Deliver Consistently Great Customer Service

Customer service is best when it is delivered at a consistently high level. Many times you can go to the same business and receive various levels of customer service. You can go to the business on one occasion and be amazed by the level of customer service and then on the next visit be very disappointed in the service level. When the service quality goes up and down it results in poor word of mouth advertising, which has a negative affect on the business. 

When the service is this inconsistent, this points to a hiring and training program that is not delivering consistent service quality. Businesses need to hire staff with great teachable attitudes. This is where past references will be very important to ensure staff have the needed attitude.  Once hired, this is where the training program needs to be developed to ensure that customer service is delivered at a high level consistently. Staff will need to be trained in product knowledge so they can answer all customer questions about the product or service. 

Once staff fully know the product or service, this is where the customer service training will start. Staff will need to be trained on how to properly engage customers in small talk to build relationships so that customers can feel connected to the business. Proactive customer service needs to be taught so that staff can anticipate customer needs and then meet that need. Customers will be impressed when you deliver proactive customer service. For example, refill their drink before they need to ask for a refill. 

Conflict resolution techniques will need to be taught so that staff can handle tough customers and be able to keep them happy. These techniques can also help reduce staff stress as they will be more confident in handling  tough customers. Staff need to have these tools so they can resolve conflicts quickly and still be able to deliver superior customer service to that customer. There will also need to be routine monitoring of the staff to ensure they are being consistent. This will reinforce the idea to staff, that they need to be consistent in their delivery of customer service. 

Once word gets out that your business delivers consistently great service, positive word of mouth advertising will bring in many new customers and help create a great business.

In Service For The Customer

The most basic question of all is, what is customer service? Businesses need to answer this basic question before they can create a superior customer service program. Companies are here to serve customers and if they forget this principle,  they may find themselves with no customers and then no company. Customers are the reason for a business to exist, so it makes sense to treat them to exceptional service. 

There are so many examples of poor customer service in every industry. For example, how  often have you noticed how long you are on hold when you call a company or how long a wait it can be to get a server at a restaurant. These are very common issues that could be solved if a business had a process in place to prevent these issues from happening.

Companies need to have good processes in place to serve the customer and keep them happy. Every business will have a different set of processes, but the principle will be the same, make sure the customer is served well. This might mean reducing hold times for customers or making sure restaurant patrons are greeted in a timely manner. 

The main issue is that business processes need to be in place to ensure the customer is happy. This means making sure that customer service is faster, better and more proactive to ensure the delivery of superior service to the customer. Once a solid customer service process is put in place, you will notice happier customers who will help create a very successful business.

Customer Service Can Be This Good

Customer service can be great if a company is committed to the proper training for staff and if management is fully supportive. For example, Apple is very committed to great customer service and it shows. Most companies say they want to deliver great service, but fail to fully commit to train staff properly and do not provide a competitive wage to ensure they keep staff.

The company needs to recruit the best people, with customer friendly attitudes, and be prepared to pay competitive wages to keep these staff. Staff turnover is not good for customer service, as the customer keeps having to deal with new staff and does not get a chance to build a proper relationship with the company. 

The management then needs to be prepared to spend money on quality customer service training which includes deciding how many weeks of training will be done and how to fully integrate the new staff into the business. Also, it will need to be decided how much authority to provide staff, so they can resolve customer issues right away. Complaint resolution processes will need to be setup, so that when customers have complaints, it will be a very smooth process to resolve the issue. Proper handling of customer complaints is critical, because you then have the chance to create very happy and loyal customers when you resolve these complaints in a superior way. 

Most companies have decent products or services, but often customer service is poor, so when your company delivers exceptional customer service, your company will prosper.

Customer Service Fans

Customer service fans can become your biggest allies in building a great business, however most companies do not deliver good enough service to build these fans. Most businesses deliver acceptable customer service at best and at worst they deliver horrible service. The creation of customer service fans is hard and demands that your company improves its customer service. 

