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Occasionally, the schedule for Assignment for Success gets so
hectic and incredibly busy that we don’t always have
the time to properly research and prepare the marketing
newsletter that we promise to send you on a timely basis. So
we’ve asked permission of one of our favorite contributors to
Little Known Facts website and business entrepreneur Michael
Bryant to republish one of his business articles that we think
you may find useful.
With the recession still ongoing, every business is looking for
ways to help improve their bottom line and keep their customers
coming back to them for future business. The importance of
providing outstanding customer service goes without saying if
you are looking for repeat business. Having said that, here
are….
Eleven Secrets to
Providing Superb Customer Service
A few years ago, a survey was conducted that indicated customers
leave their service provider for four basic reasons: 14% leave
because they're dissatisfied with the quality of the product or
service, 9% leave because of price, 5% leave for other reasons
and a whopping 72% leave because of "supplier indifference".
No matter what you do for a living,
unless you work with Coke machines all day, you are in the
people business and, by definition, the customer service
business. None of us “sells” what we sell. We all sell personal
attention and quick response. Those two factors, I would
suggest, are the difference between being a very effective
organization and an organization that struggles.
Over the past 30 years I have worked
with scores of businesses and thousands of individuals helping
them deal with the various issues surrounding customer service.
Here are eleven secrets they have taught me.
1. The customer is
NOT always right--they’re just always the customer.
How many
times have you heard the phrase:” The customer is always
right?” Now you and I both know that’s not true. Guess what? It
really doesn’t matter because whether they’re right or wrong
they’re always the customer. It is our job to give them the
benefit of the doubt as often as possible. If I have a client
scheduled for an 8 o’clock appointment and they show up at 8:30
claiming that’s the time we made the appointment, then it’s my
mistake. It doesn’t matter if God himself was there when we
made the 8 o’clock appointment. They’re the customer, and the
customer is right.
2. Nobody cares how much you know
until they know how much you care.
People
want to do business with people they feel care about them.
Nothing will drive a client or customer away quite like
indifference. Customer service involves more than good technical
knowledge. Make sure you are teaching your people the importance
of providing both accurate information while also communicating
interest and concern.
3. No matter
how hard you try to please, your best will be good enough for
some people and not good enough for others.
There
is a sign in our local post office that reads: “ If you are
grouchy, irritable, or just plain mean, there will be a $10
charge for putting up with you.” While this is meant in jest,
the warning may apply to some of your customers or clients. We
all know that despite our best efforts, the customer will not
always be happy. Often times the client you charge the least and
do the most for will be the most demanding and the least
satisfied. This is the phenomenon known as “entitlement” and
everyone has a story of his or her “entitled client.” Just
remember, if you are honestly doing the best you can, that’s
really all you can do. If you lose the client, you lose the
client.
4. The
customer doesn’t care about your problems; they want you to
solve their problem.
You may be tired, you may be overwhelmed and you may really not
feel like talking. That’s something you may need to share with
someone. That someone, however, is not the customer. Tell
a coworker. Tell your spouse. Call your mother. Just don’t
bring it up when you’re talking to the customer.
5. The key
to great customer service is the willingness to do whatever it
takes as long as the solution is not immoral, illegal or
unethical.
We know
you can’t please everyone but often times doing that little
something extra can make a world of difference. Our family has a
vacation home in Wilmington, New York- population 1,100. The Big
Little Supermarket is the store in town. Next to the
supermarket is a little hardware store. Last summer I was in the
grocery store looking for an item to fix my sink. The owner came
over and asked if he could be of assistance. I explained what I
was looking for. He said the hardware store had the item but
that store closed at five o’clock. Though it was 8 p.m., I
explained that I was really hoping to complete my project that
night. He looked at me. “Come with me.” he said. We walked
across the parking lot to the hardware store. He took out a key,
opened the door, turned on the light and motioned where I could
find the part I was seeking. We went back to the grocery store
and I paid for the item. Now that’s great customer
service!
6. Good
manners is good business.
“Please,”
“thank you,” “How can I help?” “Will there be anything else?”
These are marks of great customer service. Staying thankful,
grateful, and humble are the marks of successful people. When
was the last time you picked up the phone or wrote a note to a
client or customer thanking them for giving you the opportunity
to be of service? Here’s the deal on “thank you.” It’s possible
to say it too little, but its almost impossible to say it too
often.
7. To get
your employees to practice good customer service, treat them
as if they were your most important customer.
Are you
available to clients when they call but consistently unavailable
to your workers? Do you show kindness to your customers but
impatience with your subordinates? Do your clients feel valued
while your employees feel ignored? Your ability to deliver
exceptional customer service is as good as your unhappiest
employee. Strive to have both happy customers and happy
employees.
8. A good rule of thumb.
A
satisfied customer will tell two people about their experience;
a dissatisfied customer will tell ten people. This is one of
those statistics that has been thrown around for years. Is it
exactly true? Who cares? The point is dissatisfied people are
more verbal about the service they receive than satisfied
people. When someone receives bad service, they sometimes feel
they have an inherent responsibility to “warn” others. And in
doing so they will often exaggerate how bad the service was.
Want to create the PR firm from hell? Give bad service.
9. Be
available.
Customers want to talk to real people. Don’t you? In the 1982
runaway best seller Megatrends,, author John
Naisbitt discussed the need to offset “high tech” with “high
touch.” When customers or clients have a problem, they want to
talk to a real person not a voice activated prompter. Though you
may be tempted for time and cost reasons to go with a menu-type
answering service, it’s important that you also have an option
that will return the client to a real person. Superb customer
service is about ongoing relationships not computer generated
interactions.
( Psst… Wanna see a cool website? Go to
http://www.gethuman.com . It lists the ways to get around
the interactive voice response and reach a real live person in
hundreds of organizations nationwide.)
10. Tell the
truth.
Tell the customer what they can have and when they can have it.
If you’re not going to be able to meet a deadline on time, tell
the customer. If you’re not going to be available for four
hours, tell the customer. If you don’t know the answer to a
question, tell the customer. If you don’t have the manpower or
resources to do a good job, tell the customer. As soon as you
know the truth, tell them the truth.
11.
Listen.
Your job is to know two things about your customers--what their
needs are and what their concerns are so you can provide the
best possible service. The customer gets to decide if they
received good service. Not you. It’s difficult to know what
those needs and concerns are without listening. It’s important
to inquire from time to time if your customers are happy with
the service they are receiving and if there is anything else you
can do for them. Solve their problem, meet their need, and save
or make them money and most of the time they’ll come back.
Conclusion
There you have it. Nothing particularly earth shattering here.
Just some good common sense ideas handed down to me by some very
smart clients.
Our thanks to Michael
Bryant, founder of CTS Consulting, Inc and regular contributor
to Little Known Facts Show website for these terrific reminders
on the importance of good customer service and how to keep them
coming back – especially in these recessionary times!
Learn more about Michael
Bryant at his website:
www.go2ctsonline.com
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