Why Customer Service Matters
Most people tend to remember when they receive poor customer service; they tell their experience to friends, family members and neighbors, and then hear stories from those people about their own experiences. Customer service matters because excellent service is one of the most effective ways to get customers to return to your business.
Other People Are Reading
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Considerations
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A pleasant personality is important for an employee. The ability to manage situations in which you have to deal with impatient, rude or disgruntled employees is a major factor in how customers view your business. An employee should have an even temper, be able to communicate well and have a proficient knowledge of your service and goods. It is disheartening for a customer to ask an employee a question and get only a blank stare in return. Train your employees to treat customers as they or their elderly grandparents would want to be treated.
Features
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Effective customer service not only supplies the customer with a pleasant experience, it goes the extra mile. If an employee receives a question about where an item is, he should escort the customer to the location when possible. Greet customers with a smile and a pleasant “hello” when they enter your place of business. Personnel who do not have the ability to fix a complaint should direct the client to a member of management who can. Customers tend to get even angrier if they have to repeat their stories to a few different people in the chain of command.
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Types
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Customer service not only entails seeing the customer face-to-face; it can also mean construction workers who tidy up an area when they leave it, a pleasant and clear speaking voice from a switchboard operator, or even treating an irate diner to a dessert when it took too long to serve her. Customer service is the whole package, from the first moment a client calls or visits your company until he pays or receives a bill in the mail. According to Entrepreneur magazine's website, 68 percent of people never re-visit a store due to indifferent attitudes of the employees or management.
Significance
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Train your employees to foresee problems. If they see a customer with a puzzled look on her face, they should ask if she needs help. If the customer comes in with a complaint about goods or services, employees should know how to handle the complaint or quickly retrieve someone else who will be able to handle the situation in a friendly and efficient manner. Quite often, if a customer has a complaint and the owner or manager remedies the situation in a satisfactory and apologetic manner, the customer will return to the business, simply because he knows the company stands by its products or services and will treat him fairly if something goes wrong.
Warning
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First impressions are vital with customers. Most people are creatures of habit; they will continue to use a business if they receive a satisfactory product, get excellent customer service and feel comfortable in the surroundings. Teach your employees to be helpful, but caution them about hounding customers. If your business requires up-selling, warn employees to do it in a respectful and helpful manner, in order to give the impression that they want to assist clients and not just pad their own paychecks. Tell workers to back off when a customer appears disgruntled, in a hurry or tired of the sales speech. Realize that an irate customer can come in with a major complaint, but can leave the store satisfied and ready to brag about it to others if he feels understood and happy with the exchange, return or a store credit. Excellent customer service will grant you return business, which can ensure that your company stays afloat, even during bad economic times.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit smile image by Leticia Wilson from Fotolia.com
