Good Customer Service IS the Differentiating Factor!

Black Friday:  long lines, thousands of people, sales, pushing, impatience – you either love it or hate it.  We fall into two groups – those who get out as early as possible to snag the perfect gift at the perfect price and those who stay home and ignore it.  For these people, their philosophy is that no sale is good enough to fight the crowds and the less than perfect customer service at various stores.

In an age of choices – online versus big box store versus small business – there are a lot of choices for consumers, whether they are looking for the perfect gift or finding the best business to partner with their own organization.  It’s not surprising that businesses are trying to differentiate themselves from one another.

Many use pricing.  The smart ones are using customer service.

I recently came back from Italy.  My husband and I were on a motorcycle tour with Clutch Motor Tours (http://www.clutchmototours.com/). The tour company is out of southern Europe.  Their moto is:  We go all the way!   And they certainly do!

It was the adventure of a lifetime.  The owner Rozle Verhovc believes that your vacation is the most important thing and will do anything in his power to make it enjoyable and memorable for you.

We had a friend whose great uncle had died in Italy during WWII.  Our friend asked if we were in the vicinity, could we stop and locate his grave.  Rozle took the information, did some research for us to find it.  He didn’t need to do that, but it was an extra step he took to ensure us the perfect vacation.

The whole tour was like that.  From making sure we saw the statue of David in Florence, to taking us to the best gelato in the world, to running back to a previous town because someone in the group had left their money at the last hotel, to sharing his love of history and riding with us, Rozle made it an unforgettable experience for us and everyone in the group.

It made me think of the call center industry.  Customer service is the backbone of the industry.  Sure, some might say it’s phone technology and the perfect scripts, but I believe it’s customer service.  It’s how we can differentiate ourselves from our competitors.

Great customer service means repeat business.  Everyone knows that, yet it is still hard to achieve.

Superb customer service treats the customer as a unique individual who makes up the core of your business.  It involves a proactive approach to customers that may catch them off guard in a positive way and delight them with your company.

So how do you achieve it?  One customer at a time.  And the way to do that is through ensuring your staff knows a few basic skills – and lives them.

• Communication and Listening – two sides of the same coin. It’s also two of the hardest things to learn.  We spend more time talking than listening when it should be the other way around.  How do we get our staff to understand what our customers are saying?  How do we have them communicate in a way that results in a positive outcome?
• Patience – one of the hardest things to learn. I’ve taught training to groups on dealing with conflicts and difficult situations.  The best advice I’ve given them:  Take a deep breath, step back and start again in a calm voice.
• Time Management skills – this one is not as clear as the others. Teaching your staff this skill helps them to juggle the day-to-day challenges we all have.  I had an employee once who said they would organize their day and then an hour into it, someone would come along (usually myself) and change his priorities.  Managing the myriad of responsibilities, we have is a life skill that is necessary to succeed.
• Admit your mistakes – everyone is human. When we can sincerely admit we or the organization is in the wrong – and then rectify – it makes us believable.  The customer wants results.  They understand that nothing is perfect.  But be honest.

Your customer doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. ~ Damon Richards

Customers ARE the lifeblood of our organizations.  People want hassle-free solutions to their problems, so make doing business with you as easy as possible.  Remember, in today’s world our customers have many choices.  Make sure they choose you.

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Berni Hollinger helps companies solve problems through Leadership Training, Interim Leadership consulting and Restructuring. As a professional Training Instructor and CFO / Controller, she sees things differently.  As a highly experienced CFO, Controller, Accountant, and Financial Consultant, she has led financial departments for Fortune 100 companies increasing bottom line growth and compassionately leading and training employees and restructuring processes to maximize profitability in the publishing, printing, subscriptions / fulfillment, manufacturing and transportation sectors. She is a Professional Quilter, and Quilting Instructor, creating lasting memories through exclusive designs of one-of-a-kind memory quilts.