Golden Rules of Exceptional Customer Service

SHOW YOU CARE

Find a way to give the customer what they want.

The customer is always right - this is really about an attitude of mind. Even if the customer appears really unreasonable, listen to them, hear what they have to say, paraphrase your understanding and find ways to go for a win-win. The customer wants to feel listened to and valued. Listening, reflecting back and letting it be known that you do really want to help, goes a long way to meeting customer needs.

AT THE FRONT LINE

Staff need to know that as well as accountability they have responsibility, the power to make decisions without the continuous need to refer up the line.

Front line staff, particularly ought to have a very pleasing manner, in tone of voice and a welcoming manner. They are the 'face' of the organisation and very often are the first contact point between customer and organisation. If you are a company where repeat business is important, then having a customer for life is much more important than an individual exercising their ego and then that customer is lost to the organisation, usually forever.

EXCEPTIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Know what you are talking about. There's nothing better than speaking to a service or product provider who knows exactly what they are talking about. Able to delight the customer by going the extra mile and providing information that enhances the customer's experience of your company is a great way of keeping customers interested in your company.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Within a couple of days (at the most) of delivering the service or product, check if the customer is happy with what they have received and check if there is anything else you can do to help them. People really do appreciate this, it gives them the feeling that they actually do matter to your company.

CUSTOMERS KNOW BEST

Ask customers what it is they need from the service; find out how the service can be improved. They are in receipt of the service/product and they know. This is probably one of the best pieces of market research you could do. Once you ask customers though, it is really important to act on at least some of their recommendations and let them know that you have by providing them with feedback.

GET BUSY SOLVING CUSTOMER PROBLEMS

Do this quickly, as far as possible at the first point of contact. People tell more people when they are dissatisfied with your service or product than when they are satisfied and the worse thing about it is, even if the customer does not complain to you they will complain to their friends, family, colleagues, and the dog, anyone who will listen. Then you have not only lost that customer, you have lost all those others as well because if they have a choice they won't risk using your company for fear of the same treatment.

As well as being known as a company that provides an exceptional quality of service, getting busy becoming known as a company that when things go wrong, there is no quibble about putting it right.

Everything I have written so far can be summed up as GOING THAT EXTRA MILE; people will remember that your company went out of its way to help them.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hyacinth_Fraser

How to Provide Superior Customer Service

As many of you know, I have made it my mission to change the world's view point of customer service. Too many people today have just accepted the fact that no matter where they go, they will receive less than acceptable customer service. THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE!

When we work so hard for the money we have, why spend it at a business establishment (no matter what type of business) that provides you less than superior customer service? Does it really make sense to hand your money over that way? Still not clear... okay, let me present this to you in another way. You go to a restaurant and ask for a steak. The waitress brings you out a piece of chicken. You shrug your shoulders and say, "okay, that's fine." Furthermore, you eat the chicken and still leave the waitress a tip...would you really accept that? No, of course not! But that is the type of unacceptable customer service we are receiving in other places of business and just nodding our heads, and saying okay! STOP THE MADNESS PEOPLE!

For all you customers out there (which means everyone), it is time to reclaim your God given right to receive Great Customer Service. It's called Free Will people, and I'm going to use my free will to change the world's view on customer service. One of the ways I plan on doing this is by refusing to do business anywhere that I receive poor customer service. Are you willing to help me in this mission? All you have to do is this: stop doing business in places that don't appreciate your business. And, let them know that you are no longer going to do business there and why. Sometimes business owners or managers do not know there is a problem until you let them know, so make sure you tell them. Once we start changing our views on what we accept as customer service, the businesses will adapt to start pleasing us better. It makes sense, doesn't it!

As for all of you employees and employers out there, there are certain steps you can take to make sure your customers receive the best customer service around. And, when you start providing that type of customer service, your customers will keep coming back for more. In fact, if you provide them with the best service they can get anywhere and with a little flair, they will come back more often because they can't get enough of it.

So, what are the steps? Follow these certain steps to assure your customers will be coming back for more: (I have broken this down into two stages. One for employers and one for employees please read both!)

