The 3 Crucial Steps to Master Customer Service

The 3 Crucial Steps to Master Customer Service http://entm.ag/1H4FMwR

My Views May 4th 2014

This blog is going to be my thoughts on recent events, a change from my recent posting giving advice to other people about their future development or career changes etc.

Indonesian Executions and reactions

Many people have made their opinions felt regarding the executions in Indonesia, but let’s look at this from a different perspective. Suppose the alleged smugglers had been successful and had got their product to its intended destination. This would have created more misery for people already addicted to drugs, first of all they need to raise money to buy the drugs, where does this come from? In most cases usually criminal activity and this usually involves at some point violence and possible deaths. Then there are the addicts themselves, every time they consume the drugs they are literally putting their life at risk from overdose, bad drugs etc.

So what do you do? Allow the drugs into your market? How many people are impacted from the use of drugs both directly and indirectly? Which will increase your crime rate and deaths from drug related activities? And let’s not be blinkered by this, there will be deaths from this and it will impact outside of the so-called drug world.

Each and every drug trafficker is well aware of the consequences involved within their trade, they know only too well the countries that carry the death penalty and which ones will actually carry out the executions see the list below:

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore. Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vietnam, Yemen Zimbabwe.

Notice from the list one of the biggest complainers about the executions is the USA, whose approach to the death penalty has long been clear.

As for Australia, how they can complain about the executions is a little bit absurd considering it was their own police force that informed the Indonesian government of the actions of the drug traffickers, who knew full well what the consequences would be. So, please if you are going to create an International incident and a Diplomatic row make sure you have all the facts before you say something. And as for the Police Commissioner stating they had nothing to arrest them for, how about conspiracy to commit the alleged offence?

Shooting at Dallas Event

The organisers of this event must be really stupid and did not think this through very well at all, to hold a conference on cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. With recent events in France and Denmark this is tantamount to stupidity of a mind-boggling degree. Yes you have freedom of speech enshrined in your constitution, but for heaven’s sake the writing was on the wall long before the event, therefore you might as well have sent them a personal invitation and as for the venue itself, are you serious, that you would put people’s lives at risk to make a dollar?

• Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are offensive to many Muslims.
• There were widespread protests in 2006 when the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.
• In January this year, 12 people were murdered by two Islamist gunmen at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had published similar cartoons.
• And a gathering of free speech activists in the Danish capital Copenhagen was targeted by a gunmanin February, killing a film director.

A little forethought and listening plus being aware of people’s feelings would have avoided this.

French Schoolgirl Skirt Ban

Ok we get that France is an alleged secular culture, were the wearing of religious symbols is not accepted in public, but to get to a stage were the wearing of a long black skirt being deemed as religious in a public school is extreme to say the least.

As far as I can remember no-one has ever been told that a long black skirt is offensive.

I think someone needs to inform the fashion industry that they are perpetuating religious symbols in their latest trends about long skirts

Mayweather vs Pacquaio

Billed as the fight of the century actually turned out to be what most commentators could see a masterclass in defensive tactics, Mayweather threw more punches with greater accuracy than Pacquaio. He had height and reach advantages, so how anyone can say that it was a wrong result needs to look very closely at the statistics involved.

Customer Service – simple Do’s and Dont’s that work

We all know and understand what Customer Service is supposed to be, but, why do we still hear the horror stories of indifference and downright insulting behaviour, mainly from companies that espouse their commitment to customer care?

So what is Customer Service?

“Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.”

“Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.”

Unfortunately many companies fail to recognise the importance of customer service and only pay lip service believing that most customers are wrong. This happens mainly in Monopolised markets, where there is one major player and the competition is not strong enough to compete or there is no competition at all. State owned industries where there is a “Jobs for Life” culture and Governmental departments.

Where does Customer Service begin?

Customer service starts before the customer even walks through your door or calls your business, finds your website, etc. It starts with your vision and mission. It starts with the first person you hire or partner with. It starts as you create the culture of your organisation. It starts before the customer starts doing business with you.

