Last month's classic example of
bad customer service created wide ranging comments. It was a
truly bad example. It doesn't have to be that way!
However, getting good
customer service to
happen is neither automatic nor easy.
Often, customers don't see things the way we do, and our
"perfectly reasonable" response to a customer is at least unsatisfying,
and at worst offensive. Despite our best intentions, our
customer service is not as good as we think!
On just one day, I visited (during a bit of new
business prospecting) five companies who, when asked "Why do your
customers buy from you?", all answered "Because we give them
extra-ordinary customer service."
There
are two
conclusions you draw from this - Everyone thinks customer service
is important; and, Focussing on customer service is certainly not
exceptional.
1.
So let's get good at it!
A really great new sign on a
clapped out old
service van
tells everyone that business is "blah". A great
uniform on an untrained employee tells customers the same thing.
To get employees trained and working the right way, you need
to plan it.
The
model here shows a very good approach.
2.
"Execute" means "Plan and Train"!

You
might cringe at this example. Just as you cringed at the
smart
remark above and the dreadful example last month, but these
responses are to be heard in almost every place of business.
The "extra-ordinary customer service" those five
companies
boasted about was, when it was examined, nothing more than
"we
always call back when the boss is not here to answer questions".
It
was a major challenge for them to be sure everyone gets
called back, but from the customer's point of view, it's nothing more
than you'd expect.
Really
effective customer service
needs much more than that!
3.
Create a "Customer Charter" - helps you and your
staff!
I know! Just another management theory wank!
NO! It's not!
A client once said "this new
bloke is really
good with customers. You can tell. He's young,
pleasant, enthusiastic, responsible, and is just settling down into a
new home".
So, he's a good guy.
What's there to indicate he has any idea of how or
what to do
for customers?
We see lots of responses just like
this, and it's not
good for customers! Or you either. A "Customer
Charter" provides a written guide on what managers and staff all need
to do. It's a constant reminder.
Click
Here to see a simple and
effective Customer Charter.
4.
Monitor, Review, and Improve!
Important
parts of the process, but they take time. Time you probably
don't have, and your staff are pretty good with people anyway.
Sound familiar? All that means you have two
choices. Get help from any number of Customer
Service training programs or specialised "one-on-one" support, or
accept that you're not really serious about customer service anyway.
Then there is a third alternative.
Click
Here and email a request for your own customised, laminated
copies of the Customer Charter - enough for several locations
throughout your place of business.
If you'd like
to find out more about Customer Service planning and training, talk
to us, or submit a question here! Remember, there
is no
charge or obligation for our initial response, and you can get a whole
hour's consultation free.