What is a five-star service?

For me, five-star service is linked inextricably to expectations, and more precisely, if they are met or exceeded. That is why providing a five-star service is not encountered only in places designated as five-star locations.

Companies are the ones that create the expectations through their websites, social media channels, marketing campaigns, better said through the image they create for themselves. The key to delivering that level of service is to ensure that the service providers exceed a customer's expectations.

Whenever I walk into an establishment or interact with a company with five stars, or I see as luxury, exclusive, top of the line, my expectations are immediately through the roof. My expectations should be met, ideally, should be exceeded. If I do not get the five-star service feel, I will be less likely to recommend and more likely to complain.

If anything, the fact that a location has five stars only raises the bar higher and achieving that coveted luxury service feel might be more challenging. However, people working withing those companies are aware of the need to deliver and are trained well. More often than not, they make service look seamless and elegant. It is like a perfectly choreographed dance.

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel". Maya Angelou

Let me give you three examples of when I felt that I was receiving a five-star service.

My partner and I were shopping in our local Waitrose for some groceries one day, and at one point, we wanted to buy a few more items of one product than what was on display. Naturally, we asked a staff member around, and she immediately helped us, just as we expected. A few minutes later, we looked at other products in a different aisle, and we were indeed not finding something. Still, we didn't want to ask anyone as we could live without buying that product. The staff member who helped us out earlier passed by us on her way to a different task in the store. Still, even though she was busy and didn't ask for anything, she decided to ask us if we needed anything and got the product for us once we told her what we wanted. Even though staff in Waitrose are generally helpful, this particular team member stood out because of her can-do attitude, smile, and sincere desire to help. She made us feel we are receiving five-star service.

We have an off-license quite close to my house, the Smoking Jacket. Even though it is just your average off-license, nothing special in terms of ambience or products sold, it is one place where more often than not, you will find five-star service. The people who work at the counter are helpful, which I expect anyway, but they manage to connect with every person who walks into the shop. They do that by engaging, joking, sharing their stories and listening, but without for a second going too far or being intrusive. That is the way they found to exceed expectations even in a typical shop.

My prefered perfume is from The House of Creed. Because of their products' quality and how they present themselves, I always expect excellent service. In other words, it is harder to exceed my expectations, and yet they managed to do just that. At the end of February, I received an email from them asking if I want to update my preference for communications received to opt-out of their Mother's Day communications. They mentioned that they understand that the day can be a sensitive day for some people. They gave those people the option of not receiving further communications related to that day. I have to say that it showed compassion, empathy and a genuine desire on Creed's part to ensure that they do not in any way upset their customers. Five-star service took to the next level to ensure they exceeded expectations with their products and how they communicate.

In conclusion, five-star service is based on meeting and ideally exceeding expectations, on human connection, rather than just following the procedures taught. It is based on a pure desire to go the extra mile and be helpful, continually adapting and finding new ways to improve something that can still be better even though it is excellent already.

How do you perceive five-star service? What makes you get the feeling that you are receiving the best service? I would love to hear from you in the comments section.

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