Employers



Provide training to your employees on how to treat your customers, think of it this way... what do your customers' expect to get from your business? This is obviously different for every business and also depends on the type of business you have, but put yourself in your customer's shoes...If you were the customer, what would you expect to see in terms of customer service? Once you have clearly defined that, you can then train the employees on how to provide it.

Set the standards high for your employees and make sure they stick to it. However, don't just use this as a tool to "write up" or "fire" your employees. Let me be clear... if you have an employee who you need to fire then by all means do so. But I don't believe in the type of management that only uses negative reinforcement. I believe that you should also use positive reinforcement with your employees as well. In fact, you'll find that the more positive reinforcement you use, the more you'll get out of your employees. Don't use fear management. It breeds negativity and bad morale and eventually your customers can feel and sense it. This will only further lead to poor customer service.

Having Mystery shops of your business is a great way to find out how your employees are doing. Now, having said this again I go back to my last point, do not use this as a fear management tactic. I have worked for a business that did this and believe me it only breeds negativity and poor morale and again only leads to poor customer service because the customers sense the tension with your employee. Now, if you do not know what mystery shopping is, let me clear it up for you. Mystery shopping is where you have someone pose as a customer or potential customer to see what kind of customer experience they receive when they come to your business. Again, the standards that are in place all depend on your type of business and what you have trained your employees to provide to the customer. Obviously if you haven't trained them yet, do not do this until you have. Now, mystery shopping can be done in several ways. You can hire a company to do this for you. You provide the company with the criteria that your employees should meet and what you want the mystery customer to do and say. Then, they will hire a mystery shopper to come in posing as the customer and the mystery shopper will report back to the company you hired on how your employee did with full details on each of the criteria and an overall grade. The company then gives you the details on the mystery shop. It is a great way to test your customer's overall experience and further train your employees. Now, a few things I recommend. Do not tell your employees that you are doing this. If they know, they will be nervous and treat your customers differently. It is more natural if you just have them doing what they always do to grade the normal customer experience. Once you have received the feed back, use it as a training tool for not just that employee but all of them so everyone is on the same level. And reward the employee for a job well done. If you don't want to hire a company to do the mystery shopping, you can ask a friend or family member to pose as the customer and grade the experience. Or, survey your customers on how well they thought their overall experience was, what they liked about it, what they didn't like about it, and what they thought you could do differently!

Lastly, and I can't stress this enough, the only way to provide great customer service is to have a customer service standard, have a plan on how your employees will deliver your standards, and test the standards. Also, pay your employees what they deserve and provide them rewards for going the extra mile. If your employees are making minimum wage and not getting any incentive to "go the extra mile", then you won't get anything extra from them and neither will your customers. Your employees are the face of your business. The service your business receives comes directly from your employees, so make sure your employees are getting a fair deal.

Employees



First of all, when you are working with customers, no matter what your occupation, think of it this way...How would you want to be treated if you were that client?

If you are unhappy about your current job, don't take it out on the customer. Remember, it is not their fault that you are unhappy with your job and it's not their fault that you're in the situation you are in, whatever it may be. Again, remember, what would you expect if you were the customer?

When talking with a client, first of all, smile! Say Hello, how can I help you? If you are not behind a counter of some kind, shake their hand, introduce yourself and ask their name. Then, ask them how you can be of assistance.

If your employer has a standard for customer service, make sure you know what it is and abide by it. And, at the end of the year, when you get your annual review, make sure you remind your boss in writing how you met that standard and ask that it be added to your annual review.

If you work in a store of some kind, like a grocery store, department store, etc...why do you ignore customers as they walk by you? Why do you try to run them over as you are wandering around the store? When you go into a store do you expect to be run over, run down, or ignored? And when you are, does it bother you? Here's my point - it should not matter where you work, you should never ignore a customer walking past and you are never more important than a customer. This is a valuable lesson to learn. No matter who you are or where you work, you have to learn to appreciate your customers! Think of it this way - not only that you could be that customer getting the poor service but more importantly, if it wasn't for that customer, you wouldn't have a job! Remember that the next time you ignore a customer.

