“A company’s most essential resource is its customers. Without a customer, your business won’t grow.” – Klinton Convicto
The act of customer service should be present on the showroom floor as it is in some other deals capacities and appropriate in the overall company environment. When you satisfy your customer, they can also recommend you to their friends.
With that said, here are some important dos and don’ts of working in the customer service industry.
Dos
If you wish to bring your company’s A-game in customer service, here are the crucial dos you need to apply.
- Express Your Gratitude
Saying “thank you” to the people that support your business will not take you effort. It will show how grateful you are that they chose your service or product (Tim Asimos, 2018). Expressing your gratitude will make your customers feel appreciated. In this way, you can get the trust of your customers.
You should always express your gratitude even if your customer declines the offer you provide. It shows that you respect their decision and you can still offer the product or service if they will need them.
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- Take Responsibility
Showing your professionalism in customer service involves how ready you are to take responsibility for the possible negative experiences or problems that a customer is having with your company’s services or products.
As a front-line representative of your company, you are ready to apologise to a customer on behalf of your business. Apologise and do your best to make sure the problems will get fixed as smoothly and quickly as possible.
- Be Honest
Providing exceptional, honest customer service has benefits. You can gain trust with your customers if you resolve their issues without any hassle. Nothing destroys trust faster than broken promises. Julia Lewis (2016) suggests that you should always do what you promised. Do not break your promises.
Be fair about additional fees, extra charges, and prices. Always establish unequivocal refund and return policies. Respond and follow-up if there are pending orders so that there will be no delays and your customer will not get dismayed. Honesty is the best policy.
- Respect your customer
Respect is an essential value in human relationships. It is a value that means acceptance for who they are, even if they have a different personality, culture, or race. Respect will build trust and well-being, and by that, it is essential as a human being.
According to Julia Lewis (2016), any relationship, either business or personal, must start with respect. Customer service is about making your customers feel relevant and valuable. Your customers deserve your politeness, friendly attitude, and full attention. In this way, you can show that you care about them and can generate a wholesome experience that lasts.
- Put yourself in the customer’s shoes
Therefore it is essential to put yourself in your customer’s shoes to understand what they need or what you can offer to fix the issues. It is your responsibility to understand what the needs of your customer are and provide it.
If you fail to provide it, then they are unsatisfied to the service. If you are a customer, you may feel dismayed, and you cannot recommend the service to your friends. Thinking in this way will help you to consider how your customers are going to feel.
Your customers are precious, so treat them well.
Don’ts
If there are essential dos in your plate, there should be don’ts that you need to abide, such as the following:
- Don’t be afraid of the customer’s complaints.
Complaints are inevitable. But, you do not need to discourage these complaints. No matter how much you try, you cannot satisfy your customer at all times. Even if you try hard in providing the service, but you still do not succeed because of complaints.
Complaints are an opportunity to look for the solution and fix the problem. Receiving a lot of complaints is an indication that some aspects of your service need improvement.
- Don’t treat your customers as transactions
As Henry Ford said, “care about a customer’s heart, not just their pocket.” In other words, do not treat your customers who come to your office or website as a one-time transaction.
Do your best to build a long-lasting and strong relationship. Show your sincere interest in doing business with your customers and stay in touch with them to nurture the relationship you build (Liz Beavers, 2018).
In this way, you can have another transaction with them in the future. Also, your customer will help you to make your service or product known by recommendation. Having a rapport with your customers will lead you an exceptional customer service care.
- Don’t make things complicated
Customers nowadays are much more experienced, sophisticated, and technically savvy. Your customers will still expect the process of contacting the customer service is straightforward and easy. Make sure that your customers had easy access to your support if they need it.
Further, your customer needs several tools that might help your customer to have access. Such as FAQs or Frequently Ask Questions, E-mail, Social Media channels, etc.
- Don’t Ignore Customer’s Feedback
Some customers want your company to perform better. Liz Beavers (2018) encourages you let them share their feedback about their experience with your company. That is why you need to listen to your customers. Let them know that you care about what they expect and think of you.
Keep your mind open to any suggestions or comments they might have. An article published by saaslist.com states, putting customer’s ideas into your business strategy is a good practice and usually pays off positively.
- Don’t break your promises
If you make a promise, do not break it. It might hurt your customer’s feelings, and their expectation will not be met.
If you say, “we will be going to ship that out today,” or we will email you back with all the information you need,” then do it. Once you make a promise to your customers, keep it. Your customers might think “this business has poor customer service just like other businesses.”
If you continually break your promises to your customers. Your business will earn a reputation as unreliable and have poor customer service. The worst case is you are going to lose your regular customers. If you cannot keep your promise, then do not make it. If you do, then show some effort to do it possibly.
These essentials dos and don’ts are helpful to have an exceptional customer care service. Always express your gratitude towards your customers, be a professional once you talk to them. Upon doing these, you can provide your customers with a satisfactory service they need. In every job, there are the dos and don’ts that you have to consider to ensure your customers with excellent customer service. Take your cue from the given examples above.
Sifiso Dingani is a Talent Management Consultant at Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd a management and human resources consulting firm. Phone +263 4 481946-48/ 481950/ 2900276/ 2900966 or cell number +26377 551 7211 or email sifiso@ipcconsultants.com or visit our website at www.ipcconsultants.com