What is great customer service?

This question is usually asked during interviews for jobs in  retail or customer service, but there's a tremendous range of positions that require contact with customers, or people who pay money for goods or services.  Even engineers, accountants, and manufacturers can have contact with customers, so don't be surprised if you are asked this question.    

I think that the best answer I've heard to the question, "What is good customer service?" was the answer given by a recruiting client of mine. She needed to hire a good customer service rep, and defined it as someone who can ensure "Customer delight."

In making this answer your own, you might answer by saying something like this: "Good customer service is service that delights the customer.  It makes the customer happy. It's not what you or the company thinks is good-  it's what the customer thinks is good.  The most important goal of customer service is to make the customer so happy that they will refer your company products or services to someone else."

Then you can continue with your assurance that the customer is happy by adding, "One of the questions I always ask a customer is ‘Did I provide what you were looking for today?' because I know how important it is to make sure I'm providing what customers need so they will be delighted with us."

Any answer that indicates your awareness of how important ‘customer delight' is, is what the interviewer is looking for.  They want you to always remember that in your job you represent the face of the company.  As their representative, you are in the forefront of their reputation. That means you are very important.

Every waitress, for example, is the face of that restaurant.  Diners don't see the cooks in the kitchen preparing their food, and the manager isn't usually around much, either.  Customers see the waitress, and her behavior and treatment of the customers has a profound impact on their experience which will play a part in how they feel about the restaurant, whether or not they return and if they are likely to recommend it to others.

When I was in sales, my policy was to treat every customer like I would treat my grandmother…with politeness, respect and patience, and I'm not a very patient person, but I knew that if my customers had a good experience with me, they would return and bring others with them! My customer service actions in the field would reflect in my sales numbers and my position in the company.   

These are the types of attitudes you want to explain with your answer to this question.  Don't just say something like, "Good customer service is being responsive and helpful," or "Good customer service is being familiar with my inventory and helping customers make good decisions."  Those aren't necessarily wrong answers, but your goal is to get the job, and if you take one step further and talk about ‘customer delight' you'll be leaps and bounds ahead of your competition in the job market.