Just a commitment? Or is it possible it could really could make a difference – if it was actually delivered?

Is the delivery of your customer service ideal locked into a presentation, endless discussed, debated, cited and circulated – but condemned to remain just a commitment – or only expressed in communications to customers as irritating (or ignored) platitudes when the experience falls short of their expectations?

Filling the commitment gap at Shell

Between intention and reality there’s a world of difference between the glib expression of service ideals and it’s actual delivery.

Shell have decided to bridge that gap with a return to the forecourt attendant, a member of staff at the pump who can serve your fuel and do small routine checks (tyres, oil, etc).

Mel Lane, Shell UK Retail General Manager, says of the initiative “customers are paying a lot for their fuel, this is our way of giving something back”.

The plan, albeit nascent, is to eventually to equip the attendants with handheld payment terminals and roll the plan out. While it’s only a pilot, it’s a really interesting approach that looks at ‘brand delivery’ from the customers perspective, using service culture to drive a positive experience at the extreme other end of our ideas about ‘luxury concierge’ and service delivery.

Have you a situation or a point in the delivery of your experience strategy, where a person would make the difference? Perhaps it’s time to look carefully at those ‘last two feet’ of brand delivery.