazing brand loyalty. Hsieh stated that 75% of their business is from return customers, and they have recorded increased profits even in the downturn economy. They make it so pleasant to shop there that no one wants to go anywhere else (including me!). Customers know they can get what they want at a fair price and enjoy the process. Tony Hsieh has evangelized the online shoe buying market.<\/p>\n

It seems to me that outstanding customer service is sort of about not being upset when customers make trouble. It\u2019s almost like allowing them the space to cause trouble and then seeing how well you can meet their needs. Zappos sometimes eats their profit because people take advantage of the return policies. But they\u2019re in it for the long game. Over the years, the sales they generate through repeat business and customer loyalty more than make up for any losses. Zappos builds a relationship of trust with their customers, and people who do business with them value that relationship.<\/p>\n

The truth about evangelization is that you have to build a bond of human relationship before people will listen to your message about God. The human connection provides a bridge upon which the divine message can travel. If parishioners aren\u2019t feeling human love, they won\u2019t listen to you about divine love. That\u2019s just the way it is. I think a lot of people want to ignore that fact.<\/p>\n

What would it take to change the culture of customer service in our Catholic parishes? How can we give a level of service that is evangelizing? And, if you think we\u2019re not in the business of customer service, you are wrong. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. What are you doing for yours?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Does your parish staff resent its parishioners? That\u2019s kind of a strong statement, but at a certain level, it\u2019s true of many parishes. As a parish worker myself, it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve had to work on over the years. Let\u2019s face it, bending over backwards to accommodate the individual is a hassle. It\u2019s hard not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parish-ministry","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\nA Culture of Service - Marc Cardaronella<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/20\/a-culture-of-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Culture of Service - Marc Cardaronella\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Does your parish staff resent its parishioners? That\u2019s kind of a strong statement, but at a certain level, it\u2019s true of many parishes. As a parish worker myself, it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve had to work on over the years. Let\u2019s face it, bending over backwards to accommodate the individual is a hassle. 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