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Will You Add? - 8 Critical Steps to Establish a Customer Service Culture
The unnecessary and extensive use of female models in advertisements is common not only in America & Europe, but also in Pakistan and rest of the world. Women are used to sell everything from cars to cigarettes. These advertisements use attractive women posing in ways. This type of advertisements initially started in the West to sell special women products, alcohol and adult entertainments. Gradually this trend spreaded to other markets & products and unfortunately it has been adopted by our market also.The reality is that peoples of nearly all age group are influenced by advertisements and advertisers know this reality. After presenting an attractive model, the advertisers pose that their product/service can fulfill any need and can cure any problem or difficulty faced by the viewer.There are two things to be noticed about women’s appearance in commercials. First, in many advertisements women are used irrelevantly and these advertisements include products which are purely for men. Second, if presence of a woman is necessary in certain advertisements
2. Train, train, and continue to train.
• Cross train your entire staff to be able to assist a customer regardless of their department. When a customer becomes upset they want their problem solved not to be shuffled between employees that are not empowered or enable to assist them.
• Offer continuous customer service training for your staff and once they are providing good service, continue to train them.
• Utilize role play situations to assist you
You see and hear it everywhere it seems. We're the best because we really care about our customers and we provide great customer service. So if every business out there offers great customer service, then why does it seem that we as consumers are getting worse service all the time? So, the question is not only what is customer service, but what is good customer service?To help illustrate what we all go through every day, I'm going to share with you a story about a recent experience I had with a franchisee of a company we're all familiar with, McDonald's. On this particular evening I went to the drive-thru and ordered the following: Two double cheeseburger's with no onions. A quarter pounder with cheese, hold the slivered onions, but add the minced onions. A small order of fries. A few minutes later I was making the seven minute drive back to my home. No, I did not fully check the order before driving off. I did look into the bag to make sure the count was right. When I was taking the order out of the bag, I noticed the fries cold and limp. The
During our recent weakened economy, many businesses have seen declining revenues and declining budgets. Declining budgets often lead to reduced staff levels and diminished services. To me, this does not make sense. I believe that it is during the down times, when service should be at the forefront and retention of loyal customers even more of a focus.
When price wars fail to drive revenues, businesses often look to service to give them a competitive advantage. Many big business marketers are returning to a “service sells” mentality, however, many sell great customer service and few deliver. The problem is that few marketers have ever truly served a customer.
Throughout my years in business, I have had the opportunity to interact and develop a customer service philosophy. It is inherent that when you are in a service-based business, there will be times when your customer is compelled to offer you their feedback. It is what you do with this feedback that will shape the future and their impression of your business.
Upon reflection, most all of my interactions with displeased customers were not the result of a poor product, but rather a disappointing customer experience. Why is that? Because, product is not personal, customer service is. Briefly, I would like to share with you eight critical steps to establish a customer service culture.
1. Customers are the reason for work, not an interruption of work
This sounds really obvious doesn’t it? How many times have you gone into a business only to wait while someone is on the telephone or busy doing some “non-service” task? Employees often lose sight of the importance of the customer and get consumed in lesser day to day tasks. Sure, there are tasks that need to be accomplished, but you cannot afford to sacrifice service to get them done. Good customer service must be a priority for you and your team. Without your customers, you have no company!
2. Train, train, and continue to train.
• Cross train your entire staff to be able to assist a customer regardless of their department. When a customer becomes upset they want their problem solved not to be shuffled between employees that are not empowered or enable to assist them.
• Offer continuous customer service training for your staff and once they are providing good service, continue to train them.
• Utilize role play situations to assist your
Having prepared your best for your dream job interview, it would feel pretty bad to miss out something trivial which has the potential to make or break your candidacy. Because you should not leave your job search to chance, it is best to have a checklist of things to do and carry to the interview and follow it.General Checklist1. Do you have a neat haircut and did you shave? 2. Do you have your suit pressed and cleaned? 3. Are your shoes shined?Checklist of Things to Carry1. Extra copies of resume 2. Photocopies of your credentials, including your school certificates and any other certificates of professional training you have 3. A neat notepad and a good pen 4. A copy of your application with cover letter 5. Your references neatly typed on resume paper 6. Instructions on how to reach the interview location including whom to meet and at what time 7. A list of expected questions and a list of questions you want to ask the interviewerAfter you are finished with the above list, you are
Throughout my years in business, I have had the opportunity to interact and develop a customer service philosophy. It is inherent that when you are in a service-based business, there will be times when your customer is compelled to offer you their feedback. It is what you do with this feedback that will shape the future and their impression of your business.
Upon reflection, most all of my interactions with displeased customers were not the result of a poor product, but rather a disappointing customer experience. Why is that? Because, product is not personal, customer service is. Briefly, I would like to share with you eight critical steps to establish a customer service culture.
1. Customers are the reason for work, not an interruption of work
This sounds really obvious doesn’t it? How many times have you gone into a business only to wait while someone is on the telephone or busy doing some “non-service” task? Employees often lose sight of the importance of the customer and get consumed in lesser day to day tasks. Sure, there are tasks that need to be accomplished, but you cannot afford to sacrifice service to get them done. Good customer service must be a priority for you and your team. Without your customers, you have no company!
2. Train, train, and continue to train.
• Cross train your entire staff to be able to assist a customer regardless of their department. When a customer becomes upset they want their problem solved not to be shuffled between employees that are not empowered or enable to assist them.
• Offer continuous customer service training for your staff and once they are providing good service, continue to train them.
