Customer Service and Beyond by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC
Good customer service is a secret to success in any business. Though the details vary by industry, the basic customer service principles are the same. Providing excellent customer service to your clients helps ensure your business thrives. In most businesses, gaining customers is expensive, so keeping these customers after you’ve won them is critical. Providing good customer service is the single biggest thing you can do to keep those customers. Here are five customer service principles that transcend industries.
- Know your product or service. You should be able to talk knowledgeably about your products. When customers have questions, you should be able to answer these. When you don’t know the answer, you should be committed to getting the answer quickly for the customer.
- Provide timely service. Don’t make customers sit on hold or wait in ridiculous lines. Of course, there are times when business is busier than other times, but do your best to keep the customer’s wait short.
- Be friendly. If you’re a customer facing employee, you don’t get to be in a bad mood. Be nice, every time, even when the customer isn’t nice to you.
- Keep your promises. If you tell a customer you will call them on Thursday with the answer, then call them on Thursday. If you don’t have the answer, at least let them know that you are still working on it and give them a new time when you will call them back.
- Follow up. Be proactive in following up on customer problems. Rather than assuming a problem is resolved because the customer didn’t call back, take the time to call and ask if the problem is resolved.
- Be reasonable about rules. It’s imperative that companies have rules. However, do your best not to apply rules arbitrarily, or use these to avoid doing what is right. When the rules just don’t make sense for the customer’s situation, be willing to go to bat for the customer to get an exception approved. Be willing to admit it when a rule shouldn’t apply.
Discuss these six principles within your organization and assess how you’re doing as a group. While these all seem like obvious things to do, they may not be everyday practice. Look for ways to improve your customer service using these ideas. Your customers, and your bottom line, will thank you.