: Syracuse,NY--Companies that have great customer service start by treating their employees well, Wegmans executive Paul Lilly told about 50 people at the South Side Innovation Center this morning. “What it comes down to is the first focus isn’t customers, it’s actually employees,” he said during a breakfast meeting on Amazing Customer Service. “If you don’t take care of your...
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Syracuse,NY--Companies that have great customer service start by treating their employees well, Wegmans executive Paul Lilly told about 50 people at the South Side Innovation Center this morning.
“What it comes down to is the first focus isn’t customers, it’s actually employees,” he said during a breakfast meeting on Amazing Customer Service. “If you don’t take care of your people first that incredible service isn’t going to happen.”
Lilly was a training manager for the chain's Westvale store for 15 years and is a non-licensed pharmacy area manager at the Taft Road store.
The family-owned chain of grocery stores with more than 37,000 employees has been ranked among the top places to work in the country for the past 13 years by Fortune Magazine, based on rankings compiled by the Great Places to Work Institute.
Here’s the secret to good customer service Lilly told the audience of business owners and those wanting to start a business attending the meeting at the South Salina Street center.
- Hire passionate people.
- Train them well on the company’s values and continue that training over their career.
- Pay them as well or better than other companies in the area.
- Provide them with benefits.
- Empower them to serve customers.
“The result is happy people who want to make your customers happy,” Lilly said.
The Amazing Customer Service workshop was coordinated by the U.S. Small Business Administration and organized by the Small Business Development Center, SCORE, Syracuse University's WISE Center and the South Side Innovation Center.