Strong, mutually beneficial relationships with important outside constituencies is one of the pillars of leadership that I highlight in my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations.
Customers are the most important outside constituency for any business. Recently, I came across an interesting article by Susan Ward on About.com entitled Eight Rules for Good Customer Service. Ms. Ward makes some great common sense points.
1) Answer your phone.
Get call forwarding or an answering service. Hire staff if you need to. But make sure that someone is picking up the phone when someone calls your business. Notice I say “someone”. People who call want to talk to a live person, not a “fake recorded robot”.
2) Don’t make promises unless you WILL keep them.
Not plan to keep them, but will keep them. Reliability is one of the keys to any good relationship, and good customer service is no exception. If you say, “Your new bedroom furniture will be delivered on Tuesday”, make sure it is delivered on Tuesday. Otherwise, don’t say it. The same rule applies to client appointments, deadlines etc. Think before you give any promise – because nothing annoys customers more than a broken one.
3) Listen to your customers.
Is there anything more exasperating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that that person hasn’t been paying attention and needs to have it explained again? From a customer’s point of view, I doubt it. Can the sales pitches. Let your customer talk and show him that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem.
4) Deal with complaints.
No one likes hearing complaints, and many of us have developed a reflex shrug, saying, “You can’t please all the people all the time”. Maybe not, but if you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time - and position your business to reap the benefits of good customer service.
5) Be helpful - even if there’s no immediate profit in it.
The other day I popped into a local watch shop because I had lost the small piece that clips the pieces of my watch band together. When I explained the problem, the proprietor said that he thought he might have one lying around. He found it, attached it to my watch band – and charged me nothing! Where do you think I’ll go when I need a new watch band or even a new watch? And how many people do you think I’ve told this story to?
6) Train your staff to ALWAYS be helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable.
Do it yourself or hire someone to train them. Talk to them about good customer service and what it is (and isn’t) regularly. Most importantly, give every member of your staff enough information and power to make those small customer-pleasing decisions, so he never has to say, “I don’t know, but so-and-so will be back at...”
7) Take the extra step.
For instance, if someone walks into your store and asks you to help them find something, don’t just say, “It’s in Aisle 3.” Lead the customer to the item. Better yet, wait and see if he has questions about it, or further needs. Whatever the extra step may be, if you want to provide good customer service, take it. They may not say so to you, but people notice when people make an extra effort and will tell other people.
8) Throw in something extra.
Whether it’s a coupon for a future discount, additional information on how to use the product, or a genuine smile, people love to get more than they thought they were getting. And don’t think that a gesture has to be large to be effective. The local art framer that we use attaches a package of picture hangers to every picture he frames. A small thing, but so appreciated.
I particularly like Ms. Ward’s sixth point – train your staff. Common sense leaders teach the people the people they lead how to provide good customer service by teaching them to do five things well.
- Respond – Common sense leaders teach the people they lead to answer customer inquiries and complaints promptly.
- Listen – Common sense leaders teach the people they lead how to listen and respond appropriately to customer questions and concerns.
- Help – Common sense leaders instill a sense of helpfulness in the people they lead. They teach them everything they need to know before having them interact with customers.
- Judge – Common sense leaders teach the people they lead to use their own judgment. They delegate the discretion to handle many customer issues and complaints without having to ask them.
- Honor – Common sense leaders teach the people they lead to be honest with customers and to keep their promises.
Customers are a very important outside constituency. Common sense leaders make sure that the people they lead are skilled at providing excellent customer service.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
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