The 3 Rs of Customer Service
What I am about to tell you may seem very obvious - you may even say DUH!!! but the fact is, - many company's forget the 3 R's of good customer service- Respect your Customer, Take Responsibility for Your Actions and Products and give your Customers a Full REFUND when it just isn't right. I promise you that if you follow these 3 simple rules you will never have to run after the same customer again! Respect the customer! Just about as plain as the nose on your face Right? Wrong! How many times have you been greeted in a less than courteous manner or worse yet- not at all!! Never lose the opportunity to make a great first impression- very rarely do you have a second chance to undo the damage done by that first encounter. No amount of advertising or even freebies, can make up for this faux pas. Remember it takes a customer 10 times of seeing your advertisement for it to become real to them. One customer has the power to tell 50 people how awful you are. That is a lot of damage control. That means that 50 people need to see your ad 10 times- that is 500 times each x 50 ? are you reeling yet??? That translates into a lot of dough!!! Wouldn't it be easier to be pay attention and be nice the first time around??? Customers- they are your business- You need them- they don't need you. They are your most valuable commodity and it doesn't take a lot for them to be disloyal- on the other hand- develop trust ? and it won't matter how much your product costs- they will still purchase Kraft over a no name. Why? Because they have been valued as a customer. Treat customers as you would like to be treated. 7 unhealthy attitudes of Disrespect ?Unprofessional greetings ?Staff who do not know company mission statement ?Staff who do not know the product ?Staff who do not understand that the customer is the only reason they are
getting a paycheck this week ?Management who don't listen to staff on how to "fix" customer service ?Giving the front line staff the authority to "fix " a customer problem on the spot ?Respect a customers time Responsibility ?Company should be responsible for their product- all the parts and pieces should be there, and the product does what it says it does ?When you take responsibility for something you take back your power. If something is wrong with your service- admit it to the customer instead of blaming others ?The customer is always right. Don't challenge them, remember what it took to bring them in the door- and how much it will cost you in reputation if they leave unhappy. ?Make sure your staff are creative and have the ability to make decisions on behalf of your organization so they have the power to make the customer happy. This may be as simple as being able to throw in a pen or better yet, take off the tax? Refund- ?Nothing is worse than purchasing something that is not working and finding out that you have to have a credit note. ?IF this is your policy- make sure the customer KNOWS this before buying. ?Personally, I believe that a refund is more respectful to your client. You may not have another product that they WANT or NEED. To make them buy something they DON'T want just because you have their money- leaves a bad taste in their mouth and they will think twice before shopping at your establishment again. ?Be cheerful when you take returns?A consumer that can shop and safely know that you guarantee what you sell will be a return customer. They know that they can shop with confidence- if they make a mistake ? you will help fix it by taking back the merchandise- this is very powerful and it is why people shop at large department stores - because they KNOW if it is not right it can be returned. ?Have your staff offer to help them find something that is more suitable. People don't always know what you have to offer .Knowledgeable staff are your greatest asset and if they are able to match your products or services to the customer needs, you have created a customer for life! These are customer service solutions that will affect your bottom line. Implement these ideas and you will see a shift begin. Your staff will have pride because they will be more knowledgeable as well as have the ability to HELP The customer will be happy knowing that you are there to SERVE them in a cheerful and timely manner YOU will be happy because you won't have to work so hard to get this same customer back in the door! Frankie Picasso is an Entrepreneur and Customer Service Expert who has spent the past 20 years in Marketing and Customer Service consulting for both Public and Private Sector organizations. She is now a Motivational Speaker, Certified Master Trainer Coach in Leadership and Executive Business Coaching as well as a Professional Certified Life Coach with her company called Conversation with My Shoes.
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Mexico: Online Ordering?Dont!
I got it into my head sometime in December 2004 that I wanted order a laptop computer. I thought I would get one from the hugely popular computer company that allows you to call their 800 number and custom order what you want. Presto, like magic, it appears at your doorstep in days.
Your Actions Tell Your Clients How You Expect To Be Treated
There is a widely accepted principle of human behavior that goes something like this. "Your actions tell the world how you expect to be treated." Look all around you and you will find that the truth of this statement is as evident as the clothes you wear.
The Number 1 Rule for Businesses - Be Professional
Have you ever walked into a store and things looked sloppy? Stores should have nice neat displays, right? Normally, yes, but sometimes they get a bit messy on busy days and we all understand how that can happen.
The Death of the Loyal Customer
One of my classes in management focused on the repeat customer. The course stressed the importance of the repeat customer to the financial welfare of the business. We spent hours discussing ways to turn "first time" buyers into repeat customers. This is not a new concept. We've all heard the term "the customer is always right". And then there is the movie we watch every Christmas where Macy tries to out "customer satisfaction" Gimbel. I prefer to take that concept one step further with what I consider the most valuable asset of a business, the loyal customer.
