Posted by Meredith Estep on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 @ 08:28 AM
In customer service, it only takes one negative incident to lose a client for life. In this article, we will take a look at ten common characteristics of bad customer service with the purpose of showing alternatives that would serve customers much more efficiently and positively.
1. Failing to greet customers when they walk in the door.
A customer that is not acknowledged upon entering your business will not feel like the valuable commodity that they are.
2. Hanging up on an angry customer.
No one likes being yelled at, but disgruntled customers sometimes need time to vent before dealing with their concerns in a rational manner. If the customer becomes abusive, get a manager. Never hang up on a customer.
3. Eating in front of customers.
No one wants to watch someone eat their lunch - or even a mid-morning donut. Leave the food for the break room and keep your mouth clear for talking to your customers.
4. Putting a call on hold without asking first.
It is a simple courtesy to ask before putting someone on hold. In addition, you are less likely to have the customer hang up in frustration when the elevator music starts to blare.
5. Avoiding eye contact with a customer.
When you are talking to someone, you want to know that other person is listening to what you say. Customer service representatives who do not make eye contact look rude at best, and downright shifty or dishonest to others.
6. Socializing with other employees when customers are present.
Customers do not care to hear about your plans for Friday night. Unless you are asking a question about your customer's business specifically, stop all personal conversations until there are no customers in the vicinity.
7. Forgetting to use common courtesies.
"Please" and "thank you" are mainstays in customer service. Unfortunately, they are not used nearly as often as they should be. Common niceties exude professionalism, as well as courtesy, and should be used without fail.
8. Yelling at a customer.
Let the customer vent and then deal with their complaint in a calm, rational manner.
9. Using technical jargon when talking to customers.
You do not need to talk down to your customers, but it is helpful to use language they understand when explaining company policies and procedures. Leave the technical jargon for your coworkers.
10. Complaining about the company to customers.
There are no exceptions to this rule. There is never an appropriate time to bad-mouth your own company to a customer. This could potentially cost your company money or even lose the customer altogether.
Bad customer service is prevalent today, but it is not hard to overcome. By studying the bad, you can replace it with stellar service that will boost your customer base and your profits.
- Meredith Estep
Posted by Meredith Estep on Wed, Jun 23, 2010 @ 09:08 AM
Regardless of how stellar your customer service is right now, there is probably room for improvement. To raise the bar on your customer service, you will first need to find a standard for evaluating your current service methods.
However, evaluating service according to your own standards is just one piece in the puzzle. It is also beneficial to compare your customer service to the service of your competitors to see how you match up.
Consider these tips to help you measure the level of your customer service, allowing you to improve in the areas that will provide the greatest impact on your customers.
Setting a Company Standard
Your customer service standard begins with your company mission statement to ensure your entire operation is functioning with the same priorities in mind. Most companies want to provide service that leaves their customers satisfied and coming back for more. Specific standards might include greeting customers as soon as they walk in the door, learning customers' names and offering additional products or services when appropriate.
Once your standard is set, it should be followed from the top of the company hierarchy on down without fail. You can check up on your staff periodically by sending mystery shoppers to interact with employees and provide feedback on the experience.
Getting Customer Feedback
Another way to evaluate your customer service is to ask your customers what they think. This can be as simple as asking a customer when they walk into your business if they are happy with the service they receive. You might also supply customer feedback cards with specific questions about characteristics of your service, to provide more specific feedback.
It is also important to log customer complaints and referrals, since each of these provide valuable information about the level of your service. Collect the data from your customers regularly, and share the information with your staff so they know how they are rating in the service department.
Comparing to Others
It is also a good idea to compare your customer service with that of your competitors so you know if your service is providing the competitive edge it should. You can do this by sending an employee into the competitor's place of business to purchase a product or ask questions about their service. You can also talk to the management in other businesses to find out what they do to raise the customer service bar.
It is helpful to talk to businesses outside your immediate industry as well. These companies might provide even more valuable information, since you are not considered a direct competitor for their customer base.
Learning how to accurately evaluate your customer service is the first step in identifying areas of improvement. When your staff sees you spending time on setting customer service standards and evaluating your service level periodically, they will understand that customer service is a top priority in your company.
-Meredith Estep
Posted by Meredith Estep on Wed, Jun 16, 2010 @ 10:32 AM
Customer service is no easy task. Managing clients who are difficult, demanding or simply cranky can weigh heavily on even the best in the customer service field. It is important to motivate your customer service representatives to aspire to the best job they can do - and continue at that pinnacle level over the long term.
Take advantage of these tips to help you keep your customer service staff at the top of their game, regardless of how challenging the game might become.
Hire Wisely
When hiring for a customer service position, look for applicants that have a passion for serving others, a willingness to learn, and a desire to be part of a team. If you hire wisely at the beginning, you will have an easier job managing the representatives in the long term. These professionals will be willing to put forth the effort and will respond positively to the motivational techniques you throw at them.
Create a Standard
It is important to set standards within your organization that provide your employees with a clear idea of their job description. This rubric also provides you with the necessary means to accurately assess their performance.
Standards offer accurate expectations for customers and staff alike. In order to ensure that your standards have value, create ones that are precise, easy to understand, and easy to objectively measure.
Continue Training
Ongoing training offers additional skills your employees can call upon as they become more comfortable with their positions. It can prepare them to move up the company hierarchy, and it can definitely motivate them to improve their job performance.
