Lessons I’ve Learned From Security Guard Service Clients

I am lucky to have had great coworkers, managers, and direct reports at many of the companies I have worked.  Many of them have taught me some very valuable lessons.  But the most valuable lessons that I have learned about business have come directly from clients.  In fact, my four most profound lessons came from several security guard service clients that I once had.  Those four lessons have guided me through difficult situations in both my business  and personal life.  I hope that you will find them as helpful as I have.

Clients, Especially Security Guard Service Clients, Don’t Like Surprises

Most of your customers like surprises like free gifts and discounts, but they do not like being surprised by incidents involving security.  I once received an early morning call from a client who was very upset about some vandalism that had occurred on his property.  What I remember most about that verbal lashing was that he was not as upset about the vandalism as he was that the guard hadn’t seen it.  In fact, it was one of his own employees that had alerted him to the vandalism.  After that incident, I came to understand two important principles for managing security guard services: 1) Officers who are not observant make the client look incompetent for choosing that particular security guard service provider; 2) If officers miss things, it makes the client think that the officers don’t care.  Clients generally understand that things are going to happen, but when they do, they expect the security officer to be the one telling them about it.

Lesson 1:  When your security guard service isn’t meeting expectations it makes the client look bad.
Lesson 2:  If there is an incident, the officer should be the first one to relay the information, hopefully in the form of an incident report.

Perception Is Reality

I remember once talking to an officer who had become “fed up with the management team not listening to the officers”.  Hearing the officer speak those words came as a bit of a shock to me.  This officer was one of our most valuable employees and she was always treated as such by management.  From that same conversation I learned that one of our field supervisors had been engaging in inappropriate conversations with some of our female officers.  While listening to her, I was also shocked by how long it had been going on.  Like many managers, I’d always had an open door policy so I could be available to hear our officers’ grievances.   Unfortunately, the supervisor had been portraying himself as part of the executive team.  Consequently, she and other officers felt that their complaints would fall on deaf ears.  The supervisors actions had completely changed our officers’ perception of what was and was not acceptable within our organization.

Lesson 3: It was an unfortunate lesson, but I learned to always solicit and understand our employees’ perceptions of the company.

Thank Your Security Guard Service Customers

As part of our company’s customer retention strategy, we made sure that during the Christmas Season ALL of our customers received a token of our appreciation.  These tokens ranged from tins of Garrett’s caramel popcorn to Apple iPods.  After the second year of this tradition, one of our customers told me that we were one of just a few companies who made the effort to show our appreciation.  That one statement spurred us to develop a culture that was not just about providing great customer service, but also about showing our customers that we were appreciative.

Providing great security guard service to your clients can often be a daunting challenge.  Despite that fact, when you have customers who pay $100,000+ per year, you should NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER forget to show your appreciation.   Although many companies find that gift giving can be a touchy subject, there are great guides available to help steer you down the right path.

Lesson 4: Never stop showing your appreciation, it helps solidify client relationships.

Managing our company’s security guard services was both challenging and rewarding.  I learned more about myself and other people in my years managing those security guard services than I could have ever imagined.  Despite all the lessons I’ve learned, my clients have been and continue to be my best teachers.

What lessons have you learned from your clients?  Please leave your comments below.

By Courtney Sparkman 

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