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Customer Service:
Just like everybody else on this earth, you are in the
customer business. You make your living selling
something to someone, whether it be goods or services.
And it doesn't matter if you're the CEO, a retail sales
clerk, or a stay-at-home Dad, you've got a customer
somewhere, and you may have several customers inside
and outside the organization you're working in.
Unfortunately, customer service is more the exception
than the rule. We've gotten used to a clerk waiting on
us when she gets around to it, and we've come to expect
airline announcements about "short delays" to be nothing
more than a lie. No wonder you and I still say "wow"
when we encounter an individual who really understands
and delivers quality customer service.
The very fact that you're reading this tells me you
want to serve customers. You want to do more than
just process customers, going from one to the next as
quickly and impersonally as possible.
That being the case, you need to remember that customer
service starts in your head. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NOT A
DEPARTMENT. IT'S AN ATTITUDE. In other words, you
need to see every customer as a guest in your home, not
as a pest in your department.
Lots of people don't even get past this first step.
They've got a lousy attitude. I remember the sign I
saw hanging in a restaurant that read, I can only please
one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow
is not looking good either. "I'm sure they meant it as
a joke, but it's not funny. That's exactly how lots
of employees feel, and that's exactly how lots of customers
are treated.
People with this attitude try to do as little as possible.
They wouldn't want to be inconvenienced. They'll stand
around talking to their coworkers, for example, instead of
waiting on the customer browsing through the store. If
you ask me, people like that, people who don't do more
than they're paid to do aren't worth what they're being
paid to do.
Presuming you have the right attitude, you've then got
to take the right actions. I can't go into all of them
right now. That's what my 275-page book discusses, but
let's start with a few things.
First, TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS LIKE YOU'D TREAT YOUR FAMILY.
That's what Kent Williams, Senior Vice President at the USAA
Insurance Company, does. As an example, he tells about
the time an elderly Mrs. Lawless called. She was sick
and without her medicine, and she was freezing in her New
York home amidst a winter storm.
She got Stephanie Valadez, one of the reps at USAA on the
phone. Mrs. Lawless said, "My husband told me that if I
ever had a problem and didn't know where else to turn, I
should call USAA. He said you would take care of me. "
Valadez put the woman on hold, got the Red Cross on the
line, and made sure Mrs. Lawless got some help.
But here's the wonderful thing. When Mrs. Lawless phoned
in and Valadez called up her computer file, she found
that Mr. Lawless had passed away and no active policy
had been continued. A lot of companies would have hung
up on Mrs. Lawless at that point, but hanging up is not the
way you treat your family. As Kent Williams says, "That's
what we mean when we say customer service is a relationship,
not a transaction. "
Second, MAKE LIFE A BIT EASIER FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS.
After all, your customers came to you to get their problems
solved, not to have you give them more problems. So
think before you react. Will your actions, your policies,
your responses make life better or worse for your customers?
Danny Meyer, President of the Union Square Hospitality
Group, is in the restaurant business. He says you go
beyond customer service to hospitality if the customers
leave there feeling the staff is "on their side. "It
could be as simple as noticing a customer debating
over a veal or lamb entree, and you bring a small
taste of each to help her decide.
And Tony Fujta, Vice President of Parts and Service Customer
Satisfaction Training at Lexus, has found a unique
way to make life easier for Lexus customers. Because
there are fewer than 200 dealers in the United States,
many of their customers must drive hundreds of miles to
buy a Lexus. When they need routine service, they don't
want to drive all the way back to the original dealer.
So Mr. Fujita started a new service. They converted some
of their trailers into mobile service stations they can
roll into a customer's driveway.
Finally, COMMUNICATE CONSTANTLY. Never leave a customer
wondering what's happening.com
municate every step of the
way. Even if you have nothing more to report than the
fact there will be a delay, communicate that. Remember,
almost any response is better than no response. The very
fact you're communicating says you care and they're
important. As Yap Kim Wah, the Senior Vice President
of Singapore Airlines, says, "that kind of personal attention
makes all the difference in the world. "And he should
know, because Singapore Airlines has been ruled the number
one airline in the world, year after year after year.
Action for Customer Service:
For one day, have everyone on your team take on the
reverse-Clint Eastwood challenge. Instead of looking
for someone to make your day, devote an entire eight
hours doing the things that will make your customer's
day. Then get together as a team and have each person
report one good thing that happened. I guarantee it
will be a fun, uplifting meeting.
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