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Courtesy of David Kiviaho, kiisa corporation
What kind of customer service does your business provide to the community? Do your employees comprehend the importance of your products and services? Do they convey the vital nature of what you offer the community…to the community? Do your employees treat customers with hospitality? Really, do they, do you?
You do not have to travel far to find a person who has received poor customer service because it happens every second of every day. Yes, statistically it does happen! People are getting lost in automated voice lines, dealing with rude frontline employees, being given misinformation regarding their accounts, listening to disgruntled employees air corporate laundry, being treated with little or no respect, or being regarded as though they were more of a nuisance than a welcome additive to the financial bottom line.
Why does poor customer service happen? Could be the sign of the times, ever heard that stated? Maybe it is, or maybe the sign of the times is simply that people are becoming accustomed to giving, and receiving poor customer service. Yes, it is true that the global economy and the American culture have evolved and changed. We could even go as far as to speculate that wars, disease, and world disasters have taken a negative toll on the psyche of humanity. More simply put, we are all in a collective bad mood these days! Whatever the reason may be, hope is still alive. Real solutions to poor customer service issues do exist. However, these solutions do not include the employer throwing their hands in the air and yelling at the employee, “The customer is always right!” Though the customer is always the customer, they are not always right.
Quite frankly, the only way to counteract the negativity of poor customer service is to transform the workplace mindset of the employees. They must be taught customer service concepts including, but not limited to; effective listening and telephone skills, customer loyalty and retention, and relationship building. These are only a few of the many comprehensive customer service concepts that employers and their employees must integrate into the workplace. The business customer service life depends on how the customer is treated.
The Golden Rule in Luke 6:31 states: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It does not get much simpler than this if someone is ever to think, “How do I treat that customer.” Once this basic rule is understood by the workforce, and integrated into the collective policies and procedures of the workplace, professional and pleasant customer service will make a resounding comeback. Now, add in the comprehensive customer service training concepts into the business mix and you have a beginning recipe for customer service success.
Tags: business, customer service
Posted in
Business Skills Blog |
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