The fact of the matter is that customer service is ignored or takes second place to growing a business and increasing profitability. When in fact, great customer service will do just that, grow your business and make it more profitable.

If you survey a room of 50 people, 94% of the people in the room would tell you that they have not received good customer service lately. Furthermore, they would tell you that they have received extremely poor service recently, more than they wish to recall.

I believe that together, we can change the way we are treated as customers and the way we treat customers. If we all work together to change the view point of everyone, then maybe we can bring back the days in which customers were respected and could recall more examples of "Great Customer Service" rather than poor customer service.

source

TAKING AN HONEST LOOK AT YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customer Service is Accountability and Delivery.

It is also Fundamental,Simple,Daily,Time oriented,Persevering and Specific. Survival in the world of customer service is predicated on critical evaluation.

Honest self appraisal is necessary if you are to understand the quality of service your company or organization is offering the customer.

Take a look at this Self-Evaluation Questionnaire

Use the following ten questions to see if you are delivering bronze, silver, or gold level customer service. Stepping back and objectively assessing yourself will help you see what your personal service strengths are and where you may need to devote some extra attention.

Remember, be honest!

Use the following numbers to evaluate each question:

0 = Rarely 1 = Sometimes 2 = Often 3 = Almost Always

1) When having a conversation with a customer, do I give him or her my complete attention and avoid doing other activities like (working on the computer, writing unnecessarily, doing a crossword puzzle, and so on)?

2) Do I make eye contact when speaking with a customer to show that I am paying attention?

3) When speaking to a customer over the phone, do I make an effort to use inflection in my voice to convey interest and concern?

4) Do I pick up the telephone by the third ring?

5) When I need to put a customer on hold, do I ask his or her permission and wait for a response before doing so?

6) Do I avoid technical jargon and use language that the customer can understand?

7) When I cannot provide my customer with exactly what he or she wants, do I suggest options and alternatives?

8) Do I sincerely apologize to the customer when a mistake has been made by me or my company?

9) When a customer is voicing a complaint, do I remain calm and understanding, even if I think he or she is wrong?

10) Do I view customer complaints as an opportunity to improve service rather than as a problem that is taking up valuable time?

TOTAL SCORE =

SCORING - Add together the scores of all ten questions and then look below to see how you did.

If you scored:

0 – 12 points: you are at the Bronze Level

13 – 22 points: you are at the Silver Level

23 – 30 points: you are at the Gold Level
For specifics about what your score means and where to go from here, find your level described below and read on.

BRONZE - Scoring at this level doesn’t mean that you don’t care about customers; it is due to one of the following three reasons:

•You are a newcomer to the service field and are still learning how to deal with customers
•You are a seasoned service provider but may have become a little rusty on some of the basics that you once practiced.
•Job suitability. Over the years, we have met certain people who just don’t enjoy dealing with customers or helping others solve problems. Nothing is wrong with them; they just work better by themselves. If this situation applies to you, you might consider either changing jobs or changing the focus of the job you currently hold.

SILVER - You have a solid understanding of the basics, but you are not using them consistently.

•The probable reason for this inconsistency is that you are overwhelmed by the functions of your job. On good days, you give good service, and on bad days, you give bad service.

The key is to become more consistent with your attitude.
•Remember that regardless of the time you spend with a customer (be it a 30-second phone call or a one-hour meeting) and regardless of how busy you are, you always have a personal choice about your attitude. It takes about 30 days to form a new habit, so make a point of practicing the items covered in the questionnaire every time you deal with a customer – especially when you don’t feel like it!

GOLD – Congratulations - you are a professional. You seem to have the basics down and are ready for larger challenges. To continue to grow, consider the following:

•Once you have finished evaluating yourself, get another perspective by having a co-worker you know and trust evaluate you. He or she may see areas for improvement that are blind spots to you.
•Go beyond the basics of service. Educate yourself in the more sophisticated service skills by learning to take initiative. We suggest you go through the above questionnaire a second time and replace the word customer with the words staff member. Doing so will help you to evaluate how good a job you are doing of treating your staff as internal customers.

