Archive for the ‘Customer Service’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Wow Customer Service

Monday, October 16th, 2017

 

 

What if every customer who walked in the door said, “Wow! This is crazy great! Who are these people?”

Well, you know what? You can have that. But you’re going to need to focus on not just good customer service, not just consistent customer service, because you have to have both of these, but you also need to have some “wow” customer experiences that you create for them. Those few experiences where when they are in connection with you that they go “wow” and they want to go back and tell their friends.

The old world of marketing used to work this way. People used to say, “Who put the shoe on your horse?” They did a good job and so everyone would go to Joe who put shoes on the horse because they heard he did a good job. Then, advertising came along.

Guess what? Now, we’re back to tribal stories. People talking about talk-able experiences. And the only thing they’ll talk about is not just good customer service, but blow-your-mind, “oh my gosh, you wouldn’t believe these people” customer service.

How can you create several of those experiences for your customers every day so that you know as they walk out the door, they are thinking, “Who are these people?”

Posted in Customer Service | 1 Comment »

Internal customer service

Thursday, November 17th, 2016

When most people picture a customer, they naturally think of the person who buys a company’s products and services. Making that person’s life better and easier is a great way to think of customer service.

But what about internal customer service—the way employees interact with and support others in the company? The best companies make sure their internal customer service is on par with their external customer service.

Suppose you work in IT and somebody’s computer is down. Now they can’t deliver great external service. You might make it your own goal that “No one will be down more than one hour.” Internal service supports external service.

Internal customer service also sets the tone for employee engagement. Each phone call from a colleague should be answered with the same courteous, “How may I help you?” language and tone that external customers receive.

This also has a huge impact on employee engagement. We are the face of the company to each other. If we see a cold and uncaring face when we interact with other employees, we will each naturally come to see the company itself as cold and uncaring. It’s hard to stay engaged in your work when you see your company in that unflattering light.

Engagement is tied directly to productivity, of course, so It’s not just a matter of being “nice.” Upping your internal customer service game can make the difference between a company that founders on the rocks and smooth sailing.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Customer Service | No Comments »

Uncommon sense

Monday, August 24th, 2015

I heard a story the other day about a guy who went into a bank all hunched over with a hat covering most of his face and asked for $7,000 out of a checking account. The teller gave him the $7,000, was very friendly, smiled…but she violated policy by not matching the person’s face to the ID. She probably didn’t want to seem rude by asking him to show his face.

A couple of days later he returned—same hunch, same hat over his face, and asked for a similar amount. Once again the teller complied, and once again she violated policy by not matching the face on the ID with the face of the person.

Two days later still, someone posing as his wife came in, also hunched over, cap over her face. This bank ended up losing a lot of money—and the reason is clear. Instead of putting together all of the unusual circumstances—the strange posture, the hat, the large amount of cash—each teller simply allowed a sensible policy to be violated.

Why? Because they allowed themselves to become complacent and ignored a rule because they stopped seeing the need.

It’s an easy thing to fall into. The pattern of customers in, customers out, can dull our alertness. It’s easy to stop noticing the details that matter. That’s WHY sensible policies are in place—to make sure the right thing happens, even when fatigue or boredom or the desire to be polite causes our judgment to lapse.

And a dose of common sense can’t hurt, either.

I remember my days growing up on the dairy farm and the common sense things the farmers would say. Here’s one…Before you tear down a fence, it’s a really good idea to ask why the fence was built in the first place.

Posted in Customer Service | 1 Comment »

Internal customer service

Sunday, July 27th, 2014

When most people picture a customer, they naturally think of the person who buys a company’s products and services. Making that person’s life better and easier is a great way to think of customer service.

But what about internal customer service—the way employees interact with and support others in the company? The best companies make sure their internal customer service is on par with their external customer service.

Suppose you work in IT and somebody’s computer is down. Now they can’t deliver great external service. You might make it your own goal that “No one will be down more than one hour.” Internal service supports external service.

Internal customer service also sets the tone for employee engagement. Each phone call from a colleague should be answered with the same courteous, “How may I help you?” language and tone that external customers receive.

This also has a huge impact on employee engagement. We are the face of the company to each other. If we see a cold and uncaring face when we interact with other employees, we will each naturally come to see the company itself as cold and uncaring. It’s hard to stay engaged in your work when you see your company in that unflattering light.

Engagement is tied directly to productivity, of course, so It’s not just a matter of being “nice.” Upping your internal customer service game can make the difference between a company that founders on the rocks and smooth sailing.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Customer Service | No Comments »

The Accountability Power-Up

Sunday, July 13th, 2014

A study by the American Society for Training and Development shows how important accountability is for success. If you hear a good idea, there’s a 10 percent probability that you’ll actually do it. Deciding to do it moves the likelihood to 25 percent. Commit to someone else, and the likelihood rises to 65 percent.

But make a specific accountability appointment with that person, complete with deadline and deliverables, and the likelihood of actually doing it shoots up to 95 percent.

That’s what accountability does for success.

Of course we can always find a lame excuse to avoid accountability. “I was too busy.” “There isn’t enough time in the day.” “I tried my best.” “The supplier is a jerk.” “I sent an email!”

If having an excuse is the goal, we will never fail. All you need is a little imagination. But your career will be short and stressful if you don’t understand that “results rule”—and excuses shouldn’t ever be uttered IF you want any respect from your boss or team. To rock your job, build accountability systems for yourself and for those around you. That’s where REAL success happens.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Customer Service | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »