SERVICE EXCELLENCE – THE HUMAN DIMENSION
The essence of Customer Service is doing ordinary things extraordinarilywell, going beyond what is expected, adding value to every interaction, being at your best with every customer, discovering new ways to delight and taking care of your customers like you would take care of your loved ones.Service excellence requires us to provide a quality product or service and satisfy the needs/wants of the customer. It results in continued success, increased profits, higher job satisfaction, improved company or organization morale, better teamwork andmarket expansion of services/products.
Ten Essentials for Great Customer Service:
- Commit to quality service: Create a positive experience for the customer. Go above and beyond customer expectations.
- Know your products.It helps win a customer’s trust and confidence.
- Know your customers.Tailor your service approach to their needs and buying habits. Get to the root of customer dissatisfaction by talking to people and understanding complaints.
- Treat people with courtesy.Every contact with a customer leaves an impression. Use phrases like “sorry to keep you waiting” , “thanks for your order”, “you’re welcome” and “ it’s been a pleasure helping you”.
- Never argue with a customer.Be solution-focused than problem focused.
- Don’t leave customers hanging.All communications with a customer needs to be handled with a sense of urgency.
- Always provide what you promised.Failure to do this is a sure way to lose credibility with your customer. If you can’t make good on your promise, apologize and offer some type of compensation.
- Focus on making customers, not making sales.Focus on the quality rather than the volume of sales. Research show that it costs 6 times more to attract new customer than it does to keep an existing one.
- Assume that customers are telling the truth.A majority of customers don’t like to complain; in fact, they’ll go out of their way to avoid it, so welcome complaints when they come in and do your best to resolve them.
- Make it easy to buy.Make the process simple and user-friendly.
The transition from ordinary to extraordinary performance happens through a “culture of commitment”, where frontline people reflect to the outside the intense pride and ownership they are experiencing on the inside.There is no pretence that striving for service excellence is easy, but it is possible to excel. However, it is a journey, fuelled by passion and commitment, a structured approach, engaged employees and total customer focus.