TIPS ON CUSTOMER’S EXPECTATIONS

Generally speaking, Customers want to be treated fairly and courteously. Here are some other essential qualities that they look for in a service experience

Courtesy

This sounds basic, but many customers have been lost due to rude service people. As an individual involved in customer contact, it’s important for you to leave your problems and your bad moods at the door, bringing them to work only creates more problems. When a customer walks into your business environment or calls you on the telephone, he wants to feel welcome; this involves greeting him enthusiastically, making him feel important and being helpful

Prompt attention

Nobody likes to wait or feel as though they are being ignored. If a customer is left “cooling his heels” while the customer service employee chats with co-workers or attends to other non-customer related details, the customer feels unimportant. If you are busy when a customer walks up simply look up, smile and say, “I will be with you in just a minute”

Reliability

Customers want their shopping experience to be as hassle-free as possible. They want to know that when they walk into your company, they will find what they want or get an answer to their question. They also expect that, if you make a promise, you will keep it. And, if you are unable to, you will let them know ahead of time so they won’t be inconvenienced.

Personal attention

No one likes to feel like a number. And, with today’s technology, that can sometimes be a problem. We all like personal attention, it makes us feel important and that makes us feel good. As a customer service employee, you can show a customer personal attention by addressing him by his name and by discussing with him at length what he needs.

Responsiveness

Customers like to feel as though their business is appreciated. And that’s exactly what a customer service employee tells customers when he responds to their needs enthusiastically. If a customer is ignored, he feels as though his business is not appreciated, and he will take it elsewhere.

Knowledgeable Staff

Customer’s expects the service employees to be knowledgeable about the products they are selling. In today’s high technology and deregulated industries, customers must rely on service employees to help them make their choices.

Empathy

Customers want to be understood. This is practically true when there’s a problem. If the customer service employee acts as though he could care less, the customer will leave feeling that the company doesn’t care about its customers. When a customer explains a problem he is having, respond by saying, “I understand why you might feel that way…”

SERVICE RECOVERY PROCEDURES

At times, there are Customers who did not get what they ordered for. The quality was bad or the service did not meet their expectation. When this happens, there is a need to try to resolve the situation immediately as best as possible.

If this happens, the following steps should occur:

•REACT IMMEDIATELY: Approach the Customer with a smile and introduce yourself – “My name is Stella and I am the Customer Service Manager. How may I help you?

•EXPRESS YOUR CONCERN: Acknowledge the Customer’s problem and apologize. Remain calm and show your concern through empathy. You may say- “I am sorry that we caused you to be dissatisfied with your order, please allow me make it right’.

•CONTAIN THE SITUATION: If at all possible, lead the Customer away from the mainstream of activity, to a relatively quiet corner, before pursuing the complaint.

•OBTAIN all relevant information by listening attentively. Seek clarification and hear the Customer out. Listen attentively and do not interrupt.

•VERIFY the information by repeating your understanding. This is very important to ensure that you and the Customer are actually on the same page and there are no hidden meanings or issue not dealt with.

•EMPOWER the Customer by giving them the choices to correct the situation,for example, let them have a say when it comes to a bad product whether they want a replacement or their money back. This is so as to allow you provide a solution to meet or exceed their expectations.

•RESOLVE the situation. Accept responsibility for the situation calmly and sincerely.

•YOUR sincere apology and an invitation to the Customer to return after carefully following the above steps will go a long way to recover a dissatisfied customer. Make a final apology, express appreciation and thank them.

SIMPLE TIPS FOR CO-WORKERS TO WORK TOGETHER AS A CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM.

1.We should develop good relationships with people we work with, this is as important as developing good relationships with the customers. When you show people you truly care about them as people, they are more likely to want to understand you and help you.

2. Every one needs to work together in other to provide the customer with the best possible service.

3. We should treat each other with respect, appreciating one another’s efforts, being polite even to subordinates.

4. We should be sensitive to one another’s responsibilities, deadlines and workload. Don’t always insist they drop everything to help you.

5. If co-workers snap at you or cut you off, remember we all have bad-days, don’t let this bad day interfere with the good job you have to do.

