Like the weather, customer service is something everybody complains about, but nobody seems to do anything meaningful about.

Part of the problem is the fact that when we say, customer service, we mean different things. If we havent defined our terms, then we promote misunderstandings, conflicting standards, and inaccurate measures.

Plus, were less likely to make customers happy on a consistent and reliable basis, and well miss opportunities for generating customer loyalty, repeat and referral business, and consistently higher profits, presuming these are our goals.

Lets start with basics, a simple Economics 101 refresher, and go from there.

There is a commonplace distinction in economics between goods and services. Our economy produces both.

Refrigerators, potatoes, tanks, ball point pens, and air conditioners are considered goods. Theyre things, tangible entities that are easily observable and measurable.

Services include haircuts, your accountants calculations, and your teachers lecture.

The American economy is said to be a mix of 70% services, and 30% goods. Because of this lopsided proportion, youll hear broadcasters and commentators repeat the fact that America has a service economy.

Being in a service economy means at least 70% of us are directly, inextricably, and completely engaged for our livings in delivering customer serviceliterally--a service to customers. (But if you ask most people Are you in customer service? theyll say no, thinking youre referring to a specific department or to a narrow business function.)

Even if were employed in the goods sector, say in manufacturing, were still tethered to customer service. Savvy economists point out: There is no such thing as a commodity; a never changing product or raw material, which has no service dimension attached to it.

Take copper wire. It has to be delivered, invoiced, financed, explained, and apologized for, if it doesnt meet certain requirements or specifications. The wire doesnt sell itself. Order entry people, salespeople, and delivery people have to get it to a customers door.

All of these helping hands servethey add value to the wire itself, and their ministrations become part of the product that is sold and bought.

The refrigerator that finds its way to our kitchens is also inventoried, displayed in a retail space or online, sold, financed, delivered on time or late. Fridges are bundled with future, contingent services memorialized in warranties, promises to provide customer support in the event units malfunction.

What we think of as Customer Service is obviously a huge part of every economic transaction that is made.

There are two parts to an effectively delivered economic service: (1) Competence and (2) Human Factors.

My barber needs to cut my hair in an acceptable manner, and be available on time for my appointment. Reduced to essentials, thats the competence part of his service, the basic satisfaction that Im bargaining for.

But if hes a persistent grouch, and I had a barber like this once, then the human relations component of his service is lacking.

In that situation, Im getting less than full value for my money. I expect a good haircut and a pleasant hair cutter. The bare bones service, however technically competent, needs to be paired with good customer service, in this case a pleasant, polite communication style.

Typically when competence and human relations skills are both present, customer satisfaction is created.

Weve all had the experience of eating at a restaurant with great food but lousy service. Its a classical approach-avoidance conflict. Sooner or later, well probably stop patronizing the place, unless we enjoy mistreatment or there is a secret satisfaction such as the possibility of spotting a celebrity.

The dental hygienist that refuses to clean your teeth without providing a tedious lecture about diet, brushing style and flossing also creates service dissonance and an approach-avoidance conflict.

The knowledgeable professor who has a keen mind but who obviously prefers to be doing research rather than student advisement is also offering a defective, incomplete, and mixed-signal service.

If you take a flight from New York to LA, and someone asks you, How was your flight? your response will be an evaluation, mainly, of the service you received.

Your reply could include three obvious dimensions: (1) The smoothness of the ride, whether there were bumps en route and a hard or soft landing; (2) The overall comfort you experienced during passage, having adequate legroom, meals, and easy aisle access to lavatories; and (3) Serendipitous factors such as whether you were belted next to a speed-talker who wouldnt let you do your work or shut your eyes.

These service dimensions overlap.

Experiencing turbulence, the pilot that changes flight paths for smoother air is definitely providing a service, while acting competently to avoid potential danger. His sensitivity to human factors, especially empathy for the comfort of passengers, is informing his decision to seek alternative routing.

The legroom and number of aisles you find on board are determined by the airlines based on a tradeoff between economics and comfort. Do they use bigger, more comfortable planes? Do they squeeze an extra row or two of seats in, making everyone a little less comfortable?

The cost of jet fuel could have recently spiked, so theyre ditching amenities in an effort to maintain profit margins. This appears to be an economic decision, but it is unavoidably a service decision, as well.

That blabber youre sitting next to is NOT the fault of the carrier, unless you request being moved to an unoccupied alternative seat. Then if you are needlessly denied a change, this becomes a service issue for which the airline is answerable.

Does a parent traveling with small children in tow have easy access to a diaper changing station in the lavatory?

An airlines service contains even more facets.

Service starts long before the flight takes off, very possibly with the memory one fosters regarding a prior flight she took, or a friend or a colleague took on that or another carrier. If the conveyance was bumpy, less than satisfying, or too costly, then these perceptions will taint the expectations the customer fosters.

A bad trip could lower her expectations, making her easier to satisfy this time, or it could function the opposite way, making her hyper-critical, shortening her fuse.

Is the passenger able to book a reservation with relative ease, obtaining accommodations on the most desired dates and at the most convenient times?

Are the reservations or travel agents nice and easy to communicate with? Was the online booking fast and without glitches?

So far, we can see that service is universal, its everywhere, indispensable.

Yet, there is a competing perception, that customer service is an option, an extra, a non-bargained for favor that a company provides to its clients.

Im a great lawyer, so I dont have to be nice, goes the thinking.

Do you know the number one reason lawyers are sued for malpractice? They dont communicate effectively, typically failing to return phone calls in a timely way!

Be grateful were getting you to your destination safely, is increasingly the message of airlines to passengers.

In other words, if were competent, thats enough service. You dont hear the once frequently recited mission statement very much, anymore:

Were here for your comfort, and if theres anything we can do to make your flight more comfortable, dont hesitate to ask.

But believers in the concept that you can satisfy customers by being competent, but unfriendly, are kidding themselves, just as much as those that believe you can be a charming fool, technically inept, and prosper over the long haul.

Complete customer service requires technical competence and appropriate human relations skills.

We need both, always have, and always will.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books and more than a thousand articles. A frequent expert commentator on radio and TV, he is quoted in prominent publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Business Week. President of Clientrelations.com and Customersatisfaction.com, his seminars and training programs are sponsored internationally and he is a top-rated faculty member at more than 40 universities, including UC Berkeley and UCLA. Gary brings over two decades of management and consulting experience to the table, with the best academic credentials in the speaking and training industry. A Ph.D. from the Annenberg School For Communication at USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a J.D. degree from Loyola, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies and successful family owned and operated firms.

He can be seen on CNBC at: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=417455932# and reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com