If you're in the service industry, whether travel or retail, you might pride yourself in offering excellent customer service as a selling advantage over your competitors. But is there a moment when good service becomes too good — unprofitable and unproductive?

I was at a store recently when a clerk answered the phone. Although I could only hear one side of the conversation, I got the gist of the exchange. "No, we're not on Maple Lane; that's another store." ... "No, I don't know the name of the store off Highway 193, but let me see if I can look it up for you online." ... "Oh, OK, let me get their phone number for you." ... "Their store hours? Let me look it up for you."

Yes, the clerk was most helpful. And that's nice for the person on the other end of the call. However, the store is in business to get paid for being helpful. Where was the payoff in the clerk removing himself from servicing actual customers in the store to attend to a person who wanted to patronize a competitor?

It is possible the phone caller was so impressed with this phone service that he will patronize this store another time. But more likely, the caller gave as much thought to the clerk's information-giving as he does the phone directory, which is next to none.

On another occasion, I witnessed a cashier taking a phone call from a woman who wanted to know whether a laundry list of specific products and brand names were in stock. The checkout line grew longer as the cashier struggled to capture the specific brand names and sizes of the products, finally handing off the phone to another staffer who could check availability and price, and put them in a basket for her to pick up.

That staffer was also interrupted by a customer in the store needing help. So that clerk interrupted another clerk who was restocking inventory. Finally the floor manager got involved and called the person back to relay that they had similar products in stock, but not those specific brand names. Click. End of "customer."

Four people, a half-hour investment total. Was that a good investment of staff's time? I do know of grocery stores that will fill your personal shopping list, but that comes with a service fee. In other words, they get paid for that service.

And that begs the question: What is a customer?

A customer is one who is paying for a product or service. You can be a past customer; you can be a prospective customer. But a current customer is paying — present tense — for a product or service.

Should a prospective customer be treated exactly as a current customer? Too many times I've been in a checkout line, money in hand, only to be delayed by the cashier answering the phone to answer questions for a prospective customer. That gives the message that future customers take a higher priority than the customer staring at you in the face. Giving precedence to future business is a surefire way to lose the customers in front of you.

The solution isn't to ignore future customers, but to delineate limits on how much service you offer them until they become paying customers.

The phone caller wants to know if you carry specific brands and sizes of shoes? Let them know you offer a variety and invite them to come to the store and see the diversity of stock you offer. Another phone caller wants to know how much a honeymoon to Hawaii would cost? Invite them in for a consultation so you can customize to their specifications.

Absolutely offer service, but keep focused on the fact that you should be getting paid for the service you render. Without payment, you're merely operating a free information dispensary, not a business.