Customer Service - A Lost Art?

by Craig Binkley

Copyright 2006 Craig Binkley

Is customer service a lost art? Before you answer that question, take a moment and think about the last few times you have gone shopping or out to dinner. Okay, now that you have really thought about it, is your answer any different?

Why is it that when we actually DO receive excellent customer service that it makes such an impression on us that we usually choose to go back? Why - because the occurrences are so few and far between!!!

As a home business owner, it is imperative to my business that customer service is ALWAYS a top priority. Remember the saying: “If you don’t take care of your customer, somebody else will”. I’m sure you have read or heard it somewhere before.....and how true it is.

Here are a few ways to improve customer service at your business:

1) SMILE - Sounds too simple, right? As a customer, would you prefer to be serviced by a smiling face, or a scowl that would befit a guard dog?

2) LISTEN - Always be slow to speak and quick to listen. Let customers express themselves without you trying to do it for them. Nobody likes being interrupted.

3) DON’T BE TOO PUSHY - Yeah, I know - the bottom line is sales, right?

There is a fine line between suggesting products/services and pushing them down a customer’s throat. If you are too pushy, your customer will probably walk away and take their business elsewhere.

4) PHONE ETTIQUETTE - Whether you are answering or initiating a call, always remember who the customer is. Be polite. Try “Yes sir/ma’am” instead of “yeah” and “nope”. If you don’t have an answer for your customer - offer to do some research to find what they are inquiring about.

5) THANK YOU - ALWAYS thank your customers. Even if you could not help them or they decided not to purchase from you. Leave them with a positive impression of your business before they leave.

6) TRAINING - Train your employees. Don’t let an untrained employee ruin your track record of excellent customer service. Train your employees on-the-job for as long as necessary to teach them good customer service.

“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” Luke 6:31

In conclusion: Customer service may be THE most important aspect of your business plan. I know of many people who are willing to pay a little more for a product or service in order receive excellent customer care. Price, advertising, and location are all vital to a business---- but whatever you do, don’t overlook the all-important “Good Customer Service”.



Craig Binkley - husband, father and home business owner. Visit his Work From Home Directory at http://www.workfromhomehelper.com for legitimate work from home opportunities and ideas.


Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

Company Policy Does More Damage to Customer Service Than Anything Else

by Alan Boyer

As a customer service consultant I see things across many companies that most companies don’t see while working inside the company.

o Company Policy
One of the biggest problems is “company policy.” Many company policies are structured to protect the company from the customer instead of helping the customer get what he wants and has paid for. Your success will explode when your company, and your employees are structured with the customers’ wants and needs in mind.

As a customer how many times have you been talking with a sales person, or a customer service rep and hear “sorry we can’t do that, company policy.” A barrier was thrown up between what you think is only reasonable and the company. For me, I’m out of there.

Is the problem “company policy” or is it the employee? It can go either way. Often employees are trying hard to do the job the way they understand it, which can often be that they are there to protect the company from the customer trying to take advantage. That isn’t saying that employee is a “bad” employee. Only that he doesn’t understand what he should be doing. That’s where proper employee training comes in.


o Employee Responsibility
It is the job of the people in your company that are in direct contact with the customers
To discover and understand what the customer really wants, and
Deliver what the customer really wants

When your employee says “can’t…company policy” he has put a barrier up between the customer and you. The customer can no longer get what he wants, at least not from your company.


o Executive or Owner View
I know…I know…I’m hearing the roar from the executive peanut gallery…You’ve got to make a profit. Well, let me make something clear hear…you aren’t going to make a profit, or at least not as much profit if you aren’t satisfying the customer. So, what I’m saying is to teach your people how to listen to the customer. Change their perspective from “protecting the company from the stupid customer” to one of ALWAYS finding a way to help the customer get what he wants.

o Employee Listening to Customer…Communicating Needs to Company
Your employee should be the conduit through the maze of company policies. He knows what the customer needs, he knows what the company policies are, and his job is to take that customer through those company policies to get the customer where he wants to be. He isn’t a policeman stopping the customer at the gate. That hampers the customer. The first helps the customer.

o When Company Policy IS the Barrier
What happens if the company policy truly is a barrier? Then the employee should be the conduit to the company policy setters to help them understand how the company as a whole can better serve the customer by changing company policy.

I am in no way saying, “don’t make a profit.” But when company policy is set up to protect the company from the customer instead of helping the customer your profits will decline. A customer usually only wants what is reasonable.

The solution to company policy barrier: Make sure that your employees are empowered

o To solve the customer problem
o To communicate to the company how the company policy can improve the customer satisfaction instead of impede it.



Come to http://www.leaders-perspective.com/Customer-Service-Training.aspx for Hints and Tips to Improve Customer Service.

Leader's Perspective
Helping People/Companies Reach Further ..FASTER

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

Work From Home Customer Service

by Daniel Blask

It has always been important to make sure that as you find a work from home job, you are finding one that truly matches your needs and is truly what you would like it to be. Your ideal work at home job should be a job that you are already good at, and one that you can easily do from home... The people who have the most success at work form home jobs are able to find jobs that they already know how to do, or jobs that they are already doing, and turn them into work at home jobs. Therefore, if you are interested in work from home customer service jobs, you already know that you are going to have a good shot at finding good work. There are plenty of reasons that you will be able to find good work from home customer service jobs, and these reasons include being able to finally find the type of work that you were looking for, as well as being able to make the most out of the situations that you are in...

If you are already good at customer service, you know that there are a few things that you like about the job, things that set the job apart from other jobs that you might have had. These are probably things that make you keep wanting to do these customer service jobs – even if you think that you've already found another job that you like. When you are doing work from home customer service jobs, you are going to be able to keep on doing these things that you love to do, and you will find that they are even better when you work from home. Most of the work from home customer service jobs are fairly easy to get into, and you can do them easily from home.

The reason that there are many work from home customer service jobs is that customer service is mainly a job that is done either on the phone or on the internet. This means that a company can hire you to do the same thing that you would do in an office from your home. The first thing that you have to do is learn how to run the program or learn how the company or service works, so that you know how to help people when they call. There are work from home customer service jobs for any type of industry. You might be hired as a phone manager to take phone calls and direct them to other places. Or, you might be hired as someone to help people when they are having problems with a product. No matter what, your job as a work from home customer service job will be to help people when they need it. This is probably what you like about customer service to begin with, and you will get to have even more experience with it as you are working through it in work from home customer service jobs and other situations.



Daniel Blask is a Home Business Guru and is owner of several websites. He writes on many subjects and recommends: http://www.bigmoneycentral.com/ &
http://www.bigmoneycentral.com/business/

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info