If I were to tell you that I am a caregiver by nature, you might think that I am in the medical profession. Someone that takes care of people that are sick perhaps. The truth of the matter is I have spent my entire professional career in the hospitality/casino industry.

To deliver excellent customer service means a customer service employee needs to understand the very fragile nature and definition of who is a customer. Webster's defines a customer as one that purchases a commodity or service. An individual usually having some specified distinctive trait, a real tough customer. Customer Service is defined as contribution to the welfare of others. In a technical world, these definitions would suffice.

However, in the world of true customer service, we have to understand the fragility of the customer. When I teach customer service employees Customer Service, I always start out by asking which of them are getting ready for that well deserved vacation. After a show of hands, I go through the litany of the excitement, the planning and anticipation of getting away. Then I ask them how they will feel if their customer service expectations are not met after working so long and hard to be able to take their special vacation.

Co-workers really do not like us very much when it is US that is getting away. The truth is we all spend our lives getting away from something. We get away from work, the kids, the bills, the news or just life in general. And when we feel the need to get away, we find that it does not always mean a 2 week vacation. It could be a long three-day weekend, an evening out, or just a quiet cup of coffee. Customers are fragile when they come to us. Inevitably they are silently telling us to please just take care of me. I do not want to have to make my bed, cook a meal or get up for my second cup of coffee. I do not want to have to make decisions or worry about anything.

Customers Service does not just apply to the hospitality industry. By its very definition, Customer Service is anyone, anytime, purchasing a commodity or service. And it is at that very moment that the simple definition of a customer is all of us.

At some point in time, we are all customers. In today's rapidly moving world, the ONLY competitive advantage a company has is service. Even in the invisible world of the Internet, Google understands this fact more than their competition. Every change in Google search engine algorithms are designed with the customer in mind.

So remember, when you are taking care of a customer, the only thing you have to see at that moment is you. Take care of your customer as you want to be served and you will find that service is an honorable moment each and every time you deliver exceptional service.