Customer Service Tips


	It is very difficult to provide in a few lines all of the aspects that constitute good customer service. Indeed, we all probably have our own unique picture of what good customer service is, it might be: a friendly voice on the phone, being seating at a busy restaurant and having our order taken promptly, a smile as we enter a shop, an
assistant who does just that and assists us, it could even be the person that remembers our name when we return to the car show room. For many of us we may not be able to describe articulately good customer service, but we intuitively know when we haven’t received it.
For those people in the front line of delivering customer service, it is vital that a professional attitude and courteous behaviour shine through at all times when dealing not just with customers, but other employees and suppliers. After all, we all are human beings who need to feel of worth and value to society. Rudeness and indifference, to others, creates conflict, stress and lowered self-esteem, not to mention an impact on bottom line results as customers, who expect more, take their business elsewhere.
There are many consultants and management gurus that espouse elements for customer service excellence. For me, a few organisations that deliver superlative customer service, across the entire customer experience are: Virgin Atlantic, Tesco Online and Walt Disney World in Florida. These organisations put their customers at the heart of their business and they know that the customer does have a choice
Disney’s approach to customer service excellence creates a sense of being “on stage” i.e. performing in front of customers, which is ingrained in their employees, referred to as “Cast Members”. A clear delineation is made of when a Cast Member is “on stage” and “off stage” and clearly defined “on stage” behaviours help to create those magical customer experiences.
We can’t all offer the Walt Disney World experience, but perhaps if more of our High Street shops, retail outlets, restaurants, call centres etc adopted an “on stage” approach for their front line customer service people, which set expected boundaries of behaviour, then there would be a huge step increase in the levels of good customer service across the UK.

Customer Service Tips
Customer Service tips Be courteous and polite to the customer (treat the customer as if you were welcoming him/her into your own home) Smile (even when on the telephone – it really does make a difference to the tone of your voice which is picked up by the person on the other end of the call). A pleasant cheerful disposition can work wonders for your customers when they enter into you shop, restaurant, hotel etc. Be responsive to the customer and show that you are listening and paying attention to his or her needs, (your body language should also reflect this). Repeating key information, which the customer has given, not only shows that you are listening but will also ensure mistakes in taking information are avoided. Where possible address the customer by his/her name, this is dependent upon how the person presents his/her self to you. Some people may prefer to be called by their first name others may prefer their title, i.e. Mrs, Mr, Dr etc. Where a customer is making a complaint, be empathetic and always acknowledge the person’s point of view, apologise on behalf of the organisation that the customer experience or service did not meet expectations (even if you personally believe that the complaint is not justified). Work with the customer to come to a solution and where appropriate ensure that the organisation takes on board the feedback to improve its services. From the moment of contact with your customer, ensure you are attentive, to his/her needs and make this your priority. Again your body language should be congruent with what you are telling the customer, avoid paying lip service or making promises, which you do not intend to follow through on. Strive to exceed customer expectations and where possible do that little bit extra for the customer, which creates long lasting positive anchors for the customer and leads to customer loyalty.
Remember, in this intranet driven age, it is very easy for the customer to compare like for like for products and costs at the click of a mouse in the now numerous comparison web sites. More often than not, it is the customer’s contact or “touch” with an organisation, which will influence the customer’s decision to give that organisation ongoing patronage. Ignore the customer at your peril !
Sue Banjo, MSc, DipQM, DipSM, CPF, MMICS, MISMA, Practitioner NLP Change Management and Customer Service Coach