The Basics of Customer Service

It is not uncommon for people to express their concern and frustration for the poor level of customer service that they often receive while out in the world doing business or even over the phone from their workplace, or the comfort of their own home. It’s not unusual to hear complaints or criticism for how they have been mistreated because of what is often refer to as a lack of good old common sense. It is my contention that if common sense were as common in society as we think it should be then there would be little need to remind people of the basics of life constantly. Some people are naturally gifted when it comes to serving the needs of others while other people need some help in this area and I’ll admit that there are some people who are either so thick or indifferent that they should never be placed in a position where they interact with customers or the outside world for that matter. Here is a list of general rules or guidelines that you should follow, that project respect, reflect maturity on your part and show the customer that you appreciation their business:

1. Smile and act with enthusiasm!
2. Always behave in a mature, responsible and professional manner. (This is especially important if you are younger because you will never be treated with dignity and respect if you don’t first treat others this way!)
3. Pay attention (solid eye contact) and listen when the customer is speaking to you.
4. Do not interrupt customers mid sentence.
5. Minimize wait times (putting them on hold), bureaucracy, red tape and passing the buck.
6. Never engage in an argument with a customer, it won’t resolve anything.
7. With in reason, do your best to ensure customer satisfaction.
8. Make the customer’s life easier by making things simpler for them and minimizing inconveniences.
9. Think ahead about how your actions or inactions may impact the customer and the long-term business relationship and then make necessary changes to create the best possible outcome for the customer.
10. Take personal ownership of problems rather than passing the buck or giving the customer the run around, don’t assume it is someone else’s issue or ignore it and hope it will go away.
11. Make suggestions to management regarding potential improvements that can be made in order to improve customer relations.
12. Reduce customer wait times by making certain that serving the needs of the customer is always your num- ber one priority!
13. Speak in a clear, audible tone so that customers can easily understand you when you communicate.
14. Avoid pulling rank on a customer or having a power trip because of a perceived sense of authority.
15. Keep a level head, never allow your emotions to get the best of you, avoid becoming angry or frustrated, always remain calm and cool.
16. When passing a customer call to another individual or department because of an inability to resolve the customer issue, stay on the phone line with the customer while they are being transferred, introduce them to the other party and make sure that they are okay before ending your involvement in the matter.
17. Make any instructions that you provide simple and easy for people to understand.
18. When you make a commitment to get back to a customer with information etc., follow through with your promise.
19. Always ask for acknowledge or acceptance of information or instructions after you explain them to the customer. (eg. “Do you understand?” or “Does that make sense to you?”)
20. Think about how you would prefer to be treated if the roles were reversed and you were the customer.

Anyone who works in customer service is occasionally going to be presented with a irate customer who will never be happy no matter what you do or say. These instances are rare unless you are employed somewhere where negative situations are created because of the very nature of the business or because the company just does a poor job of servicing clients needs on a regular consistent basis. Hiring the most suitable candidates, providing them with some guidelines and boundaries to follow and giving them proper training in the disciplines of effective customer service will significantly increase the odds of better customer interactions and stronger customer relations.

Always apply The Golden Rule - “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

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Marshall W. Northcott, Canada's Sales Expert

www.marshallnorthcott.com

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