When I talk about fans of your business, I mean the kind of fans that will rave about your business to anyone who will listen. The conversation will often start out by saying; " I received the most amazing customer service from this business." Then the customer will tell this story about what great service they had from that business, which will make a very good impression on the person hearing the story. So now the person which heard that story will have a very positive view of that business, which causes the person to visit that business with a very positive outlook.

It will take a lot of hiring and training of the right people to create this exceptional customer service within your business, however the rewards will be great. One important point is that your company will need to pay competitive wages to make sure you keep your staff, so they can build positive relationships with the customers. It is through these positive relationships which will create great customer service and allow staff to implement proactive customer service to further enhance the customer experience with your company. Staff turnover is not good for business, as it increases training and recruitment costs, and the business to customer relationship will suffer. 

When potential customers hear stories of great customer service from trusted friends, they will be much more likely to visit that business. Also, when you start creating customer service fans, your business will strongly benefit from this positive word of mouth and will develop a very strong and loyal customer base.

Exceptional Customer Service Creates Raving Fans

This is a quick story about some great customer service I received from the local cafe. We often hear stories about other people experiencing exceptional customer service but often we receive just average customer service. This story is a great example of proactive customer service that went well beyond the normal level of customer service.

The story begins by me going to the local cafe and ordering some coffee and asking for a glass of water. Now, I often ask for a glass of water but often just get a small glass of water, so I end up having to ask for a refill. This is not a big issue, but it would be nice to just get a big glass to begin with, thus saving me some time by not having to get a refill. So I receive my coffee and a small glass of water is put on the end of the counter for me to pick up after I put some sugar in my coffee. So then I go back to the counter to get my water and to my complete surprise the water is gone. I thought someone else had taken the water by mistake, but instead the coffee staff had taken my water and put it in a large glass with some more water. You can imagine my surprise at this great display of customer service, this is the kind of surprise that should happen more often to customers.

The staff were very proactive by changing the small glass into a large glass, thus saving me from asking for a refill. Anyone who has been out on a hot day and goes to a cafe looking for some water will appreciate a large glass of water. Can you imagine if more customer service was this proactive and how it would result in creating raving fans out of your customers. Create a customer service buzz for your business by training staff to be more proactive and see how customers can become raving fans of your business.

Engaging Customer Service

Does your business have engaging customer service? How can you engage your customers so they will continue to be loyal customers? The answer lies in social media, and all the various ways these websites allow your company to interact with customers. The two biggest websites that can be used are Facebook and Twitter, which allow strong levels of interaction between companies and customers. 

Facebook pages are great for branding and allowing customers to interact with your company. However, this post will focus on Twitter and how it can enhance your customer service. Twitter is a very simple website to use that can allow customers to interact with your company. Twitter is short and to the point, so the information is very concise, which saves people from having to read too much information. Twitter will allow  your company to post daily relevant information about your business that can benefit customers.

For example, if you have a restaurant , you could post daily food specials or end of day specials to move your food inventory. The other great benefit is the way Twitter can allow your company to deliver great customer service by interacting with your customers on Twitter. The customer service department will have to monitor your Twitter account to see when your company is mentioned and respond to any customer concerns or questions and followup as needed with the customer. 

Since Twitter works very well on mobile phones, it will allow customers to mention things about your business that they otherwise might never mention to your company. Also, using Twitter is like sending a simple text message, it will take very little time for your customer to send off a message to your company, which makes it more likely the customer will actually interact with your business. One of the goals of your social media plans should be to make it very easy for your customers to interact with your company and provide you with valuable feedback that can be used to improve your company. This engaging customer service will allow you to build a loyal customer base that will benefit both customers and your business.

Complaints Can Be Building Blocks For Success

All companies will get complaints, but it is how you respond to those complaints, that will make a business very successful. Companies need to view complaints as opportunities for valuable customer feedback that can provide great opportunities for the business to make positive changes. Use these complaints as building blocks for success in your business. The feedback that you receive from customers can provide you with great ways to improve your business. 

