The Three Foundations of Customer Service

 

There is a saying that states “The great product will only take you so far, but the great customer service will take you anywhere”. We take this saying very seriously, so we like to provide our customers with the needed help and their customers with an exquisite service – a great customer service. But what are the main principles of the customer service? What makes it great and so helpful to the modern business? We answer right away:

1. Appreciation – in most businesses with a high selling product or service, customers come and go, so it is easy to forget the job or another specific detail of some of them. It might be a normal thing to you or your department – you speak with a lot of customers and you can’t remember it all. But for the customer who calls a second time and needs to repeat the same personal information this means he isn’t appreciated in this establishment. Consumers expect their time and money to be valued by vendors and the before mentioned situation states the contraire. It is very easy to pull out a piece of paper and write down important information or open a file on the customer and take notes on the conversation, so be sure to do it. Clients will feel appreciated and will communicate and cooperate more willingly.

2. Communication – customers need a response, not always an answer. Specifically, if you receive an email with a question from a customer and you don’t immediately know the answer, you need to reply anyways, explaining that their problem’s been taken care of,  you are on the case and you will contact them soon enough with a proper solution. Nothing feels better to a customer than a swift response (again, not necessarily and answer) that can calm him down if the problem is severe. Show that you are open for communication, respond and ask questions if needed (it will be needed). Make sure that the customer knows you will help him;

3.Respect – people always have and always will demand quality products/services and plain straight answers. So, be honest when speaking with a customer. They don’t need to hear that everything is OK, when it is not. You might do it to calm them down or for any other reason, but in the end it is a deception. And it leads to nowhere, but to staff dismissal, customers walking away and a headache. Technical jargon, blame, and redirecting all fall into this category as tactics to not be open and honest with your clients as well. Be open and honest with your clients. Communication will flourished and you will have better relationships with these clients because of it.

Here they are – three very easy principles that should be followed when it comes to customer service. We do it, you should, too. However, if you need more help – give us a call, we can lend you a hand.