Customer Service:
It's Not Just a Department, It's An Experience - August 2010
Welcome to the September issue of "Customer Service: It's Not Just a Department; It's an Experience."
September signifies back to school for the kids. I don't know about you, but I still get a rush when I see that box of Crayola 64 count crayons with the sharpener on the back! Learning isn't just for kids though. From what I see and hear, it seems that some businesses need to go back to school to learn how to take better care of their customers.
You can't seem to pick up a newspaper or hear a story about some company providing lousy customer service. The latest one was in this Sunday's New York Times about Dell Computer. I'm sure no company wants to provide lousy service, yet how many of them do just that? And today there are so many places where customers are telling stories about their experiences.
Social media + bad customer service = disaster!
Check out the teleseminar I'll be presenting on the impact social media has on customer service, or is it the impact customer service has on social media! Either way, if you want to preserve your company's reputation, you'll want to be on this call.
Welcome to our many new subscribers and new clients. Our goal is to help you improve the service you are providing to your existing customers as well as prospective customers, increase customer retention and generate additional revenue through cross-selling, up-selling and referrals.
Enjoy this month's newsletter!
In This Issue:
When It's Set In Stone | Customer Service Week | Best Practices | Trust?
What Customers Want
Let me let you in on a little secret. They want the same thing that YOU want when you're the customer!
I just came back from delivering a presentation this morning to the members of the Long Island Advancement of Small Business entitled "Customer Service: The Right Way". Much of the discussion was focused on what WE want when we are the customer. Here are some of the things WE want:
-Keep me informed
-Do something out of the ordinary
-Have integrity
-Make it memorable
-Connect with me on an emotional level
-Use my name
-Make me feel special and important
-Resolve my problem
-Listen to me
-Show empathy
-Be genuine
-Use humor (keep it clean!)
-Have a positive attitude
-Smile
-Honesty
-Exceed my expectations
-Make it easy to do business with you
-Follow up
-Do what you say you're going to do
-Quality
-Quick resolution
-Common sense
If this is what WE want when we're the customer, guess what, your customers want the same thing from you! The question is, how often are you giving it to them? And once in a while is not often enough. They want it every single time!
When you give customers what they want, they will reward you with their business. And isn't that what WE want?
Getting the Message Across
I love when I hear about companies that "get" customer service. I recently read this tip in The Alternative Board newsletter that I thought was worth sharing with you.
I have a number of "back office" employees who sometimes forget that they will often have to respond to customers' questions and issues.
When that time comes, they feel interrupted from the paper-focused task they're doing and their annoyance can easily be perceived by the customer on the telephone.
To avoid this problem, I've added "customer service" to their job descriptions (with the appropriate training) so they now accept the phone calls more willingly and realize that speedy, polite answers are part of what I pay them to do.
Lorri Cochrane, Certified Payroll and Tax Services, Bohemia, NY
Best Practices
While visiting fellow entreprenuer Rob Basso, owner of Advantage Payroll and Basso on Business, in his office, I was thrilled to see this on a white board where his customer service team sits:
Provide a good experience.
Do it right the first time.
No customers = No business
Provide excellent customer service to help the company grow.
Talk about giving a good message! Remember, what you focus on you get more of. Don't assume your employees think and act like an owner of the business. It's up to you to show them the way and constantly reinforce the importance of providing great service to every customer, every time!
Trust?
I was shopping in a women's clothing store recently and saw this situation unfold.
An employee was leaving at the end of their shift and they said to the manager: "Can you check my bag? I'm leaving." The manager went and looked through the employee's pocketbook to make sure she hadn't stolen anything from the store before she left. It seemed like an everyday occurence to me. I didn't think it was appropriate for it to happen on the sales floor. But more importantly, I don't think it should have happened at all!
What message do you think the manager is giving to the employee?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
In Conclusion...
Thanks for taking the time to read this edition of "Customer Service: It's Not Just a Department; It's an Experience". It is our hope that you not only get the customer or client, but that you also hold onto them! If you have clients, colleagues or friends who wants to hold on to their customers too, do them a favor and forward them this newsletter.
Until next time, take good care of your customers, or someone else will! See you next month!
Sincerely,
Randi Busse
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