There are many methods to solve complaints from customers, so each company will have to design there own plan on how to ensure all complaints are resolved and are put to use for improving the company. I will leave the actual complaint resolution process to the individual companies, as each company is unique and will need to custom make their own resolution process. The main thing is that companies need to improve their complaint resolution so that they can learn from their customers and build a loyal customer base.

The added benefit from improving customer service is that you will build great word of mouth advertising that will produce many new customers from all the positive referrals. Trusted referrals produce great customers because the customer already has a positive view of the company before they go to the business. Your company may even save on marketing costs as you find that you are getting a lot of new customers from the great referrals. 

The basic idea of delivering superior customer service is to turn your customers into raving fans of your business, who will then become great promoters of your company. Once you start viewing customer complaints as building blocks for the success of your company, you will then be on the right path to building a great company.

Smiling Customers Equal Happy Customers

The smile, it seems very simple and easy to do, but often  its hard to find when you first go into a business looking to make a purchase. All companies want happy customers, but fail to have their staff deliver the most basic item of customer service called a smile.


Smiling staff send a great signal to customers, that we are happy to serve you and enjoy helping customers. How often do you go into the store and all you see are frowns or very disinterested looks from the staff.  It makes you wonder if the staff even care whether or not you bring in your business. The staff do not seem to realize that if customers do not continue to come into the store, they will be out of a  job.


Customers are the life blood of any business, so why not give them the most basic level of customer service, by smiling. 

Customers Are The Real Bosses

The idea that the customer is the boss is not new,  but it seems like most customer service does not recognize this fact. Sometimes you can go to a restaurant and it seems like the staff are very disinterested in serving customers properly.


For example, I went to a restaurant the other day when it was hot outside, and the hostess brought us to our tables and she was friendly. However, when I asked if I could get some water right away, the hostess said the server will be around soon. The issue is that, the restaurant was very slow, and the hostess was just standing around, plus the server came to our table in around 5-10 minutes. Why on a hot day does a customer have to wait for so long for water? Then the server comes and proceeds to mention the daily specials, and I say can I get some water. The server then asks if they can  first tell me about the specials, so I let them finish, and still have to wait a long time to get some water.


You would think that common sense would tell the server to bring some water with them to the table. Also, why could the hostess not bring some water, or at least tell the server to bring some water. I can tell you that if the server saw their manager or boss just come from outside on a hot day, they probably would make sure they bring water promptly. Staff need to think of customers as their bosses rather than just bothersome customers. The customers are the reason the staff all have jobs and are the people that need to be treated well, to ensure they are happy.

Surprise Rewards Will Build Loyal Customers

Everybody likes a surprise, but when it comes to customers, they really love a good surprise that will make them remember your business in a good way. Most businesses will do just enough to keep a customer happy, but that is not enough to really impress a customer. When you provide the unexpected surprise to the customer, it creates a very positive impression, which causes the customer to tell all their friends. Most people expect average customer service, but when you deliver surprisingly great customer service, you will get people talking, which will create very positive word of mouth for your business.


Now, the actual ways that you will have staff provide surprise rewards will vary from business to business, but it will all start with proper staff training. The key will be to empower staff to provide a special surprise to customers. The business will need to determine some basic criteria, that will give staff insight as to how they will surprise the customer. Some criteria could be the size of purchase or how loyal the customer is, but it should easy enough, that the staff can quickly recognize a situation in which they should surprise a customer with some reward. 


The rewards that will be offered will vary from business to business, but should provide some good benefit to the customer. For example, you might have a restaurant and know that this is a ten year old loyal customer, why not surprise them with a free meal. Cleaning companies could provide a free cleaning every so often to their customers.


The main point about these surprise rewards is that because they are unexpected, the customer will be more impressed, leading them to generate very positive word of mouth for your company. 

