I’ve often heard people remark that customer service isn’t rocket science. Usually this is uttered following a less than ideal service experience. I also hear people talk about customer service in ways that seem to underestimate the complexity of today’s service systems and the extent the service experience has on the health and longevity of a business.
Regardless of the position you hold in an organization, there are fundamental service professionalism guidelines that can make customer service work in your favour. From your first job at a burger house to the C.O.O. of a large corporation, there are four fundamental elements to creating service-oriented delivery. 1. Build relationships – make it really undesirable for your customer to walk down the street to the competitor. Build loyalty from the moment your service professionals interact with your customer. 2. Communicate – ask the right questions. Our customers sometimes are not great communicators but they still have a problem or need that requires your attention. Service professionals know what to ask, how to pull the information they need to help the customer in an effective and efficient way. 3. Communication – listen. Show them you are listening, stay silent and summarize what you heard. Not magic, just professionalism in action. 4. Follow Through – make good on your promises. When perceptions exceed expectations of a service experience, you have a satisfied, loyal customer. Does the product or service do what it is supposed to do? Did you do what you said you would? Service Essentials Workshops take participants through each of the above elements to understand what’s involved in truly great service professionalism. Rocket science? No. Critical skills impacting the company’s bottom line? Absolutely. Honestly, it has become almost a daily occurrence for me to enter an establishment, approach the front reception area (armed with at least three staff)...only to wait and wait and wait for someone, anyone to make eye contact, give a nod, smile, acknowledge me in any way, letting me know I will be served, that I am important as a customer, valued and they are happy that I’ve chosen their establishment to buy their product or service.............
Now that I’ve given my mini rant, here are some of the easiest and unfortunately, most common ways businesses send their customers running for the door (and across the street to the competitor). 1. Ignore customers – they love this. Maybe if you do this long enough, those pesky, annoying paying customers might just go away (yes, they will – to the competitor). 2. Don’t smile – wrinkles, who needs ‘em? And customers don’t care if you look and appear friendly. 3. Never make eye contact – for heaven’s sake, that’s rude isn’t it? I mean, good communication starts with eye contact and why risk clear, concise communication with your paying customer and showing them they are important? 4. Don’t listen – it takes too much energy doesn’t it? I mean, you have to concentrate, let the customer know you heard what they said and if you were a real professional, you’d have to summarize what they said so they know you heard them. Waayy too much work. I mean aren’t you busy counting the minutes until your next coffee break? 5. Use jargon and slang – isn’t it fun to confuse your paying customers? Your secret little language with co-workers will surely provide you with the power trip you deserve in lieu of the pride of being a service professional. 6. Fail to response to concerns – even though they can help an organization improve their service delivery and unveil fail points, customer concerns (aka “complaints”) are a lot of work aren’t they? First you have to listen, then you have to report it to management....nah, just easier to say that’s company policy, watch the clock and think about what’s for dinner tonight. 7. Fail to follow up – So you’ve promised your upset customer the world and now what do you do? What’s that? You didn’t realize companies need to be good on their promises? You didn’t know there are no third chances in the world of service recovery? Okay, just do nothing and you’ll probably lose your customers at warp speed. 8. Have altercations with your co-workers – here is a sure-fire way to make the customer feel like running for the door. My favourites are the very dramatic outbursts between staff in front of customers; complete with expletives and one storming off to the backroom. When we talk about wowing your customers, this isn’t quite what we mean... 9. How low can you go? It’s all in how you talk to your customers. So low they can’t hear you; so fast they catch only every third word. It’s bad enough in person-to-person communication but you can lose your customers even faster over the telephone just by failing to use your voice. Enunciating properly and taking the time to be articulate is not in the job description is it? 10. Last but certainly not least, let your emotions rule! In a bad mood? Let ‘er rip at your customers. When all else fails in attempting to rid customers from your presence, one can always rely on plain old rudeness. A sharp tone, patronizing answers, body language, the odd curse word or ending every sentence with a flippant, “mam”, “sir” works like a charm. Practice it enough and you could have the whole day to yourself without customers interrupting you. In fact your customers will likely drop off as fast as the company’s profit margins. If you are reading this and you are recalling moments when your staff have been, shall we say, following these guidelines, maybe it is time to consider a refresher course on service professionalism. Service Essentials service professional workshops deliver relevant, practical course content in a fun and interactive environment. Contact us for more information on either an established curriculum workshop or customizing a course for your industry/business needs. The next time you feel like moving that customer complaint issue down on your to-do list, keep these in mind...
1. You keep your customers. Research shows you can recover from service failures up to 95% of the time simply by listening to concerns and coming up with a timely solution. 2. You minimize negative exposure. Customers tell their friends, family and co-workers about bad service. How many? Social media has blown any previous stats out of the water! Fix it fast, stop the spread! 3. You reduce the risk of your competitor winning over your customer. Upset and unsatisfied customers will seek out an alternative provider. 4. Don’t have a big budget for advertising? It costs you far less to keep a customer than to recruit a new one – 5 times less. 5. It’s easier on you. Stressing over unresolved issues, receiving multiple emails and calls will drain your energy. As I teach my students in workshops, it is amazing how good you feel when you take ownership of customer concerns, use your skills to come to a solution and truly demonstrate service professionalism. |
AuthorImproving customer relationships, driving sales, increasing worth-of-mouth referrals and building customer loyalty through service professionalism training is my passion. Archives
June 2016
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