Ten Ways to Help You Improve Your Customer Service
1. Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis. Justas it is bad news to send out too many emails to customers,it is just as bad to not stay in contact with them.Customers don't want to feel abandoned. So don't.
Leverage Customer Capital First
If you're still dreaming about raising outside capital for your business before you have any paying customers, I've got a nice big bucket of ice water to throw on you. Wake up! The cold reality is that investors aren't interested in your business idea unless you can demonstrate that you've got customers who are actually willing to buy. Before you try raising outside capital, you should focus on building your Customer Capital.
Service Equals Performance Equals Service
Service can be described as a "performance" of some kind involving two parties whereby one party is the benefactor and the other party is the performing party receiving some type of monetary payment. The value of the Service depends on the personal experience of the benefactor.
When I looked it up in Webster's, there it was #11 out of 31 definitions. The payment part was not included, but the key word mentioned was "performance."
Marketing as a Spiritual Practice
"Marketing as a spiritual practice." It sounds contradictory ? how can sales and promotion possibly be considered spiritual? But the secret is, once you truly understand that marketing isn't all about struggle, jargon, tricks or gimmicks, spiritual practice is the very root of success.
Managing Your Business When One Client Takes Alot of Your Time
How often has your schedule been thrown out of whack because of a client's needs?
Whats The Customer Service Buzz About Your Business?
If you're a regular reader of my column you know that my number one pet peeve is bad customer service. Nothing chaps my backside more than paying hard-earned money for a product or service only to have the provider of said product or service become apathetic, obnoxious or just downright rude after the transactional smoke has cleared.
Are You A Coward? I Was
Over the last month, I have come to hate emails and answerphones; not because I get 100 emails every day but because emails and answerphones are fast becoming the tool of the coward. At Beyond Philosophy we worked with a client a while ago whose account managers and sales teams never used to speak to anyone! They just used to send emails. If the customer called in they were greeted by answerphones which were kept on all day. You see the sales teams were all busy doing "real" work. The customers were just interrupting them. Surely this must be the height of "inside out" behaviour.
Customer Service Tips - Is Your Business A Leaky Bucket?
Customer service and customer service training are vital for any business.
And The Difference is... Attitude
I returned a rental car at an airport yesterday. As the person who was going to check me in approached, he smiled (which shocked me) and said, "Hello Mr. Galler," which shocked me further as I don't have a clue how he knew my name ? obviously there was some way of identifying my car, and therefore me, at a distance. "How was your trip; was everything OK with your car?" he inquired in a friendly, personal tone. "Everything was fine I replied" "Great ? I hope we'll see you back soon. There is some bottled water in the cooler over there for you" he said as he directed me towards the shuttle bus to the terminal.
I Wont Tell My Lawyer but I Will Tell You
A general counsel of a large international consulting firm told us about his experience talking to an interviewer who had called to discuss his satisfaction level with his outside law firm. He had been using the services of a "high end, expensive" law firm out of New York.
Top Ten Strategies for Delivering 5-Star Customer Service
Customer satisfaction is valuable, but customer loyalty is priceless. In today's competitive world of business, it is becoming more and more important to deliver customer service that is unbeatable. These ten creative strategies can support you in turning your customers into walking billboards for your business.
The 7 Principles of Business Integrity
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't
have integrity, nothing else matters. -- Alan K. Simpson
Customer Service: Stop Sabotaging Your Customer Relationships
If you've called for customer service recently you're familiar with this recorded message "This call may be recorded or monitored for quality purposes." I immediately think to myself, "Oh great, here comes the game of 20 questions."
How CRM Software Works -- Creating Customer Satisfaction with a Click
When people ask, "What is CRM?" the literal answer is, "Customer
Relationship Management," but that doesn't really convey much in terms of what
all CRM does for a business. This CRM definition is too narrow to really
explain everything the system does if it is working to its fullest potential and
is user-friendly enough to expand and grow as a customer-client relationship
changes and grows.
RETAIL GREETERS: Sales Builders or Customer Turnoff?
Do you need greeters or should you avoid them? That is the perplexing question many retail organizations are struggling with today. Often touted in the press as the perennial example of the benefits to employing greeters,Walmart has hung on to its practice faithfully. But does it work and if so, will merely placing any warm body with a forced smile at the door to your store do the trick of converting entering customers into satisfied shoppers?
What Every Employee Should Know About How to See Customers Problems from Their Creative Side
Customer Service is a blessing and a curse; a blessing to the customer and a curse to you, the employee. At least so it seems. Although as the Customer Service representative for your employer, you are faced with a never-ending barrage of complaints, problems, and questions on a daily basis, the pressure of the job could easily become a source of anger, frustration, and other forms of counter-productive behaviors. You seem to live in a pressure-cooker of stress.
|