Its Not The Mistake, Its How You Fix The Mistake

There are so many customer service mistakes everyday, that you would think they are impossible to avoid. Mistakes will happen, so the key will  be to correctly detect mistakes as soon as possible, so that they can be corrected right away. I will go over a couple of common mistakes and how to correct them. If customer service mistakes are corrected quickly, you actually have the chance to build strong customer loyalty.


I am going to begin with a very common mistake, failure to get the service request correct. How often have you gone to the restaurant and had the staff get the order completely wrong, and then the staff do not seem too concerned about this mistake. The mistake may have happened due to the staff not listening or miscommunication, either way it needs to be corrected right away so that the business keeps the customer happy. Staff need to apologize right away and then proceed to correct the issue, and then followup with the customer to ensure they are happy.


One other common error is how companies resolve customer complaints. Customers want fast action when it comes to resolving issues, but often are left very frustrated by the staff, who sometimes are not very helpful. First off, the staff need to listen closely, so the customer knows they are being heard and that the staff fully understand the nature of the complaint. Then resolve the complaint and follow up with the customer to ensure the issue is resolved.


When it comes to customer service mistakes, it is not the mistake, it is how you correct the mistake, that will make the difference as to whether or not the customer will remain loyal to your company. Make sure your company excels at solving customer complaints, as this will be a key factor in building your loyal customer base.

Build An Emotional Connection With Customers

Great customer service is a powerful marketing tool, that when delivered can be used to build an emotional connection with customers. Customers need to be treated as much more than just numbers because when they are treated like just a number, it comes across as a very impersonal approach that does not build customer loyalty. When a business builds that emotional connection to a customer, they will enjoy coming to the business and be much more likely to recommend this company to their friends. 


Since referrals are a powerful way to build a business, they should be encouraged by delivering superior customer service, that amazes people. Once people realize how great your customer service is, they will keep coming back. The emotional connection that is built through great customer service, is hard for the competition to defeat, because it takes a lot of work to build up a great customer service program. Most companies will simply try to compete on price or features, but that is not enough to keep loyal customers. Companies need to be committed to putting in place a quality customer service training program, that will train staff and encourage an atmosphere of delivering amazing customer service.


Now building this emotional connection will not be easy, as it takes time to train staff and become known for great customer service, but over time it will prove to be very valuable to your business.

Greatest Customer Service Skill: Listening

There are many skills required to be great in the field of customer service, but one seems to rise above all others, the skill of listening. You can have staff who are friendly and smiling, but if they do not listen, they will annoy customers. When the staff are not listening, it causes all sorts of issues that create unhappy customers.


Not listening causes the customers to have to repeat their requests several times, and even then the staff could get the order wrong. Having customers repeat their requests, causes a lot of frustration for customers and shows them the staff do not care enough to just listen. 


Staff need to show respect to customers and listen clearly so that the customer feels they are being taken care of properly. Listening is a skill which takes time to learn to do well, but over time, proper listening will become much easier. Also, the staff need to keep in mind that customers are the reason they have jobs, which basically means customers are their bosses. Most staff listen to their boss, so they should listen just as much to the customers. 


Listening is such an important skill that shows customers the proper respect and ensures customer requests are done properly. When customers feel the staff are listening properly, it helps to create great customer service and helps to create loyal customers.

Customer Service Gone Wrong

We have all received poor customer service from time to time, but the real issue is how does the company deal with your complaint. Here is a quick story about poor customer service and how the staff did not attempt to win me over with any customer service solutions.


I had gone to a cafe and ordered a large chocolate milk. This would seem to be a  simple request, but I could tell the employee was having a hard time understanding my request, so I repeated the order. Then the clerk asks me what size I would like, which showed me she was not listening, since I had already repeated large two times. I could tell this was going to be an interesting customer service experience. Sure enough the clerk brings out my order which is completely wrong. Instead of a large chocolate milk, they bring out some kind of hot drink with milk and coffee. So I then mentioned I had ordered a large chocolate milk and the clerk seems surprised. 


