| |
| |
|
Customer Service Information |
|
|
|
Committed To Your Customer? Prove It When They Complain!
Businesses like to brag in their advertising about quality of work, commitment to their customers, and excellent service. These statements are also proudly advanced in Mission, Vision, and Values Statements. They are foundational to success. But, let's face it we all occasionally make misteaks (misspelling intentional) and, even in the best of companies, anger a loyal customer. If we are lucky, we have built up enough "satisfaction-equity" with miffed customers that they will take the time and effort to complain, giving us the opportunity to correct the situation instead of them just silently defecting to the competition. It makes no difference if the complaint is justified or not (customers make misteaks also!), but when a customer complains, realize they are offering the company a chance to continue the relationship and save a customer by backing up all those claims of commitment with an immediate, polite, and satisfactory response. Let's assume the complaint is unjustified and the customer is dead wrong. You are in a position of potentially losing a customer without having done anything wrong so better respond fast. Respond by thanking the customer for bringing the matter to your attention and politely explain the customer's incorrect perception of error. Offer, a "thank you for your loyalty" extra service, coupon, or partial refund just to help induce the customer to return. After all, the complaining customer is giving you the opportunity to woo them back. On the other hand, if the complaint is justified and you are in error, think of this as a real opportunity to prove your mettle. If the error is systemic, change the system to insure this error will not happen again and notify the customer about the new procedure. If the error is just a dumb mistake, apologize profusely. In either case, offer inducements to right the wrong, and follow-up. If you sincerely work to apologize and explain the situation that caused the problem, reasonable people who have been satisfied in the past, will give you a second chance when you prove your commitment. Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com Questions??? Send an email to larry@larrygaller.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Customer-Service - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
You Bever Know Who Youre Serving You Never Know Who You're Serving when customers turn irate.I think of myself as a reasonable person. 4 Tips Toward Overcoming Bad Customer Service Customer service is the pits, you say. You are not alone. How To Build a Profitable Business It's never too soon to start saying thanks to your clients, vendors and referral sources for what they contribute to your business. Everyone loves to be appreciated and acknowledged, so start now and do something every month. Passing the After-Sales Test Some time ago a major UK food retailer decided to branch out into non-foods. Well, they all do it now, but in those days it was unheard of. Writing The Book On Great Customer Service Q: One of the big chain bookstores recently opened up near my small book store. Already I can see my business starting to decline. Boomerang Customers- What You Might NOT Think Brings Them Back! With all of the calendars and PDA's and lists I make I recently did a really dumb thing. I forgot my best friend's birthday and her anniversary. What Every Employee Should Know About How to See Customers Problems from Their Creative Side Customer Service is a blessing and a curse; a blessing to the customer and a curse to you, the employee. At least so it seems. One of the Secrets of a Great Customer Experience A few weeks ago we conducted our annual "Customer Experience Study Tour" in London England. This is where we take delegates to visit a number of leading Customer Experience companies for a behind-the-scenes look at how they approach the task of building a great Customer Experience. The Art of Giving Great Service Sales is tough to get right, and depends on retaining those customers, yet people do it badly and unprofessionally all the time. It's really not difficult to learn the art of good service, and if you get it perfect, you will see those rewards. When the Customer Demands: Give a Discount or Lose the Order Periodically every sales person encounters the customer who refuses to buy unless they receive a discount. Sometimes this is driven by the organization's culture or the buyer wanting to look good to their boss and sometimes it is simply the mindset of the individual buyer them self. How to Transform Your Voicemail into an Effective Medium of Communication "Hi this is Randy. Leave me a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Customers - Hold Onto the Ones Youve Got You probably spend a great deal of your time looking for new customers or clients. However, are you sure your doing enough to hold onto the ones you've got. Customer Service: Why Bears Make Bad Customers Every business owner should have a picture of his or her ideal customer. When I picture my ideal customer, I see a business owner struggling to find time for all that needs to be done, someone passionate about what they do, someone striving to find answers to make their business run better. You MUST Sweat the Small Stuff It's The Little Things That Make or Break a Small BusinessIf you make a poor impression in small things, why should customers trust you with larger ones like buying your product regularly or giving you a big order? In the last two days, I've seen this simple fact proved three times.I ordered software from Company A. The Added Value - Is YOU! If there was a restaurant in your town that was physically attractive and clean, had a pleasant variety of entrées on the menu, served food that was prepared in an attractive manner, and the service was outstanding--the maitre'd greeted you by name, remembered which was your favorite table, stopped by later to inquire about your needs and satisfaction, the waiters and waitresses bent over backwards to make your dinner a pleasurable experience and always treated you as if you were their most important patron--would you be willing to pay a little more than other restaurants charged?Many of us will pay a more to obtain better treatment. Why? Today, outstanding customer service has become the exception rather than the rule. The Nine Principles of Customer Service for the Travel Industry© If you want to learn how to get your clients to do your selling for you through excpetional customer service, read on. Learn customer service secrets from tourism professionals, apply them to your business and prosper. Your Voice Print "Mountains are built one pebble at a time and climbed one step at a time." This is a quote of mine that I personally put into practice each day as I progress towards fulfilling my WHY in life. Customer Service: Everyone is Fighting Their Own Personal Battles Relationships.. 4 Things Your Clients Want From Your Company Sure, all clients are different. They have different kinds of strengths, weaknesses, cultures and goals. How Not to Get Stiffed, Improving Your Collection Procedures Some businesses have slow paying customers or past due balances because they didn't "train" their customers in the beginning.It is important that your customers know your credit policy and/or terms of payment, BEFORE they become a customer.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2008 |