6. Don’t lay blame. Everybody make mistakes; be quick to forgive wrongs, stress the positive and avoid the negative.

7. When a fellow employee helps you, say “thank you.” It may be part of his job, but everyone likes to feel appreciated. And the next time you are in a bind, that individual will be more likely to help you – even if it’s not part of his job.

8. If a customer thank you for your efficiency and help, be sure to mention the other people involved, this kind of response makes you and the company look good.

9. If a fellow employee comes to you for help, lend a hand whenever you can. If you are willing to help when he needs it, he will be more likely to reciprocate.

10. If a co-worker goes above and beyond the call of duty, GIVE CREDIT! He will be grateful and motivated. You could say, “We couldn’t have done it without your help.”

11. Let your co-workers know they are an important part of the team.

PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES IN CUSTOMER SERVICE

A lot of people have fancy things to say about customer service, including me. But it’s just a day-in, day-out, on going, never ending, unremitting, persevering, compassionate type of activity. Professionals who constantly deal with customers (inside and outside the company) need to strive for certain qualities to help them answer customers’ needs.

The professional qualities of customer service to be emphasized always relate to what the customers wants. After years of polling and market research, it turns out customers are constantly internalizing their customer service experience. What this means is they are grading your customer service during each transaction but you rarely know it.

While there are a multitude of customer needs, six basics needs stand out:

1. Friendliness – the most basic and associated with courtesy and politeness.

2. Empathy – the customer needs to know that the service provider appreciates their wants and circumstances.

3. Fairness – the customer wants to feel they receive adequate attention and reasonable answers.

4. Control – the customer wants to feel his/her wants and input has influence on the outcome.

5. Alternatives – most customers want choice and flexibility from service. They want to know there are many avenues to satisfy them.

6. Information – customers want to know about products and services but in a pertinent and time-sensitive manner but too much information and “selling” can put off customers.

It is also very important for customer service employees to have information about their product or service. Good Information is Often Good Service, Service providers who answer, “I don’t know” or “It is not my department” are automatically demeaned and demoted in the mind of the customer.

Customers want information, and they disrespect and distrust the person who is supposed to have information but does not.

Employees need to be empowered to satisfy customers. Employees will give bad service to customers if they themselves receive bad service and little feedback from their managers and supervisors.

Remember: external customer service starts with internal customer service.

CUSTOMER SERVICE IS EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS

The old school of thought was that customer service was the responsibility of the customer service representative or the complaint department. In today’s service-driven economy, however, companies have come to realize that customer service is everyone’s business. Every individual in a company is either serving a customer or serving someone whose job is to serve the customer.

In order to do the best possible job of serving customers, it‘s important that you work well with your fellow employees. That means being a good team player, working with customers is not a trait anybody is born with but a skill you must learn. Although it is true that some people are naturally better at working with the public than others, everyone can learn how to communicate with customers and how to help them meet their needs. The key to success in your job is knowing what your customers expect, how to keep them happy and how to deal with them.

As a customer service employee, you come in contact with hundreds of people everyday. It can be either a challenging or rewarding job, or you can find it difficult and impossible. How you view your job will depend on your attitude and the skills you develop to do it better.

As in any job, you attitude about your work will also affect other areas of your life Therefore, it is important that you are happy with what you do. If your experiences with customers are positive you will have a positive outlook on your job, and it will affect your overall satisfaction with your life. If, on the other hand, they are negative, they will cloud your overall perspective.

ARE YOU A CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSON? You must read this...

Either you are a small business owner, the Manager of Customer Service, Human Resources Manager, Head of Operations, and Business Development/Marketing Manager in any organization or any number of organizational functions. This message is important for you to read and to pass on.
I believe Customer Care is everyone’s business, and should be part of everyone’s job description. But in every organization there are those people – the Clients service people / first contact people, those people the customers meet at first contact; whose responsibility is to provide service to customers.


1. The job of “Customer Care” is a great job. At whatever capacity you attend to customer's needs, whether as an internal customer or as an external customer it is important you make satisfying customers your joy, since this is the way you earn your pay. I always advise if your personality does not match this job function don’t bother. it is said that “He who does not smile must not open a shop” this goes a long way to explain how customers needs must be met. Always catch your fun while doing your job and make peoples’ day by meeting their needs with enthusiasm.

