ASB Magazine

When I was growing up in the mid 50’s through the 60’s, I remember my parents always went to the same doctor - the “family doctor”, shopped at the same grocery store, used one bank, and had loyalties to these companies...

When I was growing up in the mid 50’s through the 60’s, I remember my parents always went to the same doctor … the “family doctor”, shopped at the same grocery store, used one bank, and had loyalties to these companies once they “settled” in.

 I remember when I opened my first bank account; I wanted to use another bank instead of the one my parents used. Absolutely not, my father said. Dad stated that during the depression years, his bank stuck with him when times were tough. He was really committed to them, but I did not feel that way. My attitude was, “Who cares about that, we (I) can get better service somewhere else”. Dad would not budge, that was that. I remember Dad and his loyalty still to this day. Sadly, those days are gone. We all have to recognize that there is a new type of customer out there, and they want action, service and reputation. If they do not get it – goodbye.

 And really, it’s about time. Ask anyone of your friends, family or associates whether they can relate a “bad” customer service experience. I used to go to visit a local strip club with my friends religiously every Friday. Sometimes we would go there several times a week. I did this for over 20 years, same place. I was a good, long time, loyal customer. Then they changed management. This new management did not care about the needs of my friends, or me so we moved on. They lost not only a 20-year loyal customer, but my friends, who all followed me to the “new hangout”. That was about 5-10 people per visit. That bar eventually closed during the dayshift hours, as we were the ones that made the registers ring at that time of day. Not anymore. They pissed us off, and not one person in that club had the will or training in customer service to “fix” the problem. It has been a few years since that incident, and they still have not recovered from our lost business, even to this day.

 As customers, when we go out to spend some money, we expect impeccable customer service, right? However, we need to think carefully about what happens when it is our turn to be on the service side of business. Do we deliver great customer service? Studies show most people do not complain to staff about bad service. It is a common reaction. The world moves at a faster pace, and dissatisfied customers tend not to come back and complain. They haven’t the time, or they can’t be bothered. It is much simpler just not to come back at all. After all, there is always someone else willing to provide the same service, and probably do it better.

 People have become used to a high standard of customer service. They have become accustomed to being wooed by not one business, but many. Today’s store owners need to do more than deal with complaints and fix problems. Today they need to carefully plan and set into place a whole Customer Service Program – a program that anticipates customer’s needs, makes them feel valued and wanted, and looks after them if anything goes wrong. It is a program that looks at more than just damage control, but a program that anticipates any possible damage and fixes the problem long before the customer enters into the equation.

 We need to look after our customers so well that they don’t even think about going anywhere else. To set up such a customer service program, the entire organization needs to be committed to the vision of customer service. We cannot lose sight of the fact that no matter how nice of a store we operate, or how great our selection of merchandise, it is the customer who makes us a success. Commit yourself and your staff to a customer service ideal, and you will find it pays off tenfold in improved business.

What Are the Key Elements of a Customer Service Program?

 First of all, management has to get it right.

• Management has to be committed to the vision of customer service.
• Management has to be committed to providing staff training.
• Management needs to have in place an error-correcting process. If something does go wrong, the company needs to be able to instantly get back on track.

 If management is committed to excellence in customer service, the next step is to make sure the staff believes in that same vision. You must provide your staff with customer service training. They must understand that customer service is not something you do to someone; it is something you do for them.

 Don’t think you can send your staff to one course and they’ll be trained. Training in customer service needs constant review and feedback to be effective. Customer service is a lot more than a “course” you can take. It is an attitude. It is a commitment. It is a vision.

 Example: A pro winning Superbowl team is the best of the best. Yet they train every week – all week. All top athletes put in that kind of commitment and customer service is no different.

 Today’s staff needs to have the customer clearly in focus. They need to constantly seek feedback and continually work to make things better.

Customer Service Commitment Comes From the Top

 Store owners, you have hundreds of thousands of dollars or more invested in your business. Is it reasonable to lose that investment to bad customer service because of an untrained or bad employee to whom you pay a salary? Can an employee working for low wages destroy your dreams and business? Yes, they can. What happens? You go broke and they just go get another job. Now think about it, how important is customer service to your business?

The Ten Commandments of Customer Service

• The Customer is the most important person in our business.
• The Customer is not dependent on us—we are dependent on the Customer.
• The Customer is not an interruption of our work, but the purpose of it.
• The Customer does us an honor when coming to our store(s). We are not doing the Customer a favor by serving him/her.
• The Customer is part of our business, not an outsider. The Customer is our guest.
• The Customer is not a cold statistic, but flesh and blood: a human with feelings and emotions like our own.
• The Customer is not someone to argue with or match wits.
• The Customer is deserving of the most courteous and attentive treatment we can provide.
• The Customer has the right to expect an employee to present a neat and clean appearance.