No firm can be a service leader without empowerment. Empowerment means you have to bend rules and policies in favor of the customer. In my book, Empowerment: A Way of Life I said everyone's single, most important task every day is to have over happy customers.  If you have over happy customers your competition is screwed... sales increase and customer loyalty soars. 

Very few firms understand the cost of employee turnover and damage it can do to their brand.  Take a look at how your company values people from the front door to the corporate level.  The mind set is pretty simple…the less you pay them the easier they are to replace.  Not true!

Employees at the bottom of almost every organization are the face of your organization. I estimate that 99% of the customer contact is with these employees and they are the least respected and least compensated in any organization.

Have you ever heard of Disney World’s reputation for exceptional customer service?  Empowerment is a religion there.  Employees are thoroughly trained and then told that they have the authority – it has been delegated to them – to do whatever is necessary to deal with problems on the spot in order to make customers happy.

Disney is aware of four crucial roadblocks that must be removed in order to develop a truly empowered workforce...

First let me clarify the value of quality service. I believe that great service retains the customers you already have, attracts more customers, and develops a reputation that encourages customers to do business with you in the future.

Meeting top executives of Saudi Airlines and Talal last month I ran into the most customer driven security guard of my entire life. His name is Talal AlHarbi.