Category Archives: Customer Service Tips

Customer Service Tips

Customer Service Impressions

December 31, 2011 – 7:26 pm

These days, many business owners understand the importance of their employees projecting a professional image to customers, particularly at the first point of contact. By creating a good first impression by being welcoming and friendly is a very good customer service skill to have and use in any business situation. However, if the employee who conveys that message is wearing inappropriate or unkempt, smelly clothing that does not fit in with the culture or office environment then it can create a bad impression and project a poor image for the business in the eyes of customers. An exception to this rule will of course be in a factory or workshop situation that may not have the resources or requirement for a front office person.
In back-of-house areas, it is accepted that employees will generally wear more casual and flexible attire, however when dealing with customers in reception and front counter areas, most employers would expect a higher dress standard, although again this will depend on what the work role demands.

For example, many large and small businesses can outfit their employees in modern uniforms that are designed and made in the company’s colors or branded with a smart business logo to convey a professional look. However, wearing a company uniform can place an element of responsibility on the wearer to project a good impression at all times both on and off-duty while wearing the company uniform. For example, conveying a bad impression or displaying poor customer service skills can effectively damage the reputation of a business that will inevitably over time lead to loss of sales and bottom-line profits. Alternatively, providing good customer service skills while wearing the company uniform can lead to increased sales volumes and continual customer loyalty.

Nowadays, although good customer service is a vital ingredient in any corporate type role, dress codes have become more relaxed and casual with employees being encouraged to display their personal tastes by wearing fashionable clothing and having slick trendy hair styles. In general, an employee who has a clean, fresh, well groomed look allows an approaching customer to focus their attention on what the employee has to say without looking at what condition clothing is or how dirty shoes are.

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Customer Service Tips

The Danger of Complacent Customer Service

May 7, 2011 – 6:31 pm

It can be very easy for a successful business to dismiss or even ignore complaints of poor customer service when business is booming and the EFTPOS machines are humming. Being complacent and having a nonchalant approach to legitimate customer complaints can be a bad mistake for a business that has a reputation for providing good customer service. With rapid advances in communication technology through social networking sites such as twitter and Facebook, angry customers who have been subjected to poor customer service can now simply voice their annoyance online about the shortcomings of a business to literally hundreds of people.
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Customer Service Tips

Customer Service Questionnaire

December 23, 2010 – 5:33 pm

A customer service questionnaire can be provided to customers in all types of businesses to gather information with the objective of improving existing services or products for the consumer. For example, a questionnaire can be provided at the end of a business deal, contract or service that has been provided and is not a new idea. Nowadays, many businesses can simply email their customers a questionnaire that can be completed online in confidence.
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Customer Service Tips

Customer Service Tips for Retail Store Businesses

July 17, 2010 – 2:10 am

These days many retail stores and outlets employ young shop assistants to sell products such as shoes, handbags, groceries, beverages, clothing and a variety of other merchandise. Shop owners therefore have to place a lot of faith and trust in their staff to provide exceptional customer service so that customers are left happy and satisfied with the service they have been given. This can sometimes be very difficult because some customers can be argumentative and intimidating, so no matter how accommodating or helpful you try to be they will never be satisfied with the service provided. Fortunately, the majority of customers don’t cause any problems because they either enter a store to have a look around or to buy something.

Although all customers should be valued and provided with good customer service at all times, it’s only natural that attending to the ‘buying’ customer is usually the person who is given priority. Let’s face it, customer’s buying goods from a business will mean an injection of cash that will help a business to pay overheads, outstanding debts and staff wages.

For example, handling a customer in a menswear store who has found the shirt he wants to buy is generally just a matter of accepting the customer’s credit card and packaging up the shirt. This may seem a simple exercise; however a good salesperson handling such a sale can take that extra step in providing exceptional customer service. The following are several customer service tips that will explain how this can be achieved.

1. When the customer approaches the sales counter with a product to buy always be cheerful and helpful
2. It may not always be possible but try to build a rapport with the customer.
3. While wrapping the item ask if there is anything else you can help the customer with.
4. If your store has a loyalty program ask the customer if he/she would like a loyalty card. This could help to entice the customer to return for repeat business.
5. Inform the customer that if the product bought does not fit then they can return it and exchange it for the correct size.
6. Always thank the customer. Most people appreciate being thanked after they have spent money purchasing products.

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Customer Service Tips

Customer Service Tips For Success

June 25, 2010 – 11:47 pm

Providing good customer service should be a number one priority for any company or business because in very simple terms without them we would not be able to survive.

In simple terms it is vital for small and large businesses to have in place proper guidelines for staff members to follow so that a customer leaves the place of business satisfied with a feeling he has been provided with excellent service and a desire to return or continue doing business with your firm.
In many cases a customer’s first experience with a business is through telephone contact. The following are a few telephone customer service tips that will assist staff at first point of contact.

