We recently took a trip to Boston to see our first Red Sox game. What a great time. From the drive there to the drive back, and everything in between, we were surprised at how kind and gracious everyone was, everywhere we went.
Yes, we were tourists in a tourist town, but it was more than that. We really found that the people we came into contact with went above and beyond the standards of what we are accustomed to for kindness in customer service.
In the service and support industry, customer service is key to making sure that your clients feel important and special … and it’s not that hard to do.
Here are three steps you can take to give better customer service:
1. Be Available – the biggest complaint that you often hear when it comes to poor customer service experiences, is that someone feels like they are not being heard (or worse, not being listened to!). So make sure that you respond as soon as possible when someone lets you know that something is not right. By responding immediately and trying to work out the situation, the customer will recognize that you are there to help. That could mean you respond to an email quickly, or respond to a voicemail, or even answer your phone when someone calls – whatever your procedures are, be sure to hold to them so that your client feels taken care of. Sometimes solving the problem is secondary to the response time itself.
2. Be Eager to Help – once you establish the communication, you need to do everything in your power to fix the problem. The saying ‘the customer is always right’ comes into play here – and though I don’t completely subscribe to that viewpoint, the idea is this: there is a problem, the customer has alerted you to it, and it needs to be fixed. From that perspective, the customer really is right. So, offer one or two solutions to the problem and then apply one. The sooner the better, obviously. By being eager to help them correct whatever is wrong, you are letting them know that their business is important to you.
3. Be Cheerful – a smile is the best makeup, they say – and though it may be difficult to be cheerful when something goes wrong, it’s the best way to approach it. I like to look at things that go wrong as a challenge – how can I fix this quickly and the best way I know how? Because of course we all learn from our mistakes (or we should!) so being able to learn from a bad situation is always a bonus. By being cheerful and not laying blame, you will let your clients know that you are professional and that you are in control of the situation.
Now … good customer service is not only essential when things go wrong. You can apply these same three steps when things are humming along beautifully too!
By being available, eager and cheerful all the time, you will teach your clients that you are approachable and that they are being heard all the time.
Customer service is an essential part of relationship building, and can often be a great selling feature of your business. So if you want referrals, give stellar customer service to your existing clients – it will pay you back tenfold.
Have you had a great customer service experience? Try applying the principles of that to your own customer service policy. It’s an extension of the ‘treat others as you would like to be treated’ idea.
I’d love to hear your stories! Please share them in the comments or head over to my Facebook page to share them.