2. Be proud of what you do. You play an important role in the company’s success. I’m here to remind you that the experiences you provide for the customer could make or break their relationship with the company. Even if parts of the process are broken, even if the wait times are long, even if the customer is upset about some aspect of the company, a great experience with a customer facing person can make up for a whole lot. You have the opportunity to make deposits in the customer’s emotional bank account and keep those customers happy.

3.Being good at customer service requires a great deal of emotional intelligence. In fact, being in a people oriented position gives you the unique opportunity to practice and even perfect your emotional intelligence, and that’s going to help you in every relationship you have in your life. As you get better at your job, you get better at your life. That’s a bonus!

4. The customer is not always right. I know you might have a little card that came from the corporate office that tells you they are, but I’m telling you what you already know to be true. They are not always right. Sometimes they are wrong, sometimes they are mean, sometimes they lie, and sometimes they drive you crazy. But being right or wrong is not the point. Your job is to be so skillful that even if they are wrong, angry, nasty or just having a bad day, you have the ability to turn a bad situation into a better one. A highly skilled customer facing person is a magician, able to transform and diffuse difficult situations into good ones.

5. You have the opportunity to make the world a better place every day. Whether you deal with 20 customers or 100 customers a day, you have the power to create positive experiences for all of them. When you make your best effort to add sincere care and appreciation to every interaction, you are infusing it with positive energy and vibration. When the customer leaves feeling good after interacting with you, they are likely to spread that positive emotion. Emotions are contagious.


You have the power to spread positive service experience and make the world a better place. We all know how important that contribution is these days. Take it seriously and you can make a serious difference in the lives of your customers and every one they touch. Allow yourself to see the ecstacy of good will and well being you are sending out into the world. Spread happiness and appreciation and you will feel energized.
Caring is contagious – please spread the word…

CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS: A BOOST FOR YOUR BUSINESS..

Most people react negatively when customers complain, they see customer complaints as bad for their business, some even see such customers as problematic, but really customer complaints is a good boost for your business and this can also take your business to another level in terms of profitability. Most customers that complain are really customers who are your regular buyers and have genuine interests in the success of your business; non regular buyers usually react to dissatisfaction simply by not coming back. To ensure you turn these complaints into profits you have to take the following into consideration:


1. Plan Ahead– Your main goal in business should be to satisfy your customers, therefore managing your Customer’s emotions by making provisions for how to deal with these complaints when they come is expedient in your business dealings. Customers will always complain no matter how great your products or services are, Today’s customers are more knowledgeable and sophisticated, it takes good knowledge of customer relationship management to sustain them after acquiring them and this is where your profits come from, Have a positive attitude towards customers, "Customers are Kings" and should be treated likewise.


2. Give Attention to Solving Customers' Complaints – put in place a good feed back mechanism from customers and ensure complaints are promptly attended to and customer’s emotions well managed. Companies with Customer relationship managers / Customer service executives know the importance of managing customer’s emotions especially when it comes to meeting customer’s demands and expectations.


3. Show Empathy – no matter what the problem may be, and no matter whose fault it was, you must be able to identify with and understand the feelings and difficulties of your customer and take the responsibility for resolving the complaint. Always apologize for inconveniences on the side of your customers, explain what could be responsible for such inconveniencies and your plans to solve the problem.


4. Compensate Dissatisfied Customers – A special treatment / compensation plan in terms of gifts or replacement of a faulty product will go a long way to recover a lost service or a dissatisfied customer, but don’t stop at this, also follow up on such customers, ensure the issue was resolved and find out if the customer is now satisfied with your service. This not only shows how much you care about your customer’s satisfaction, but it also strengthens your relationship with this customer.


5. Prevent Future reoccurrence– Every complaint must be seen as an opportunity to improve on your products /services. Always act on every complaints and your business will keep experiencing a boosts on profits.

Welcome to Customer Service blog

In this blog, we shall be discussing on matters that bothers on fundamental issues that relate to Customer Service.we shall unfold the uncommon customer service secrets.Once again welcome to customer-service-secrets BLOG