--- title: The Fine Line Between Customer Service and Being Overbearing description: When linking core Business Acumen skills with the appropriate focus on customer service, what are three best practices to consider? image: https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/Blogs/customer-service.jpg --- [![logo-advantexe-150.png](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-advantexe-150.png?width=150&height=123&name=logo-advantexe-150.png "logo-advantexe-150.png")](https://www.advantexe.com) ![blog-banner-2022](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-banner-2022.png?width=973&name=blog-banner-2022.png "blog-banner-2022") ### The Advantexe Advisor Blog - providing a deep and applicable understanding of the system of business. # The Fine Line Between Customer Service and Being Overbearing By Robert Brodo | Jan 25, 2018 8:21:48 AM | [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fcustomer-service-focused-or-overbearing%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/linkedin-24x24.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fcustomer-service-focused-or-overbearing%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fcustomer-service-focused-or-overbearing%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fcustomer-service-focused-or-overbearing%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=The%20Fine%20Line%20Between%20Customer%20Service%20and%20Being%20Overbearing) [![Share on Pinterest](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/pinterest-24x24.png)](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fcustomer-service-focused-or-overbearing%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dpinterest&media=) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fcustomer-service-focused-or-overbearing%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fcustomer-service-focused-or-overbearing%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) As readers of this blog know, much of the content I write about comes directly from the [Business ![customer-service.jpg](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/customer-service.jpg?width=240&height=240&name=customer-service.jpg)Acumen learning sessions](https://www.advantexe.com/business-acumen-courses-elearning-programs) I conduct for clients around the world.  This week, I am in Europe facilitating a session for high potential leaders looking to further develop their Critical Thinking skills in the areas of strategy and financial management.  When talking about strategic thinking, learners explore the different [value propositions ](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/the-importance-of-authenticity-in-your-value-proposition)offered to customers and choose between Product Leadership, Operational Excellence, and Customer Intimacy as their primary focus and offerings. The elements of the value proposition are contained in what I call a “value dashboard” which are the primary factors that drive every customer’s decision to buy from you or your competitors. The typical value dashboard contains Price, Quality, Consistency, Delivery Time, and Customer Service. During the discussion today, our group had a lively conversation about *customers service*.  It was a healthy debate that had participants suggesting three distinct three positions: - You can’t have enough customer service - You can have too much customer service and become overbearing - There is a happy middle that delivers just the right amount of customer service **The Case for “You Can’t Have Enough Customer Service”** The proponents of this philosophy shared that a customer-centric approach provides customers with unexpected levels of intense customer service and are “there” for customers whenever and wherever they need us.  The group made an analogy of coffee service at a fine restaurant. In the customer-centric world, the service staff is ready and anticipating the coffee needs of customers before customers get to a quarter of the cup left and are constantly refilling the cup. **The Case for “Too Much Customer Service”** The proponents of this philosophy shared that too much customer service can be overbearing and troublesome to customers who don’t want it.  In the coffee analogy, that would be like a server hovering over a customer trying to fill the cup when the customer wants to relax and enjoy the coffee with limited interference. **The Case for Middle-of-the-Road Customer Service** The proponents of this philosophy shared that customer service is a basic necessity and offering foundational, middle levels of customer service is perfectly acceptable.  They shared that typically the value focus here would be on price, marketing, and other factors that are more appealing to customers than the service element.  During our classroom discussion the two other factions (pro-service and too-much-service) pointed out that this approach is watered-down and provides little to no value of service over the long term. **The Best Practice** So, what’s the best practice?  Is there such a thing as too much customer service?  Based on the discussion and my research, I propose there is no easy answer to the question.  I took a moment to Google the term “*Is there such a thing as too much customer service*” and found over 37,000,000 hits in less than half a second which tells you everything you need to know about the topic. That data indicates there are lots of experts and a lot of answers but no concrete answers. In looking at the best practices of Business Acumen and a focus on customer service, I think there are three best practices to consider: 1) Measure it The first thing you need is data.  Where are you specifically in terms of customer service execution data?  Too much or not enough? The answer is to gather a lot of strong and reliable data from third party vendors and others who specialize in this area.  The one thing you want to do is make sure you have a diversity of data points and aren’t relaying on internal functions such as your sales team for all the data.  Internal resources are not going to be reliable and unbiased. 2) Align to your strategy After you’ve gathered reliable data to assess your current position, the next and most important thing you can do is to align your customer service strategy to your overall [business strategy](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/business-level-strategy-diagnosing-conflict-in-strategy-execution). This should be easy, but it’s hard aligning people to the strategy.  Basically, if you have a [Customer Intimacy strategy](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/7-powerful-tips-of-flawless-customer-intimacy-execution), you need to lead your market in customer service.  Your customer service and ability to customize are most likely the most important decision your company will make. 3) Train your people The third best practice is to focus your [talent development](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/5-talent-development-tips-expert) and training investments toward providing your team with the skills they need to execute flawless customer service that is based on your strategy and value proposition to customers.  Customer service training in 2018 and beyond is more than sitting in a training rooms and learning about 1960’s-based customer service; it has to be dynamic, interactive, and provides people to change their behaviors during the training process. [![Why Business Acumen Matters ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1153922/ef562d5a-acb6-45df-86ae-098c09e7fcc0.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1153922/ef562d5a-acb6-45df-86ae-098c09e7fcc0) ![Robert Brodo](https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/Blogs/rob-brodo-author.png) **About The Author** Robert Brodo is co-founder of Advantexe. He has more than 20 years of training and business simulation experience. [**](https://www.advantexe.com) [**](https://twitter.com/robrodo) [**](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/rob-brodo/0/334/574) COMMENTS ### SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL ### About Advantexe Advantexe is a gold medal winning training and performance improvement organization specializing in the development and delivery of interactive learning journeys using computer-based business simulations as the catalyst for learning and change in the areas of: Business Acumen, Business Leadership, and Strategic Business Selling learning solutions. 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