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Standards and
Norms: Delivering on
the Service Promise
In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take
control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do
once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do
consistently.
—Anthony Robbins
Motivational Guru
While a service vision describes the experience you want to
create for customers, a service standard communicates what
you strive to be—every time, in similar fashion—across the or-
ganization so customers can count on a consistent style, atti-
tude, or manner from your staff. A service norm, on the other
hand, describes what you strive to do, every time, in the same
fashion so customers receive consistent action, effort, or exe-
cution.
For example, if the service standard is “we provide ...