Outstanding customer service is the key to creating a successful organization during any economic time... but especially during challenging economic times.
It's amazing how most organizations will invest millions, if not billions, of dollars on new computer systems, new displays, new phone systems, and new marketing campaigns to try to acquire new customers. The moment of truth comes, however, when the new customer has first contact with these organizations. If the customer is ignored, disrespected, and disappointed with the customer service experience, that customer may never come back. When this occurs, these organizations apparently haven't heard the old saying, "You only get one chance to make a great first impression."
What about the present customer base? Many times these customers are treated with indifference and, in many cases, quietly go away to do business with a competitor.
Why not jumpstart your organization's success with outstanding customer service? It doesn't matter if you are involved in retail, restaurant management, consumer products, or even the government, customer service is being recognized as the key to increasing productivity, decreasing employee turnover, and increasing an organization's bottom line. Especially during challenging economic times, the quality of your customer service determines if you remain in business to serve customers or cease to exist.
The following are eight secrets to giving outstanding customer service so that your organization will be successful:
- Hire Right for Outstanding Customer Service
Organizations that give outstanding customer service invest in hiring right each and every time. They realize that they want the best employees interacting with their customers. Who is the best customer service employee to hire? Hire for attitude, not for aptitude. Hire the employee that has a great customer service attitude and has a great personality, takes initiative, has great communication skills, can show empathy, and has an eye for detail. If a prospective customer service employee has a great attitude, you can always train that employee to learn the skills. Also, the employee should be a solution creator, not a problem maker.
Make Outstanding Customer Service Your Mission
What is your organization's mission statement? What does the mission statement say about how you should treat your customer? Are you communicating this to all your employees, no matter what position they have in the organization? Take the time during meetings, e-mails, phone calls, and other communication opportunities to express the mission statement and how it relates to giving outstanding customer service. Ask during your meeting, "What did we do this week to live our mission statement and its customer service values?"
Go to the following link to read the rest: Jumpstarting Customer Service
Customer+service customer customer+retention customer+satisfaction
