Companies that emphasize service make more money than companies that don’t. I would go further and say that generally employees that emphasize and exhibit good customer service skills make more money than employees that don’t.
Organizations that focus on superior customer service turn out to be all-around better, more successful organizations than those that treat customers like the enemy and behave like customer service is either a grudging afterthought or a necessary evil. In other words, Service is not “Serve Us”!
It comes down to you. What you do is important. What you do is work – hard work! Good service means delivering good results from the customer’s point of view. Clients don’t know your area of responsibility, your job description, or what you personally can or can’t do for them. And they don’t care. They feel their issues are your business, not theirs. They want service and they expect you to deliver for them.
To meet those expectations, ask the following questions. What do my customers want from me, and from my organization? How do other support areas work to serve this customer? What are the details – little things – that make a difference in my customers satisfaction?
Quality service is determined by five factors: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles (appearance, …).
Reliability is primarily influenced by doing what you say you will do to and for your customers. This requires setting expectations and keeping those commitments. If you can’t keep a commitment, first apologize. Admit something has gone wrong and discuss what your customer needs now. See if you can turn this new problem into an opportunity to recover your reputation.
Responsiveness requires acknowledging their need and keeping customers informed on progress toward meeting the need.
Assurance requires two equally important attributes - caring and competence. Courtesy is important but it is not enough. Make a good first impression, but follow that up with results and positive outcomes.
Empathy means treating customers as individuals and understanding their point of view. Focus on acknowledging the frustration they likely are feeling and solving their problem.
Rules of Customer Service: make the customer feel heard, understood, liked, respected, helped, and appreciated.
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