A while ago I posted The New Golden Rule. The classic Golden Rule is 'do as you would be done by' or, in the Christian tradition 'do unto others...'. Every major religion has an equivalent at its heart, saying treat others as you want to be treated yourself.

But it needs updating. You need to treat customers as THEY want to be treated, not as you would like. There are universal basics about how people should treat each other, yes, of course. But beyond the basics of politeness, attentiveness, friendliness, efficiency, etc...You need to discern what the customer wants and how they want it.

Chris Daffy has come to the same conclusion (which is reassuring, as I respect Chris's view and get a bit worried if I am out on a limb and don't notice anyone else independently saying the same thing). Chris gives one or two nice examples in his latest email newsletter, which I'd recommend. Chris concludes:

"...great service is not the service you would like, it’s the service the customer would like.