One of the most obvious, yet overlooked, points about customer service is to use your common sense when you’re making decisions. The immediacy of social media makes it even more obvious that this is overlooked.
In honor of Customer Service Week, here are my 9 Ways to Deliver Common Sense Customer Service.
- First impressions matter (a lot!) – The first thing your customer sees or hears is REALLY important, and it sets the tone for the rest of the transaction. Take some time to make this a good one. Smile, comb your hair, take a deep breathe, and smile some more.
- Tune the customer in and the world out – When your customer is talking, listen to what they’re saying. Turn off your iPod, don’t answer your cell phone, don’t play on Twitter, just tune your customer in and tune the rest of the world out.
- Please and thank you still count – Remember those manners your parents taught you? Use them…ALL THE TIME!
- You don’t know everything (but you better still find the answer) – When you read it, you know it’s true. You can’t possibly know everything…but some customer service people think they do. If you’re in customer service, admit it when you don’t know the answer…and then do what you can to find the answer as fast as you.
- Customers aren’t always right (but they are always the customer) – Customers may not always be right, but that doesn’t mean you should stick it up their butt that they’re wrong. Customer service reps do NOT need to be right to make the point. The customer is ALWAYS the customer, and if you force your desire to be right, you may make your point…and lose the customer forever after. Treat the customer with respect and find a way to let them win if you can…or at least save face.
- People’s names are like gold (learn them fast) – The sooner you can find someone’s name, the sooner you can begin using it to create rapport with the client. Dale Carnegie was right: The sweetest sound anyone will ever hear is the sound of their own name. Learn the name and use it and your customers will be much happier.
- Your name matters too – Take a few moments to introduce yourself too. Tell your customers your name, so when they have a question, they can use your name to ask the question.
- Complaints are great– Complaints are an opportunity to fix what’s wrong. If folks don’t complain, you can’t make things better. Let your customers know you welcome their complaints and appreciate the opportunity to make things better.
- Service recovery matters (a lot!) - If you screw up (and you probably will if you work in customer service for more than a day), you need to practice your service recovery. How you recover from a mistake is often MORE important than the actual service delivery. I’ve had many places where I had something done wrong, that when they finally fixed it, they made it GREATER than if they had never messed up in the first place.
What are your best ways to deliver common sense customer service?
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kasthor/93217483/
PS: Join me TODAY (October 8th, 2009) at 12 noon central for a customer service week webinar where I talk in depth about some of these tips. I just found out you don’t have to be a member to attend, and it’s F-R-E-E!
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post, Phil.
Apart from all other great ones, I liked #8. Complaints are in fact real opportunities… Opportunities to create a foundation based on which you can build your dream business.
Working “on” business rather than working “in” the business is more important I believe.
Cheers!
Utpal
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This is excellent Phil, EXCELLENT. It should be required reading for every customer service person in the world, and I will do what I can to help you take this one viral!
In today’s world, your #2 really has gotten sadly neglected: We need to get our faces out of our screens, both large and small, and be more present for the people who are around us. A screen or gadget cannot love us back, and make us a fraction as happy as another person can.
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I’m on-board with you and Rosa, Phil. You can say I’m a dreamer… but I would extend this list to remedy some of the ills of the general population. How much less stress and strife would we experience if only people would approach one another with an attitude of service instead of self-serving agendas.
yup! This could also be dubbed the “innkeeper’s creed”… without the customer… service is a moot point
gp
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Utpal – I like #8 too, though it’s the hardest one to teach people, customers and service providers alike. I’d rather have someone tell me, and let me try to fix stuff, than have them grumble to 10 friends and never let me know.
Rosa – You are so right. Loving your customers is best done face to face, though a warm e-mail or comment helps when you’re miles away from your favorites.
Jeanne – I’m a dreamer too, and yes, I’d LOVE to extend this to the world. Let’s hope folks get it, one way or another.
GP – Been a LONG time friend. Thanks for stopping inn.
Service without a customer -> a moot point. Fantastic! Thanks
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Ah, yes…these tips brought me back to my first jobs. I’m not even sure I had to be taught most of these tips because of how well the customer was treated “back in the day”; it was the norm to be polite, helpful and to find solutions to problems. There are and always have been great customer service people but, for years the customer with a complaint was often brushed off and ignored or treated like they were a pain in the posterior. I would welcome the return of a society where customers (and even non-customers) are treated with courtesy and respect. Thank you for reminding me of why these 9 tips work.
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Phil,
You know how to make customers great. I agree with Rosa, this should be not just required reading but a code of conduct.
David
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Hi Phil .. absolutely agree – I’d add one that I find really irritating – people speak too fast, and don’t consider you, as you listen to what they’re saying – eg if leaving a message on your phone .. as a customer you shouldn’t have to decipher that message – it’s hard work .. and unnecessary – your job is to provide your customer with the easiest way for you both to communicate.
Don’t be over slow either – that’s terrible too! But speak clearly, leave a succinct message, leave your name and your phone no – so people know what to do re the message.
Thanks – Hilary Melton-Butcher
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