Whether you provide brief training sessions during staff meetings or send your employees to corporate training events, ongoing training is essential to a highly motivated, skilled customer service staff.
Build a Team
Employees like to feel as though they are part of a team that is all working together toward a single goal. To ensure your employees are motivated to do their job well, remind them that their performance affects the rest of the team. By the same token, allow them to provide input and share concerns, since they may see things on the front line that management may not witness.
Offer Rewards
Finally, reward employees for a job well done. Certainly, they receive their weekly paycheck, but letting them know that their efforts have been specifically noticed by management will inspire them to a higher performance level.
Acknowledge employees who go the extra mile for customers through recognition at a staff meeting or in a monetary reward presented in front of the rest of the staff.
Keeping a customer service staff requires ongoing attention and effort, but the rewards are far reaching. When your employees are providing the highest quality of service possible, your company will reap the benefits in a larger customer base and higher profits.
-Meredith Estep
Posted by Meredith Estep on Thu, Jun 10, 2010 @ 09:17 AM
It costs significantly more to attract new customers than it does to maintain current ones. While you want to bring in new clients to help grow your business, you do not want your loyal following to fall out of favor because they feel underappreciated or even ignored. Thankfully, there are four ways to let your loyal customers know how much you appreciate their business.
Get to Know Them
Regular customers like to be recognized. They like to be called by their names, and they like to see staff members take the time to come over and talk to them when they enter the business. Regular customers love it when customer service representatives remember their favorite products or services, and they love to be introduced to related products that might enhance the convenience or value of their business.
Of course, getting to know the regulars takes a little time and effort, but the return for your company can be great. Those customers who feel appreciated and cared for will probably stay with your business over the long haul.
Give Them Extras
If you are debuting brand new products, hold a preview evening for select customers. Offer them free samples of new products or coupons for initial purchases of those products. Give them the inside scoop of the latest and greatest in store for your company. Mostly, provide them with service that goes way above and beyond what the average customer might expect. Loyal customers deserve to be treated like royalty, so get the red carpet ready when they walk through the door.
Provide Incentives
Customer rewards programs began years ago in the airline industry, and today they are still going strong in just about every customer service industry. You can offer a free product or service after the purchase of ten, or offer a free item with multiple purchases. Allow your customers to accumulate "points" with every purchase that can be used to get a reduced price or free product.
By providing future discounts, you incent your customers to stay with you over the long term. To track purchases, give your customers a punch card or a plastic swipe card that keeps a record of points with each purchase.
Reward Referrals
Even with the many options in advertising thanks to today's technologies, one of the best ways to build your business is still through word of mouth. To make sure those recommendations get passed from your loyal customers to new ones, offer rewards for every referral given. When your current customer sends someone new to your business, reward that customer with a coupon off their next purchase or a free item. Some companies also keep small gift cards in stock for other businesses to send customers as a thank you for referrals.
Keeping customers happy is an important component in a healthy business. Current customers want to feel important and cared for by everyone on your staff. When your loyal customers feel appreciated, they are more likely to return to you and send others your way time and time again.
-Meredith Estep
Posted by Meredith Estep on Wed, Jun 02, 2010 @ 11:36 AM
Customers that are unhappy with the service they receive from a local business often cite a lack of understanding for their needs or concerns as the number one reason for their dissatisfaction. Customers do not like to feel treated like a number or someone that could be easily replaced. Instead, they want to be treated as an individual with unique issues. They want to be addressed on a personal level, even if their request cannot be granted in the way they desire.
Empathy, Anyone?
One of the biggest reasons customer service representatives fail to satisfy their customers' expectations is a lack of empathy. Associates fail to put themselves in a customer's shoes to understand their situation and offer the assistance the customer seeks. One reason empathy is lacking in the customer service industry is a negligence on the part of management to build empathy into their staff. It is not a skill that comes naturally to many, but the good news is that it can be taught to everyone in your organization to ensure consistent service throughout.
How do you build empathy? Teach your staff that customers are the core that builds the business - and pays their salaries. Show them how to see each customer that walks through your doors as a unique individual. Give them the freedom to take sufficient time with each customer to truly understand the needs and issues of that specific situation.
Ode to Training
Let us break the empathy process down into concrete steps that are easy for your customer service reps to follow:
- Listen - You cannot understand your customer's needs unless you listen to what they have to say. Let them tell you. Take notes if the issue is complex enough to warrant doing so.
- Repeat - Repeat your customer's issue back to them to ensure you heard accurately. Allow them to correct you if necessary.
- Explain - Tell your customer what you can do for them. Avoid using negatives unless absolutely necessary. There is nearly always something you can do to make a customer happy, even if it is not precisely what they are asking for.
- Use Names - Use your customer's name in the conversation. This personalizes the transaction and makes the customer feel significant.
• Overdo - Once you understand your customer's specific needs, prepare to go the extra mile for them. Does the situation warrant a free service or product? Does your customer deserve an apology? Is there anything you can do to make your customer's life a little easier in this situation?
As you go through these steps, try to see the issues through the customer's eyes. How would you feel if you were in their shoes? Would you be angry or frustrated? Determine what it would take to make you happy and then present that solution to your customer. You will probably find that treating your customer the way you would like to be treated will make all the difference in building a satisfied and loyal customer base.
- Meredith Estep