Northern Rivers Business Owners Are You Really Providing Great Customer Service?

Providing Great Customer Service

I am a friendly person and I like friendly people. In reality, everyone is not going to be pleasant, but one place that I expect a warm reception is in the retail business. This includes physical stores and virtual stores. When I am a customer shopping for goods and services, part of the deal is that I receive the best product and the best help from the company.

I recently called on some businesses in Alstonville - the vast majority were exceptionally friendly - a very small minority were about as customer-friendly as a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. I wrote this article with them in mind…

What is that old adage, “Good news travels fast?” Well, in business just the opposite is true. When someone has a bad experience, they can’t wait to tell everyone that they know. Part of it is venting and maybe getting even with someone that has wronged them, and part of it is warning people that they care about not to use such an inferior product or service.

Whatever the reason, bad customer service is to blame and it can hurt your business. Our business will encounter customers that will put us through our paces. They will be irritable, grouchy, and looking for something to be wrong. We have no choice but to tolerate their behavior and deal with them tactfully.

For every bad client, there is a client that appreciates our business and expects the same respect in return. What does this mean? It means that when a customer contacts us via email about a problem, we respond to their request as soon as possible. If the standard time for response is two days, state that clearly on the page that is set up to handle complaints. Customers should know upfront what the procedures are for contact.

Don’t hide from your customers if you don’t know the answer. Get to work on the issue right away and find the answer. This is where all of those forums come in handy. You can find someone else who has encountered the same problem who can give you advice.

Ensure excellent customer service by setting up a section devoted to it on your website. Troubleshoot all of the things that can go wrong with your service or product. You have been a customer enough times to be able to role play. Maybe a report didn’t download. Or maybe an item was delivered damaged.

Spend time working on solutions to these problems so that you don’t have to improvise when you come to that fork in the road. It is best to be prepared ahead of time so that the customer service process runs smoothly.

When customer service is bad, people will talk a lot. When a problem arises and customer service is good, someone may talk about how you solved their problem, or they may not. But, when someone is looking for a professional business of your caliber, that same person will know who to recommend and it will be you. Keep them talking by sending a customer survey by email whenever someone purchases your product.

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