How to Get Set Up an Inexpensive Customer Service Procedure

A quick and dirty fix for a nonexistent customer service department is to create one. You will always hear phrases like ‘the customer is always right’ and ‘I am here to serve you’, but they don’t hold much weight if you never address the customers concerns.

Instructions

How to Develop a Customer Service Plan

1. The fundamental requirements of a customer service department are two-fold. You need to react in a timely manner to any concern that is posed to you and you need to be proactive in order to avoid spending your days reacting to concerns.

2. Being proactive is obvious. Much like measure twice, cut once, your job is to do it right the first time so there will be no need to address concerns down the road. Hopefully, if there is a concern it is from a customer that is just difficult to please, not because of a flaw in your work.Regardless, you need to be prepared to react to your clients concerns at all times. The best way to do this is to have three items: a log to record the concern, a schedule to address the concern and a form for the customer to sign off their approval.

3. One way to create the log is to simply use Microsoft Outlook. Set up a separate calendar to log in any concerns posed to you, attach a contact list to associate a person with the concern and attach a task list to schedule yourself or another employee to address the concern. Finally, create a template form and modify according to the task at hand, allowing for the client to sign off when their concern is resolved.

4. For instance, if you own a homebuilding company and the garage door is malfunctioning at Mr. Smith’s residence, simply log in to the calendar when he called with the complaint, add a task to your task list and record who you called to repair it and when he is scheduled to do the repair. Make sure you set the calendar to notify you in advance of the time and date the repair is expected so you can follow up and make sure your client is still on his to do list.

5. Once the task is reported complete, be sure to follow up with a form to the client asking them to sign off on the work. If there is still an issue, you now have a complete record of the incident and what was or wasn’t done by the responsible contractor.Your company will be well known for reacting effectively when necessary, but even more importantly, getting it right the first time.