• Utilize role play situations to assist you
One of the toughest parts of running a small business is building customer loyalty. Unlike big companies, you may not have the requisite infrastructure or funds to invest in big banner ads or give out freebies and discount coupons. How then, do you ensure that the customer comes back to your establishment? If you run a home-based business, then you probably know that it takes time to break even. Therefore, you need to concentrate on building customer loyalty just as much as you need to attract new customers.How to Build Customer Loyalty:A scheme of rewards, incentives, discussing customer profiles is one way. However, there are many other ways to build customer loyalty. Some of these are discussed below.1) Customer Loyalty Programs: Discounts, incentives are a great attraction for customers. You can make loyalty programs that reward the customer for consistent purchases from your company.2) Maintain Customer Profile: In order to reward your old customers, you must know their preferences; and keep a track of what they have bought from yo
Upon reflection, most all of my interactions with displeased customers were not the result of a poor product, but rather a disappointing customer experience. Why is that? Because, product is not personal, customer service is. Briefly, I would like to share with you eight critical steps to establish a customer service culture.
1. Customers are the reason for work, not an interruption of work
This sounds really obvious doesn’t it? How many times have you gone into a business only to wait while someone is on the telephone or busy doing some “non-service” task? Employees often lose sight of the importance of the customer and get consumed in lesser day to day tasks. Sure, there are tasks that need to be accomplished, but you cannot afford to sacrifice service to get them done. Good customer service must be a priority for you and your team. Without your customers, you have no company!
2. Train, train, and continue to train.
• Cross train your entire staff to be able to assist a customer regardless of their department. When a customer becomes upset they want their problem solved not to be shuffled between employees that are not empowered or enable to assist them.
• Offer continuous customer service training for your staff and once they are providing good service, continue to train them.
• Utilize role play situations to assist you
When I think about digital signage, I'm sometimes reminded of the perpetually hungry, ever-growing plant from the musical "Little Shop of Horrors." You might remember that unusual flora. It's the talking, singing Venus Flytrap on steroids that constantly demands "Feed Me!" I can't help but think of that giant man-eating plant, because its appetite for flesh was as large and insatiable as that of digital signage for content. Content is the currency of digital signage. Without it, digital signage would be about as appealing as looking at a dimly lit mirror. So, it's imperative that digital signage users source, create and schedule enough of the right kinds of content to attract and hold the interest of their audiences till they've delivered their intended message.Not an easy task under normal conditions, the job is even harder when high definition is added to the equation. The appeal of HD content on a digital sign is straightforward. High definition television's ability to reproduce enough picture detail to convey a previously unattainable s
This sounds really obvious doesn’t it? How many times have you gone into a business only to wait while someone is on the telephone or busy doing some “non-service” task? Employees often lose sight of the importance of the customer and get consumed in lesser day to day tasks. Sure, there are tasks that need to be accomplished, but you cannot afford to sacrifice service to get them done. Good customer service must be a priority for you and your team. Without your customers, you have no company!
2. Train, train, and continue to train.
• Cross train your entire staff to be able to assist a customer regardless of their department. When a customer becomes upset they want their problem solved not to be shuffled between employees that are not empowered or enable to assist them.
• Offer continuous customer service training for your staff and once they are providing good service, continue to train them.
• Utilize role play situations to assist you
Do you have too many customers? Are you making too much money? Does everyone want to buy your products or services without even talking to you? If so, you must be miserable. Making a good living and having a sound business is only rewarding for people who really want to work. If your money-making business is ruining your life, you must take action now. Don’t wait for a heart attack or a family catastrophe! You, my friend, must start driving customers away NOW. You must learn to TURN AWAY business! In case you are having a difficult time figuring out how to do that, just follow these simple steps and you should cut your sales volume in NO time!1. Don’t answer your phone. Ever. When people are calling you, ignore them. They might actually want to ask you questions or (heaven forbid) ORDER something. These calls can severely interfere with your TV shows, so unplug the phone and enjoy a little Jerry Springer! This should get rid of those pesky customers fairly easily.2. Don’t return phone calls. Sometimes, those annoying customers will a
2. Train, train, and continue to train.
• Cross train your entire staff to be able to assist a customer regardless of their department. When a customer becomes upset they want their problem solved not to be shuffled between employees that are not empowered or enable to assist them.
• Offer continuous customer service training for your staff and once they are providing good service, continue to train them.
• Utilize role play situations to assist your staff in recognizing and experiencing both easy and difficult service opportunities. If an employee has a level of comfort with a difficult situation, they will be able to better handle it.
3. Empower your staff to serve
• Establish a system of resources for your staff to serve the customer. Allow them latitude to take the necessary action to provide exceptional service and resolve any issues should a customer become disgruntled. Create a structured system to allow your staff to serve customers.
• Establish a discretionary budget that an employee may access to recover a customer before you lose them. I recently learned that a major hotel chain has a monetary fund available per year and per employee enabling them to go above and beyond to ensure exceptional service. This empowers the employee to right a wrong or create a “memorable” customer experience. I am not advocating large sums of money, but with regards to customer service, a small gesture can go a long way.
• Ask your staff what tools would enable them to provide better service. You would not send a fireman into a burning building without the proper equipment. Failing to empower and enable your staff with the necessary tools to serve you customer leaves you with few options other than poor service.
4. Make service personal
• Greet repeat customers by name, if possible.
• Offer a handshake and introduce yourself. Creating service that is personal will not only retain customers, but help diffuse difficult situations should they arise.
• Thank your customers for their patronage. It really does make a difference.
5. It is ok to say “Yes”, even when you should say “No”
• Support your staff when they make customer service decisions. In my business, it is my policy that an employee can act without concern for repercussion, as long as they are meeting a customer’s need. I have found this creates a greater willingness to serve the customer.
• Often times you could say “no” to a customer, howe
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