My discussion had attracted the attention of the supervisor, who had now come over, and again I mentioned what I had ordered. Finally the supervisor brings me the chocolate milk, but says this is 35 cents more than what the clerk had charged me. I was quite upset, as now we had spent far too much time on such a simple issue, and the supervisor did not apologize for the error, and did not offer to cover the extra 35 cents, as a goodwill gesture.


So I told the supervisor, I no longer wanted the milk, if they were not going to make any attempt at trying to recover from this poor customer service showing. The supervisor seemed surprised, and then said they will not charge the extra 35 cents. This was a very poor example of customer service recovery, as the staff were not apologetic at all, and still wanted me to pay the extra 35 cents. You would think 35 cents would be a cheap way to build customer goodwill. So as you can imagine I am left with a very poor experience from this cafe, and I have no confidence the supervisor really cares about keeping customers happy.


This is an example of poor customer service, that will not produce word of mouth customers. However, a better way to correct the issue would of been if the supervisor came over and apologized and waived the extra 35 cent charge, that would of been a much better way to handle this poor service. This would of been the minimum level of service recovery, but if they wanted to deliver exceptional service, perhaps they could of provided some free product or other promo, to show some goodwill that they really value my business. Businesses always need to strive for exceptional customer service delivery and you will gain many loyal customers who will reward your business with increased revenue.

Powerful Words - I Am Sorry!

Its amazing how powerful the phrase , " I am sorry"  can be in dealing with customer conflicts. Customers will always have various concerns or complaints with a company, but often a simple , "I am sorry", will help to calm the customer. Now to be sure, you have to be careful how you phrase the apology.so that it sounds sincere and is directed at the inconvenience the customer suffered. In addition, you need to solve the issue the customer has and explain the resolution process, but often the customer simply wants an apology.


You are apologizing for the inconvenience and stress caused to the customer by the poor service or bad product. Customers want to know that you care about them and that you fully understand their concerns. The customer service rep could offer all kinds of solutions to the problem, but the customer could still be very angry. This is because they feel like the staff are simply trying to get rid of them as fast as they can, by offering fast solutions, but without an apology. 


Customers are not like sheep that can be just quickly herded out of the store, so we can get to the next customer. Customers need to be treated with respect and shown that the company genuinely cares about their concerns about the product or service. This quote really applies well to customer service; "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care" - John C. Maxwell. Once customers know that you actually care about them, they will typically  be more responsive to the staff who are offering the solutions to their issues. Having staff say sorry to customers when needed will allow your company to keep more of your customers and create very positive word of mouth advertising.

Stand Out From The Competition

Delivering great customer service can be a powerful way for a company to stand out from the competition. Many companies have very average or poor customer service, so delivering exceptional customer service would create very positive views for a company and allow them to be different from the competition. Most companies offer very similar products or services, but their customer service levels vary a lot. It is easy for most companies to compete on  price, but much harder to compete based on customer service levels. However, when you start to compete using customer service as a marketing tool to beat out your competition, you will be creating a strategy that is harder for your competition to match.


It takes awhile to hire the right people and it takes patience and time to train the staff to deliver great customer service. That is why most businesses will not invest the needed resources to develop a a great customer service program. Most people think of marketing tools as things like advertising, telemarketing, direct mail, internet advertising, etc, but see customer service as important but not as a tool for marketing. If a business uses customer service as a tool to keep customers happy, it allows the company to keep more of their customers and get new customers through positive word of mouth.


Just to show how important word of mouth advertising is, here are the results of a worldwide survey by Nielsen: 92% of consumers around the world say they trust  earned media, such as word-of-mouth advertising, above all other forms of advertising-an increase of 18% since 2007 as per the new study from Nielson. The study was done in 2011 and is called the The Nielson Global Trust in Advertising Survey. It polled more than 28,000 online consumers in 56 countries. ( http://nielsen.com/us/en/insights/press-room/2012/nielsen-global-consumers-trust-in-earned-advertising-grows.html )


This survey is powerful evidence for the importance of word of mouth advertising. Since great customer service is such a big factor in creating word of mouth advertising, it would make good business sense to develop exceptional customer service at your business. Once your business starts to see how delivering great customer service is a powerful marketing tool, you will keep more of your customers and potentially save money by reducing more expensive forms of advertising. Deliver exceptional customer service and your business will stand out among the competition, which creates many happy customers and happy business owners.