1.  Be friendly, welcoming and build a rapport with the customer by informing the caller your first name so they are not left with the feeling they are just talking to a voice.
2.  Be attentive and listen carefully to what the customer wants.
3.  Explain what your business can provide if necessary so that the customer is kept up to date and assured their requirements can be met.
4.  If your business is out of stock of a particular product or is unable to provide the service required ensure the client is informed of the reason why and try to find an alternative that might satisfy the customer’s requirements.
5.  Lastly, always thank the customer for calling.

A call center can be another problem area for businesses particularly where they need to rely on this type of arrangement to take messages by telephone. Here are some key call center customer service tips that can be followed to ensure customers are felt valued by your business.

5 Call Center Customer Service Tips

1.  Calls should be answered promptly.
2.  Staff should always be courteous and friendly.
3.  Avoid switching a customer to another staff member to sort out a problem. Place the customer on hold and try to find out the answer for the customer yourself.
4.  If a customer is placed on hold (for example while the person the customer wants to talk to is on another line) ensure the customer is informed every now and then what is happening and the reason why their call cannot be put through.

The above customer service phone tips as outlined above are only a sample of what staff can do to provide good customer service. Remember, any improvements or changes that can be made to existing systems or processes in a business that will have the positive impact of eliminating poor customer service should not be overlooked.

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Customer Service Tips

Customer Service Call Center Services

May 16, 2009 – 11:42 pm

It is now widely recognized that it has become a necessity to have an effective call center service. This is because the value in providing good customer service can’t be underestimated in the business world today, especially if a businesses bottom line relies heavily on providing up to date information to its customers through its communication systems such as through telephone, fax or Email.

Having an efficient Customer Service Call center means customers are satisfied and impressed with the efficiency of the business they are dealing with. Every customer or user wants to know they are being looked after through after sales service.

Many businesses are finding it cost effective to outsource call center services as this reduces costs saves money and frees up staff to work on other areas of their business. Inbound call center services are therefore now recognized universally as an effective method to increase growth while satisfying customers demands.

There are now many good customer service call centers that offer inbound call center services that benefit businesses in a number of areas as described below –

Answer Services – Entails recording messages after hours from customers
Help Desk Services – Provides customers with assistance and information about consumer products and services
Technical Assistance – Provides technical help and support to customers who may have a problem or fault with a particular product
Processing Orders – This would involve dealing with a request for information or an order for an item through to its sale and delivery
Customer Services – Involves activities that improves a customers level of satisfaction and contentment

Some of the customer call center services that are available these days can be customized to meet the requirements and demands of any business or organization. For example an efficient call service center would be resourced with state of the art telecommunication systems, advanced computer networks and phone systems all backed up with trained customer services representatives and quality control professionals.

The Advantages of Web-Enabled Call Center Services

This type of call center service is only accessible and available on the internet and is designed to assist customers or clients anywhere in the world. Web-enabled call centre services is these days an increasingly common method for businesses to meet their business requirements and needs, particularly if there is some distance between the client and business. For example, this could involve people living in a different country to where the business is located.

The web-enabled call center services also help in other ways such as recognising productive messages and valued customers giving maximum return to the business for minimum outlay. The spin offs and advantages of a web-enabled call center service has the ability to substantially increase profits, improve staff output, reduce expenses and enhance customer satisfaction.

The modern call center today can be a very demanding workplace for call center agents. In the high paced work environment of a call center the customer services call center agent can be tested with a multitude of calls and queries which means agents need to be qualified to handle all types of pressures they may expect to deal with in a hectic work environment.

Call center services agents therefore play an important part in providing good customer service because they are in general the first point of contact a client or customer will have with the business or organization they have contacted.

It is vital to have customer service call center agents who are properly trained and have the knowledge to efficiently master today’s complex equipment and technology so that consumers and clients of any business can be confidently delivered at all times good customer services.

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Customer Service Tips

Define Customer Service

May 16, 2009 – 11:33 pm

How can you define Customer Service?

This can be a difficult subject and not as easy as you may think. The mind can also become cloudy and confused very quickly when reading through the numerous definitions listed on the Web for the term ‘customer service’. It can therefore be difficult for the reader to work out which definition would best fit the particular situation or workplace he or she may belong to. A lot of the definitions I have come across during my research are all relevant, insightful and interesting, but more often than not customer service is often misinterpreted then poorly implemented because it has been badly defined.

Most successful Corporations and businesses require a customer service model upon which a strategy can be built because in today’s business environment, the common belief that customer service is just ‘meeting the needs of the customer’ is not enough.

To help find answers on how to define customer service, I have collated the following simple phrases that outline what I think the definition of customer service should embrace.

Customer service is………

- a positive attitude of caring and ability to deliver the needs of the customer

- an assurance to provide quality service to internal and external customers in a suitable
manner

- the practice of providing customers with top class benefits in order to satisfy them

- any dealings between a customer and a business that causes a good or bad
perception by a customer.

