As a business owner, and as a discerning consumer myself,
I've seen my fair share of do's and don'ts in the realm of
customer service, and I know what makes for a bad, average,
above average, and finally stellar customer experience.
It's amazing what you start to notice after you have been a
small business owner yourself for a few years, when you are
on the receiving end of a customer service experience.
You start to really notice the little nuances that you may
not have noticed or even cared about before you went into
business for yourself. It's not like I didn't know what
bad and good customer service was before, it's just that
I've become more intuned to it now since it is the
cornerstone of my bread butter as well.
When I have a really good or a really bad experience as a
client, I tend to mull it over and figure out why it
bothered me, and what the business owner or representative
of the serving business could have done better, or how they
could have handled it differently to make my experience
better.
This line of thinking has led to what I call, in my world
as a customer and a business owner, the foundation of good
customer service. If you can grasp these as a business
owner, and pass them on to anyone who works for you or
ingrain them in your corporate culture, well, you only have
one way to go, and that's up.
The first rule is to always maintain professionalism. This
may seem like common sense to you or the next reader, but
what seems like common sense doesn't always translate into
the right thing being done out there when clients are
involved.
I'll give you an example. I was in a small privately owned
spice shop a few weeks back, in an upscale shopping
development. I like to shop there once in a while for some
hard to find spices and sauces, and am willing to pay the
higher than average price because it is a specialty store
and because it has a nice, calming atmosphere.
I have been to this particular place at least a dozen times
before and consistently had a good experience - nothing I
would categorize as spectacular, but acceptable, and
definitely not "bad".
The last time I went to browse happened to be with my
sister who was in from out of town. The person working at
the counter, and apparently the only employee in the store
at the time, and quite possibly the owner for all I know,
was in a heated discussion with someone who appeared to be
an acquaintance. Not only were we not greeted and made to
feel welcome, but their argument actually made us so
uncomfortable that we had to leave the store.
This is what I call the ultimate in bad customer service
and definitely the ultimate bad experience. Did this
person have any idea that we walked out because of their
heated discussion? Who knows, but the fact is, once we
walked in, the discussion should have stopped, or they
could have carried it on in the back room.
We've all had those experiences when we've felt ignored or
even trivialized at a place of business, and that always
leaves a lasting negative impression that is detrimental to
that business' customer base.
So, rule number one is that consummate professionalism
ALWAYS is, in my opinion a necessary foundation for great
customer relations.
The customer always comes first, and this means their needs
supercede any personal drama, job angst or other issues you
as a business owner or as a representative of a business
may have at the moment.
The second rule is to always make sure a client gets timely
responses to any issues or complaints they may have. In
the online world, this is especially an easy one to
overlook, since it's easier to just not answer or ignore an
email for a while.
I can't tell you how many times I've had bad experiences
with this one. In my line of business, I deal with a lot
of people online and over emails, and many times I will
either never get a response to a question or complaint, or
it will be delayed several days, even weeks.
This always leaves a bad taste in my mouth as a customer,
and has even forced my hand at finding a different service
who values me as a customer and responds to me in a timely
fashion.
On top of a timely response to questions or issues, it is
especially annoying and even angering to clients when they
receive a response that is not relevant to their question,
or only answers part of it or dances around the true
problem.
I know you've all experienced the "form letter" approach to
problem solving, where you get a response that is supposed
to resolve your question or issue that only creates more
questions, or does not directly address your problem at
all. And I also know how frustrating that is as a customer.
Please, as a business owner, make sure you are supplying
on-point and direct resolutions to your customers problems.
They will appreciate it and remember it.
Last but not least is showing, or training your people to
show and actually have, empathy for the customer. We've
also shared that similar experience where we've called
about a question, problem or issue with a product or
service, and are met with a cold, unsympathetic voice on
the other end of the line who doesn't seem to care or want
to really help.
Hire good people. Hire people who have demonstrated at
other jobs a genuine desire to do the best they can for
customers, and treat them as they would like to be treated
if they had called with the same question or issue.
As a business owner, if you are not a one man show, your
business is only as good as your employees, so make sure
you are hiring the right people, and training them to
handle customers in an empathetic, timely, professional and
courteous manner.
----------------------------------------------------
Danna Schneider is the founder and primary editorial
contributor of http://www.primeratecredit.com where
information on low interest credit cards, special deals on
low to no interest credit cards, and the best deals
currently going in credit and loans. She also manages an
online financial and credit info and catalogue on the best
deals in credit cards called
http://www.creditcardcatalogue.com .
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