Learning Superior Customer Service
Skills
By Daniel
Sitter
Is
customer service a department in your company? Is
customer service simply the title of an order entry
department? Is customer service an empty shell, long on
rhetoric but short on delivery? Does the term customer
service actually mean anything, or is it a leftover
expression from an era of days gone by?
Superior
customer service is indeed alive and well alive and
working at many progressive companies, both large and
small. Customer service is not simply a term or a
department, but rather an attitude and a manner of doing
business. It boils down to caring and adhering to the
golden rule…"to do unto others as you would have them do
unto you."
Superior
customer care has declined to such an extent that some
firms are actually promoting their own efforts at
providing customer service as a unique benefit of
dealing with their firm. Unfortunately, that is an apt
description of the current state of customer service
provision from most companies. Most companies do not get
it. They are so consumed with the bottom line that they
miss one of the most important factors in growing their
business: The customer is king. He always has been and
always will be. Customers, customer satisfaction and
retention should drive all other facets of a company.
The
relevant cost of acquiring a new customer is high.
Marketing, advertising and other functions utilized to
attract new customers are expensive and require a period
of time to work successfully. Many prospects do not
become new customers until perhaps the 7th or 8th
exposure to the company's marketing efforts. Customer
service then, is the cost of retaining that customer.
Customer retention should be a driving force behind the
successful operations of every company. It simply makes
good business sense to keep that new customer as well as
those repeat customers. How often is a new customer
"soured" because of a perception of poor attitude or
lack of caring on the part of an employee?
Depending
on the type of business operation, companies must
embrace developing superior customer service in a
variety of modes. In a small retail or food
establishment, where minimum-wage workers are often
employed, this is difficult. One area that is destined
to improve how customers are treated is for the owner of
the company to treat their employees fairly, with
respect and with a receptive attitude concerning their
ideas. This attitude and practice will spillover and the
end customers will often be treated in the same manner.
The mid-size and large companies must provide specific
training for all employees, especially for those with
any direct contact with customers. Employees must be
cognoscente of what is expected by their employer, the
importance of their dealings with the customers and how
the implementation of these policies directly impacts
their own success and employment. Simply stated, if
there are no customers, there is no need for their job.
Place
yourself in your customers' shoes. That should be easy
since we are all customers sometimes, no matter what we
do for a living. How do you like to be treated? Do you
want to be forgotten? Do you feel that the company you
do business with should value you and your business? Do
you appreciate little "extras" that are not always
necessary but pleasant and beneficial? When you are
pleased with your treatment from a firm, are you happy
to make recommendations to your family and friends about
dealing there? Learn to transfer these answers into the
way you treat your customers. The golden rule applies.
Human
nature, being what it is, is the common thread among us
all. We all want to be treated fairly, confirmed of the
value we bring and have a sense that others care about
us. We are all other people! In many ways, regardless of
ethnicity, religion or background, we all want the same
things. Remember this fact and do your part to offer
superior customer service by performing your duties in a
manner reflective of the way you also wish to be
treated. Your success is guaranteed. If this attitude is
encouraged in every department in every company,
customer service will never be a department, but rather
the attitude or mindset of the company. As the sum of
its internal parts, the firm will reflect this mindset
guaranteeing superior customer service and previously
unheard of customer retention.
Daniel
Sitter is the author of the popular, award-winning
e-book,
Learning For Profit. Designed for busy people, his
new book teaches simple, step-by-step accelerated
learning skills, demonstrating exactly how to learn
anything faster than ever before. Learning For Profit is
currently available from the author’s web site
http://www.learningforprofit.com/ and from a variety
of online book merchants. Mr. Sitter is a contributing
writer for several internet and traditional
publications. His expertise includes sales, marketing,
self-improvement and general business topics.
click for top or back to
Customer
Service
.gif)
