Customer Service 101 (Part 2)

Customer Service 101. Serving people is not always easy. In fact, it’s a great challenge.

Yet, in the final analysis, the customer is the most important person to a business. Why? Because that customer, spending money, helps to ensure that each job at the business is kept (and perhaps more will be created). After all, when business dries up and customers go away, what happens to the employees?

Customers–even the most challenging and demanding ones–pay our salaries. They feed us and our families. They are our heroes! Let’s treat them that way.

Providing Service to a customer is a large part of every purchase and every interaction with both internal customers and external customers. It can be brief or last for hours. Since we all provide it and live it everyday in all the areas of our lives, we should not have to think so hard about doing it better.

The ideas here are useful to ensure that every relationship you have will be successful. We teach this in all of our Customer Service training classes. Certainly, this information applies to customers, to make sure they return to buy, again and again.

Customer Service 101 — Always:

• Listen.
• Respond – answer customers.
• Keep promises and commitments.
• Resolve complaints.
• Be helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable – without promise of profit.
• Go the extra mile – “walk the customer to the product” (however that can be done in your line of work).
• Throw in something extra.

Never convey or even imply these attitudes:

• I don’t know/care.
• I can’t be bothered.
• I don’t like you.
• I know it all; you know nothing.
• Don’t come back.
• I’m right; you’re wrong.
• Your time is unimportant to me.

At the end of the day, your customer service team is undeniably important for presenting a good face for your organization. Remember that your customer service experience will be dependent on the skills of your staff and the quality of the support that your customers receive.

Click here to read our original article “Customer Service 101” from our Improving Communications Blog.

This information is from the Improving Communications Improving Customer Service training class. If you’re looking for ways to improve your inter-personal communication skills, register for one of our upcoming PUBLIC CLASSES.

Other Resources:

What is Customer Service?

16 Customer Services Skills That Every Employee Should Know

6 Keys to Improving Your Teams Customer Service Skills”

Photo Courtesy of Jennifer Morton on Flickr