Great People Helping Attitudes Needed!

What are the right qualities to look for when deciding on new staff to hire? It is not an easy question to answer, but it is an important question, because it affects all businesses. Many businesses will look for potential employees with prior knowledge and experience in the industry. This is important, but what is more important is the people helping attitude of potential employees.

Some questions to be asked are: Does this person have the needed patience to deal with customers? Does the person have a genuine caring attitude to help people? How strong are their problem solving skills when dealing with customer complaints? Do they have the needed listening skills to allow the customer to say what is on their mind? These are just some considerations when trying to hire new staff. The main consideration should always be that this person has a great attitude towards helping customers.

Employees with great people helping attitudes, are extremely valuable to a company. Customers will have a much more positive view of your business when they encounter friendly and helpful staff. This would clearly lead to positive word of mouth advertising, which would increase company revenue and potentially save on marketing costs. It costs so much to get new customers, why not treat your current customers great to help ensure they stay a long term client.

Chicken Wing Customer Service, and Ready for Business

What do chicken wings have to do with customer service? Well actually quite a lot, when you go to the restaurant and receive chicken wings that are much smaller than what you just had a couple days before. I saw these new wings and thought this must be a mistake, but the server said the new restaurant owner had purchased some new chicken wings. This was no doubt done to save money, but at what cost? Customers will be quite unhappy with the new size, and the negative word of mouth will spread fast, causing customers to stop coming to the restaurant. 


It is always amazing how companies do not see customer service as a powerful marketing tool to keep customers. In this restaurant example, the business will no doubt lose revenue on the new and smaller chicken wings. Also, the negative word of mouth is not good as it will cause some people not to go to the restaurant at all. What more companies need to see is that customer service can be a very powerful marketing tool to increase business revenue and to save on marketing costs. It costs a lot to get new customers, so a business should be very focused on designing a great customer service training program for the staff.


This short chicken wing story brings me to an important milestone in my life. I have been working on a business idea for a few months, and now am ready to announce the official launch date of my business. May 1, 2012 is the official launch date of my business which is called Lightray Marketing. You can check out the website at www.lightraymarketing.ca . This business will be focused on providing customer service training as a powerful marketing tool for small businesses. 
My mission is to help you build your business one smiling customer at a time.

Store Closing Time, Customer Service Story

It always amazes me when I see obvious examples of bad customer service. Since I am in the business of customer service training, I seem to observe customer service more closely than most people. This is an example of what not to do when a customer comes into your small store.


So I go to a small store about five minutes before closing time, and the clerk can clearly see me come into the store. I know there is only a few minutes left, but I know what I want and will be at the counter by closing time. So I have my products and get to the counter, and then I am amazed at what the clerk says next, " We are closed". Sure its maybe about 30 seconds before closing, but I have money and what to buy things and the clerk is basically saying, forget your money, I need to go home, at precisely closing time.


What really amazes me is that the staff saw me come into the store and did not say they were closing, but rather waited for me to come to the counter with my products, and then tell me they were closed. Needless to say I was not impressed, and started to wave my money and say I really want to purchase these items. Can you imagine, its almost like I have to beg to give this store my money. This clerk clearly does not understand that without customers, they would not have a job, and would then not have to worry about leaving at closing time.


It is always interesting when you go into a store near closing time and see what kind of service you will receive. Customers have many reasons why they go near closing time, as we all have busy schedules. If your schedule is busy, you should not feel bad about going to a store near closing time, as you are giving them money, which allows the business to continue to exist.


