During a recent trip to Townsville visiting clients, I was in the passenger seat staring to think that Wayne was lost when we pulled into a service station.

As we pulled into the pump I got a real shock when I realised that this was an actual service station – where the attendants actually fill your car for you. If you don't know what I am taking about ask someone in their 60s.

The station was attached to a little mechanic workshop with the business clearly designed to develop relationships with customers – to win both their fuel purchases and automotive repair work.

It got me thinking about the significant push over the last half century away from customer contact. For example, you’ve probably noticed that Woolworths have rolled out self service checkouts, the theory being you can get one person to man up to eight checkouts, resulting in faster service which means better customer experience and more repeat business.

This might be well and good for a huge corporation, but what are the unseen costs for your business? Think of it this way, by automating or shortening a part of your service, you could be losing a great opportunity to really get to know your client. The service station attendant could casually ask about how the car is going, if there are any issues, which could directly lead to more work and a more satisfied client.

Are there any opportunities in your business to provide a better service to your clients? Improving your service is a win-win situation for all parties, clients get better service and you get more satisfied clients – improving word-of-mouth referrals and profits.

Ravi Sharma