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League tables published annually show which country is top service provider. They rightly encourage people to compete. Most countries now count tourism as a major industry so there are very real and immediate consequences to poor service. Even in countries where service needs are purely domestic, prompt and good service is a vital part of a happy life.

From a retailer we expect comprehensive knowledge about the product or service he is selling. He must tell us its capabilities and shortcomings, the price opportunities of special offers and deals and what they mean, what warranties are provided and what they cover, the advantages of this product over competitors. A retailer is not a warehouse; he is a knowledge base interfacing between supplier and customer.

He must also know of when and what developments are likely, how the technology of the product group is expected to progress and what competing products or systems might provide comparable benefits and value. His after-sales service for dealing with faulty or damaged product must be of the highest quality.

From a restaurant we seek food safety through high level hygiene, prompt attention when we require it, consideration of our special needs or likes and good guidance on the meaning of the dishes on the menu.

Much service is provided by those to whom we outsource work which we could not do or which would be more expensive to do in-house. Everything from medical treatment to business accounting and company secretarial compliance has to be provided by those who have been educated and trained for the work.

From these services we expect swift and accurate response to enquiries however they are received, delivery of promises, sound and adequate advice to enable us to comply with regulations, professionalism throughout including quality standards, honesty of information and disclosure of potentially conflicting interests.

As customers we have responsibilities, too. We cannot expect suppliers to provide a good service if we do not cooperate with the actions they require of us. Our promptness should equal theirs.

Complaining and grumbling about poor quality service is seldom effective. We should still bring it to the attention of those who can remedy it, even when the response is inadequate. However, our experience is that encouragement of the good is usually better than castigation of the bad.

To this end we have a page on our web site – www.TerrificMentors.com – called CAUGHT IN THE ACT of giving good service. It appears under the tag “About you”. We are now collecting the first names to put on the site. These are coming from all over the world. If you have an example of really good service, please tell us about it – in the way described on the web site – and we will do the rest.

As it grows, we hope to build a cadre of excellent individuals from all sorts of suppliers. In this way we hope to shine a torch for those who still have a way to go to achieve a place in this Roll of Top Service.