How do your staff treat customers near closing time? This might be a good time to evaluate your staff to make sure they treat customers great near closing time, so that positive word of mouth develops from this sale. Perhaps to encourage staff to be friendly near closing, you could schedule their shift to end 15 minutes after the normal closing time. There are other options as well, but the main thing to let staff know is that, customers are the reason they have jobs, so treat them great all the time, even near closing time.

What Makes You Smile?

When you go to a coffee shop, what makes you smile? - A good cup of coffee? A smiling server? Or the clean restroom in the coffee shop?


If you want the good cup of coffee, it is the product you want - never mind the smile or the cozy couch or the clean restroom - just get the great cup of coffee and get out of there. Never mind if the cashier smiled or frowned. These customers could be pragmatic and frugal individuals looking for a great product at a reasonable or cheap price. If you, the seller, improve your customer service and increase the price, these customers most probably will frequent another place, looking for the same product at the price they want. On the other hand, if you, the seller, reduce your service to unbearable, and maintain your price, you most probably lose these customers. 


If you walked into a coffee shop expecting to be greeted, smiled at, and be asked about the variety of coffee choices (with great enthisiasm), then it is the service that you want - never mind if the coffee tastes like an ordinary cup of coffee, labelled with a fancy name. If you, the seller, improve your customer service and increase the price by a tiny bit, you most probably will find these customers walk back in, with all smiles. However, if you, the seller, reduce your 
customer service to nothing, and keep the same quality of coffee, these customers most probably will pay more for the same taste of coffee - somewhere else.


If you walked into a coffee shop, ordered the coffee, enjoyed the cozy couch and the high tech, sparkly clean restroom, then it is the comfort that you want - never mind the ordinary tasting coffee, never mind if the cashier didn't smile or suggest coffee flavours. If you, the seller, improve your customer service and ambiance, you most probably will find these customers coming and staying! However, if you, the seller, reduce the comfort level of the shop, leaving the coffee tasting the same, you most probably will find these customers looking for another cozy spot (your competitor!) to hang out for hours on end, paying for more than what you are charging.


It is not always great customer service that wins the day. It is the ability, on part of the seller, to recognize, what the customer wants, and deliver it exceptionally, within the budget constraints, with all the creativity, and many times better than what the competitor is offering. This is what makes the customers smile. It is not just great service, it is great analysis, identification, and deliverance of the promise of excellence, at every potential point of sale.


The next time you walk into a coffee shop, ask youself this question: What makes me smile? And then observe if the sellers know what might make you smile. Chances are, the sellers who have a successful business know what made you smile.

Corner Store Style Customer Service

Does your business deliver corner store style customer service? Corner stores often have great customer service, because its a small family business, and every customer is very important to them. Often, the staff get to know their customers personally, and are very friendly. The staff realize that every customer is important and are the reason they are in business. 


There is a great emotional bond that is built  with their customers, because of the personal relationship that is built up between store and customer. When you go to a corner store, you are not just some nameless customer, often they will get to know you by name, or for sure by face. Now remember the corner store friendly service when you want to improve your customer service at your business.


Now here are a few things that can be applied to larger businesses, to improve customer service. First off, have staff simply work on being more friendly by smiling and chatting with customers to build that emotional bond. Then you could have staff practice having a great proactive attitude when it comes to customer service. Once staff get to know customers, they can proactively offer customers helpful suggestions as they are shopping. As a final word about this, its important to convince staff that every customer is important and is the reason they have a job.


Once you train your staff in corner store style customer service, you will have a loyal customer base, that is great for business.

IVR And The Customer Relationship

Almost everybody at some point will have to deal with customer call centers. A lot of companies have toll free customer service centers to handle various requests. These centers are the face of the company they represent. They are often the first point of contact between a company and customer when there is a bad customer service issue.