- is a term that portrays the helpful process on how a customers needs are taken care of

- is how a business provides the requirements of its customers

- is the art of treating customers efficiently and fairly

- is the expertise to provide a product to the customer as agreed

In my quest to define customer service and after studying many of the customer service definitions I have come across, it became clear that to define customer service it would be necessary to include the following simple and basic key elements…… Effectively attending to and satisfying a customer’s needs through various channels (personal, phone, mail) by providing helpful assistance and friendly advice before, during and after a purchase or service the customer is provided.

So why bother to define customer service?

There are many people who say you can’t define customer service. This is because many organizations put themselves first and the customer second, which is interesting because it is easy to sit back with a smile of satisfaction and say “we have had a good year, profits are up and things are going well”. That approach is understandable when things are running smoothly, but in times of uncertainty, steps need to be taken to look at gaining a competitive edge and a reputation on delivering quality service or products to the consumer. Today, many long standing businesses constantly review their customer service systems and processes in an effort to look for improvement to their business as and when required.

The answer therefore to ‘why bother to define customer service’ is to help businesses learn and understand better what their customers’ needs and wants are, so that plans can be developed that improve and put into practice processes that are customer friendly.

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Customer Service Tips

Customer Service Techniques

May 16, 2009 – 11:25 pm

Always remember that when dealing with any customer, client or visitor to your workplace it is a golden opportunity to deliver or provide that person with a sense of personal satisfaction. Every successful business from local corner stores to high turnover corporate companies generally strive to satisfy and deliver what the customer wants. The secret to successfully manage this is to understand and put into practice a number of tried and true customer services techniques.

You will find that there are a massive amount of books and reading material available on customer services techniques, training courses and all sorts of spin doctor advice about service delivery and methods on what to do or not do to improve customer service.

The following key basic customer service techniques outlined in this article are provided to help you to deliver exceptional customer service and to assist in making your clientele feel valued and happy to want to deal with you or your business.

Engaging with your customer

One of the key principles in providing good customer relationships is to build a rapport and trust with your customer. This can be done in various ways but one of the best customer service techniques successfully used these days is to engage the customer in friendly conversation by introducing yourself by name and where appropriate asking theirs. This indicates to the customer that you are interested in them and what they want. The customer has chosen your business for a reason so always be polite, ask relevant questions and be genuinely interested in what the customer has to say by listening and making eye contact if you can. By showing a genuine interest and being friendly the customer is more likely to respond in a positive manner and develop confidence with you. A customer will sense that you are not genuinely interested and it will become more difficult for you to build a rapport.

Find out what the customer wants

A customer will generally know what they want, some customers may be confused and others may be unsure on how or where to find something. Your primary role is to first and foremost help the customer by guiding and assisting them to get what they want. The best customer service technique is to politely converse with the customer and when the ice has broken and the customer is relaxed ask relevant questions and listen to the answers as this will help you to assist the customer in getting what they require. A satisfied customer will remember the friendly helpful service you have provided and will keep coming back and recommend you and your business to other people.

Be knowledgeable about the business

In many instances (and this can apply to any business or service) it is not possible to provide what your customer wants for a variety of reasons. It is therefore important to be familiar with what your business can and can’t offer. To avoid a customer wasting their time looking for something your business is unable to provide it is a good customer service technique to be aware if you can of people wandering around looking confused. By approaching customers and showing you are knowledgeable about what there is to offer and what you can do for them the customer will feel valued and grateful for the service you have provided.

The importance of planning to improve service

When things are going well complacency can creep in customer service standards can slip. When this happens it provides an opportunity for the competition to try and go one better than your business or service by being smarter, more cost effective and quicker. To ensure this scenario does not happen many shrewd businesses use the effective customer service technique of putting in place regular training programmes to instruct and remind staff about the importance of providing exceptional customer service through communication effectiveness, customer rapport, phone etiquette and dealing with difficult customers. It is well known that investing in customer service training programmes with the aim of improving and training staff is one of the most effective methods businesses use to consistently deliver what the customer wants.

Earning customer loyalty

This can be achieved through various customer service techniques such as the age old offering of discounts on products and services to loyal customers (some businesses of course may have in place a loyalty card that offers discount incentives). If a customer has forgotten their loyalty card be accommodating and if not a member offer them the opportunity to join the loyalty programme. When a customer has a problem always do your best to remedy it as this will in turn lead to customer loyalty and earn you a reputation for going the extra mile to help your customers. Following up with customers after providing a service or sale (mainly big ticket items) through Email, phone or letter will also pay off in customer loyalty and in most cases adds a welcome personal touch.

Thanking the customer

When concluding a sale or business service ensure the customer is thanked in a genuine manner. In many cases customers are dealt with hurriedly and sent on there way as if they are on a production line. Customers like to feel valued and treated with courtesy so it is an important customer service technique to thank customers genuinely and by making sure you are grateful for their business. It is also a good idea to ask the customer if there is anything else you can do because by you taking the time to ask can sometimes result in more business turnover and customer loyalty.

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