Why have a blog based on our customer service experiences?
Do you have a passion for great customer service? Does great customer service really make a difference in your day? In the quality of your life? I believe our world would be a much better place if we all treated each other as customers. You know, the person whom our livelihood depends upon. The person who not only affects a small portion of your day, but a person you would like to have as a friend because through some (perhaps small) act, they have affected the very quality of your life experience. I have made a living finding good ways to serve the customer and I spend hours just watching both good and bad displays of service.
Many of us have experienced the exasperated attitude of a service person who only wants to fix the problem and not deal with the customer. Not only has this person not taken the time to explain the problem, but has been short to the point of rudeness with us, their customer, all the while looking at their watch and rolling their eyes. They leave us frustrated and hesitant to ever return to that place of business for their product or service again. These people range from our doctor to the barista at our corner coffee shop; our bank teller to our veterianarian. We want and often need these people to treat us with respect and kindness, but great customer service even goes beyond this.
However, many have also had positive experiences with service personnel. These professionals listened to our concerns and descriptions of the problem, then went to work on what he or she perceived to be the source of the problem, all the while explaining his or her approach. After correcting the problem, malfunction, or glitch, they show us how to avoid the problem in the future. This leaves us with a good feeling about them, their product and their company.
What was the difference in the two approaches? Was the rude customer service person just having a bad day, or was it our fault? Was the more professional acting customer service person more knowledgeable about people and thus displayed good customer service skills? The negative impact of poor customer service is being reflected in the bottom lines of several companies in various industries. It is important that customer service - good customer service become part of a company culture to be able to attract and sustain the loyalty of their customers.
What is Customer Service? Customer Service is the interaction between an individual(s) or an organization and customer in an attempt to provide a quality service and, in turn, produce a satisfied customer. This great customer service attitude may especially be important for employees that interact with "internal" and "external" customers daily. Building powerful partnerships with external customers may be some organizations’ main goal. However, some leadership experts believe that powerful partnerships may not be achieved between the employees and customers until everyone – managers or employees – understand that this also applies to internal customers just as profoundly (Corporate Leadership Council, 1999).
According to this viewpoint, members of organizations are customers of each other as well as being co-workers and the better internal customer service is, the better external customer service will be. Communication therefore, would be an integral part of internal customer service for any organization. An organization with a culture that balances efficient processes with customer service seems to retain more customers.
I would love to receive your thoughts and experiences on both good and bad service. Wouldn't it be great if customer service was not just lip-service, but a sincere way that all companies strived to do business? I look forward to your comments. Thanks - DJC
Don Converse