However, to save money most call centers use  automated voice systems to try and limit how many calls actually come thru to the live agents. Now these so called IVR systems can save money, because the company needs fewer employees, but it causes a lot of customer frustration. The customer must navigate a voice machine maze and correctly use the system, or they can not complete the task correctly. Also, it is very difficult for the customer to find out which number to press to get a live agent. This is done on purpose by the company, because it prevents many calls from going to the call center agent. 


However, when calls go to live agents, this can create many advantages for the company, such as creating opportunities to build a stronger customer relationship or sell customers other products. Another important aspect is that the company will be able to collect more data on customers through the live interactions, which will help refine the service or product to better meet customer needs. Also, the customer will appreciate not having to fight through the IVR maze.


A call center can design a IVR voice system so that it can not only help with self service for a customer, but also offer a very clear option for the customer to press so they can get through to a live agent. This way if a customer wants to complete a task themselves, they can, or if they want to get a live agent, its very easy to do so. Companies need to begin to see the advantages of having more calls go to live agents, as this will help build quality customer relationships and produce a stronger customer base.

Should You Focus On Sales Or Profits?

In tough economic times should a business focus on increasing sales or profits?  This is really a trick question, as sales and profits are both very important, but gaining more profit per customer is really the key. Often, you can see companies focus so much money on gaining new business that they forget how to maximize profit per customer. When you increase profit per customer, you will have a reliable revenue stream, that will build a solid business foundation. Also, by maximizing the revenue per customer, you will be implementing retention practices, that will produce loyal customers, who will do a lot of word of mouth advertising, thus reducing marketing costs. 


The cost of gaining new customers is so high, it only makes good business sense to focus on keeping existing customers, as this will cost less and build a strong company profit. A strong relationship building process will need to be in place, to build an emotional bond between the customer and business and to discover their needs. This process will look different from business to business, but the principles are the same, look for ways to build a customer connection. 


This could be as simple as front line staff being friendly and getting to know customers by name, and in the process gaining valuable feedback to improve your service or product.  Now other companies might hire survey companies to phone the customer base, or they may have a retention team which contacts the consumer. Whatever method a company chooses, it needs to have a strong relationship building objective. As this relationship grows, it will provide invaluable feedback that can be used to improve company products or services. 


Once staff get to know their customers, there will need to be a process, that allows them to document the customer needs or wants, so the marketing department can  produce a more relevant  retention process or address any customer concerns. Every business should be prepared to evolve to meet these changing customer needs, thus allowing the company to become stronger. Once a company becomes more customer focused, it will build a stronger and more profitable company.

Great Customer Service Lesson

How often do we really see customer service that shines? Well, I am sure most of you would answer, not very often, which is not good. Often you can go to a store, and the staff will seem very disinterested in you as a customer. They are trained to ask, can I help you, but really they often do not care, whether you leave or stay in the store.


We are almost shocked when we do receive great customer service. For example, lets say  you go to your local coffee shop, and the staff are smiling when you come in, and they remember your favourite coffee drink, you would be very impressed. It creates a positive relationship between the customer and the company, which benefits all involved.


I am going to provide just one fast example of great service I recently received from a small town cafe. This will show the true spirit of above and beyond customer service, and will show a great example of how to really impress a customer. Now I know every business is a little different from a cafe, but its the customer service attitude example, that can teach a customer service lesson.


I was just finishing my gym workout, and wanted to buy some muffins. I thought I left the gym by 5:30pm, ( cafe closing time)  however once I got to the local cafe, I noticed it was closed. I checked my watch and sure enough it was 15 minutes past close time, but I could still see staff inside, cleaning up. The manager saw me looking through the window, and came outside to see if I wanted to make a purchase. So I said that would be great, as I was looking forward to these muffins, as they are delicious. So I went in and bought the muffins and thanked the manager for allowing me in the store after closing.


How many staff would really want to come out after closing and help the customer, I can tell you, not very many. This showed a real customer centered attitude to go above and beyond for a customer, instead of just saying, " sorry we are closed ".  Look for ways in your business to motivate staff to go above and beyond for customers, and you will have many happy customers.