Know who a customer is

The writing is on the wall that a customer is king, we need not elaborate further. Without customers we have no business. Every person who enters your office is a potential customer. Even though they may not purchase something today, they may purchase something tomorrow. What a customer service person needs is a better way of determining who the customer really is. One way of doing this, is by understanding the steps of offering good customer service and then determining where the customer fits in. It is on the television, in the newspapers and also on the radios, but people have still not gotten the whole idea of who really a customer is. I once went to a supermarket with my mother and after we paid for our goods, the lady at the counter decided to actually throw to us the packing bag to pack the goods ourselves. My mother and I did not mind packing the goods ourselves, but by the way that bag was given to us, was very indecent. In other words she was telling us we did not matter in her business. It does not matter whether I am spending one franc or a hundred thousand, the fact still remains that am spending my money here and I need to be treated with some decency. Companies spend money in advertising for their businesses, ignoring the employees who are actually the first people to sell the company. You visit offices and you wonder where these customer service people come from. Some of them just sit there lost in their own thoughts, while others are busy browsing their way on the internet, caring less about the entire crowd seated in front of them, without even offering the faintest of a smile. With the credit crunch, every company needs to save a penny or two and find ways and means to attract as many clients as possible and retain them as well. So how can companies improve on their customer services? Knowing what your niche customers want and making sure your staff is well trained to provide the services offered are the first steps toward successfully meeting customer expectations. Provide Answers Service providers need to be well equipped with answers. It is your responsibility as a company to arm your employees with knowledge so that they can provide clear, helpful answers. Clarify If a customer has ordered for something and is given something else, it is important to clarify why you have delivered something else contrary to what they ordered and make sure they understand completely that they are not cheated. Clarification and explanation, therefore, play an integral part in the communication process between the company and clients. Step Back Service providers need to separate themselves from their work to address concerns properly and fairly. Of course, this is not easy because people’s egos can be at stake. While the customer may certainly be wrong, in business we all know that the customer is supposed to always be right. In cases like these, it can be helpful to step back from the situation or have someone else, such as a manager, deal with complaints and problems. By empowering someone to oversee such complaints and concerns, you can distance the company from the client and provide more objective solutions. Evaluate The key to good customer service, in any industry, is not winning a battle but winning the war, especially in a competitive business environment. For a service provider, typically what is at stake when it comes to customer relations is time spent for services provided. Therefore, service providers need to determine how much time they can afford in the course of a month or year to expend for the sake of maintaining ongoing relationships. The time invested to pacify a disgruntled customer and rebuild the business/client relationship can be very valuable. Ends