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If you
want to be number one in customer service, you have to do a number of things
that make you stand out from the crowd. Here are 7 ways that will put you on
top.
1. Roll
Out The Red Carpet For Everyone.
If there’s one thing people hate about poor service, it’s
getting treated differently from others. It makes them feel inferior and
second-class. Gary Richter says you should roll out the red carpet for
everyone, but particularly those who don’t expect it. “I tell my employees, if
we roll out the red carpet for a billionaire, they won’t even notice. If we
roll it out for millionaires, they expect it. If we roll it out for
thousandaires, they appreciate it. And, if we roll out the red carpet for
hundredaires, they’ll tell everyone they know.”
2. Take
Time To Know Your Customers.
The fast pace of modern living together with advances in
technology have together put a non-human face on much of our customer service.
If you can find a way to re-connect with your customers one-on-one, you’ll
strike a chord with your customers that will be like a streak of gold. Kathy
Burns remembers a time when people took time to care and listen. “Some of you
may remember, and others may have heard stories about, a time in life when the
doctor would come to your home to check on you if you were ill. Or maybe you’ve
heard about going down to your local pharmacy and having the owner greet you by
name and ask how you’re doing. Not only did they ask, but they really wanted to
know the answer and they took the time to listen to what you had to say. That’s
customer service – taking the time to know your customers, really caring about
how they feel, and wanting to go the extra mile to make sure they’re happy.”
3. Be
Easy To Do Business With.
One of the problems with modern businesses is that the systems we
use to save time and money are often devised for the company’s benefit and not
the customers. As a result, the customer experience is frustrating and
difficult. Tracey Lowrance says this needs to be reversed. “Customers expect
single source service. Customers don’t want to be transferred to every unit of
your business to have their problems solved. They want to be able to do
business with you with the slightest amount of discomfort. You must be easy to
do business with.”
4. Go
Out Of Your Way To Make Sure They’re Happy.
One of the most important things your
customers want from you is a guarantee that your product or service will work.
So move heaven and earth to make sure it does. Bob Leduc suggests you shouldn’t
make people pay until they are fully happy. “Instead of offering a money back
guarantee, a service business can provide a guarantee to solve the customer’s
problem. For example, a plumber can guarantee to come back without charge as
often as necessary to stop the leak. A landscaper can replace without charge
any plants that don’t survive for at least 6 months. A sales consultant can
continue working without charge until the promised sales results are achieved.”
5.
Notice What Customers See.
A big part of what customers think about you comes from what they
see and believe. Personal Selling Power noticed the following difference in two
candy stores. “Although two competing candy stores had the same prices,
neighbourhood kids preferred one store to the other. When asked why, they said,
“Because the person in the good store always gives us more candy. The girl in
the other store takes candy away.” True? Not really. In the good store the
owner would always make sure to put a small amount of candy on the scale and
then keep adding to it. In the bad store, the owner would pile a heaping amount
of candy on the scale, and then take it off until it hit the right weight. The
same amount of candy was sold, but perception is everything.”
6. Work
On Everything The Customer Experiences.
The customer experience isn’t just
receiving the service or buying the goods. It’s about all the other little bits
and pieces in-between. Such as the manner of the receptionist, the state of the
floors and tables, the attitude of other staff, the ease of parking, the tone
of the notices, the smile or lack of it on the face of the checkout team. Be
like the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas who have a slogan that says: “We spend 600
hours a week pampering the plants. Imagine what we’ll do for our guests.”
7.
Believe In Customer Service From The Bottom Of Your Soul
To
become a great service organization, you have to believe in customer service
from the bottom of your soul. It has to be part of the way you work. Anita
Roddick, founder of retail cosmetic franchise group Body Shop puts it like
this: “I am still looking for the
modern equivalent of those Quakers who ran successful businesses, made money
because they offered honest products and treated people decently, worked hard,
spent honestly, saved honestly, gave honest value for money, put back more than
they took out and told no lies. This
business creed, sadly, seems long forgotten."
If you take time to
look, there are many examples of great customer service around you. Follow
these 7 laws of unbeatable customer service and you’ll join them.
© Eric
Garner, ManageTrainLearn.com
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Your business can’t
survive without customers. That’s the number one law of customer service. Find
out what the other laws are in this article.
customers, customer care, customer service,
customer experience, customer management, crm, getting new customers |
