Retaining Customers

How often have you heard, " I need to go see the manager about this issue " ?  This can really annoy a customer even more than they already are with the issue. Now the customer has to wait  some more, and get angrier by the minute. The customer might also be wondering if the CSR/Clerk is relaying the correct information to the manager. Then the CSR /Clerk comes back and either approves the customer request or says the manager denies the request.


Both these results are not great for retaining the customer.  In the first scenario, the manager approves the request. The customer gets what they want, but they had to waste more valuable time. They might be glad to have resolved the issue, but they sure will not be word of mouth champions. Sure the issue was resolved , but they had to waste alot of time. This is not something that impresses customers, and will not get them to tell other customers about the great service. 


Then in the other scenario the customer might just accept the managers disapproving decision and leave unhappy. They also might ask to speak to the manager, and fight to have the issue resolved. This will not impress the customer. They may or may not get the issue resolved, but either way they will leave unhappy about the customer service. No business needs more unhappy customers.


Now we all know it costs alot more to acquire a new customer than to retain a customer. So in the interest of keeping customers, why not empower the staff to resolve most issues on the spot. This would impress the customer and save them time. The staff would have to be trained in this new way of customer service. Staff could be given a preset amount of power or dollar amount to resolve customer issues.


Now the staff would need to be fully supported by management in this new way of retaining customers. Also the staff can be monitored to ensure the staff are following the new process. Once implemented, I think you will see alot more smiling customers walking out of your business.