Five Ways to Stamp EXCELLENT on Your Customer Service
It may be a self-evident truth, but there's a major difference between acceptable customer service and excellent customer service. If your business is committed to excellence rather than mere acceptability, you'll want to factor these five basic precepts into your customer-service culture:
1) Always treat customers as your company's No. 1 resource. Be especially vigilant about giving any customer the impression that he or she is a nuisance or an interruption. 2) Insist that your front-line staff members make direct eye contact with and greet walk-in customers as soon as possible. If a customer must wait briefly for assistance, an employee should inform her or him that "someone will be with you in a moment." 3) Challenge employees to answer telephone calls within three rings. They should greet callers warmly and, when necessary, ask for permission to put them on hold. 4) Respond courteously and efficiently to customer problems. Listen attentively and, when appropriate, respond immediately with something like "I'm honestly sorry that happened." If an immediate remedy is elusive, tell customers when you hope to get back to them with a suggested solution. 5) Express explicit appreciation for your customers' business. Never take it for granted! Ask front-line employees to say thank you after every transaction. Occasional letters or e-notes sent to long-term customers will reinforce their loyalty. But make sure such communiques are personalized with individual names and additional customer details.
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