Customer service in a business is not limited to the department that happens to boast that title.

Customer service starts with the first contact with your company and this does not mean the first human interaction, first contact can be your marketing or publicity.

Your initial advertising can convey either the right or wrong message, as to whether you are serious about customer care. Is your advertising be factual and truthful? Does it give your potential customer the confidence to follow the lead?

Everyone in your business should be responsible for the customer service experience.

This should be happening right from the beginning.

Any person in your organisation who comes into contact with a potential customer is also part of the experience.

Paying attention to social media is a valuable source of how your customers perceive your product and services, you should be looking for negative AND positive comments this will show you where you are going wrong. Do not be put off by the negative comments, instead, use them as a learning experience, we can all learn something. Comments from current and former employees are they disgruntled? Why are they making these comments?

Some of the simplest things can be your biggest weapon in attracting new customers

Answering the Phone:

• How long does a customer wait for a call to be answered? The longer a customer waits the sooner you lose them.
• Human interaction is essential, having customers constantly pressing numbers to get to the right department can be frustrating and again sets the tone.
• If you do decide to use an automated menu… KEEP IT SIMPLE.. what may seem logical to you when you set up the system makes no sense to your customer.
• If your customer is on the line for too long waiting, this increases their frustration level, have somebody available to take the customers number and OFFER to call them back, let them know a time frame when someone will call them, keep to it and make sure you do at the first opportunity,
• The first person to answer the phone is going to be the one person that starts the experience for your customer and if their reaction to the call is not positive this will set the tone for the next person to take the call, in effect this has already set a negative tone.

Face to Face:

• Smile – “A smile is the universal welcome.”
• Greeting, come to meet your customer, shake their hand, enquire their name, make them feel as though they are welcome. Do not sit behind a desk or if you are in retail behind the counter do not create a barrier between you and your customer.
• LISTEN – listen to the grievances of your customer, to them it is a major problem, have they been given the right information? Remember it is a fact we all only hear what we want to hear, so listen closely ascertain if they were given the full facts. You may be surprised, but sometimes the customer is actually right.
• Body Language – do not look as though you are aggressive or defensive, as humans we naturally react to the other person’s body language and we need to be aware of your customer needs
• Speed – resolve the problem quickly, do not delay.
• Mobile Phones – when meeting somebody with a complaint leave your mobile to one side – if you respond to your mobile while dealing with a complaint, you are displaying disrespect and they will assume you are not interested in their problem, thus, creating a bigger obstacle to resolve.
• Be polite – no matter how the customer initially appears, if you exhibit a calm attitude, this will also be reflected in their responses as the conversation continues.
• Knowledge – ensure that the person who deals with your customer is the best one suited to the task – they have expert knowledge.
• Be True to Your Word – Only ever offer a customer or client something that you are sure you can give them. It is better not to mention a delivery date and then deliver tomorrow than it is to say you’ll deliver tomorrow and then don’t. Stick to deadlines, make sure you turn up promptly for any appointments and never make promises you cannot keep. If situations change then let the customer know as soon as possible
• Be Memorable – For the Right Reasons We tend to remember positive and negative experiences more vividly than average day-to-day ones. Try to make every customer’s experience a positive one that they’ll remember and talk to others about.
• Be helpful – be courteous and polite – give a little extra if possible, even if it is just some advice or extra information about the product or service they are buying or interested in buying.
• At the end of the meeting, thank them for their time: your customers have chosen you but they could have gone to thousands of other organisations, each one probably offering a similar range of merchandise, qualifications and experience. Your clients pay your salary, so treat them with respect. They deserve it.

ALWAYS REMEMBER WHEN A CUSTOMER HAS A GOOD EXPERIENCE THEY WILL TELL 10 PEOPLE, IF A BAD EXPERIENCE THEY WILL TELL THE WORLD