| |
| |
|
WebsiteAlways |
|
Whatever Happened To Customer Service?
Do you remember the last time you went into a shop and the person 'serving' raced over to you, greeted you with a lovely smile, heaps of enthusiasm and said, "Welcome to our store, what can I help you with today?" And then listened attentively to what you had to say? Doesn't happen very often does it? In fact, while I was writing this, I couldn't recall when I had experienced it. I'm sure I must have yet it would have been so long ago, I can't remember. Let me tell you what happened this week? I belong to a well-known trade exchange which I have found very useful for my business. I wanted to purchase a suitcase from a particular store which usually takes trade dollars. From time-time the store will limit the use of trade dollars if they have reached their maximum for the month. Anyhow I quickly discovered this wasn't going to be my lucky day. I walked in and the assistant who was sitting down behind the counter (and remained there), didn't smile. She barely acknowledged me with what looked like a scowl. I had interrupted her reading time. (She was so busy, there was no-one in the store). I then politely (yes I can be polite sometimes) asked her if they were accepting trade dollars as I wanted to purchase a suitcase. She turned around to the owner who was sitting behind her doing some bookwork and repeated my question. The owner stayed seated, didn't look up and told her assistant "No". The assistant then relayed to me that "we are not accepting trade dollars at the moment, but we have good deals for cash". She remained seated all that time. I didn't answer and walked straight out the front door with my cash sitting in my purse. No matter how good their "cash" deals were going to be, if I was going to spend my hard-earned money anywhere, it definitely would not be with them! The 'Colour- blind to service' Copy Centre I had spent thousands of dollars with a printing company over a couple of years. A couple of times I was told by one of the staff, when they've been snowed under "Mary's too busy to speak with you at the moment, I'll have to get her to call you back when she's got more time". Needless to say I didn't remain with them. The 'Can't do that' Café We went to a local café which we hadn't been to for a while and I was told by the waiter that "no, we can't do that". I wanted a particular type of sandwich which wasn't on the set menu. I informed the abrasive young waiter that "yes, you can". That got him scared and the order I wanted turned up within 5 minutes. Are Customers Important to Business? Of course they are. No customers, no business. Yet why are businesses deliberately driving customers away? It's ridiculous isn't it? About The Author Lorraine specialises in working with businesspeople showing them how to dramatically boost their productivity, reduce the stress and the mess in their lives and have more time for enjoying their life. www.office-organiser.com.au, lorraine@office-organiser.com.au
MORE RESOURCES:
Customer-Service - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Take Care of Yourself Before You Take Care of Your Customer One of the most important questions people ask when they are focused on improving their quantity and quality of business is: "What is my competitive advantage? What makes me unique, memorable, special? what truly sets me apart from the rest?" While there are no definitively right answers to that question, most people come to some conclusion that customer service is a critical component of your competitive advantage. For most businesses, the service they offer can vary from exceptional to not so hot, depending upon circumstances. How to Succeed in Business Without Compromising Your Integrity I spent some twenty years in the corporate world, for much of it I was not particularly interested in spirituality. It was a world where profits reigned supreme, often with little respect for the rest of society. The Marvelous World of Metaphors Recognize metaphors from every angle and round up more insight into your own innovation. Nobody can do it better than you can!A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that means one thing is used to describe an object or ideas to which it is not literally applicable -- a ship is said to plow the sea. What Every Employee Should Know About How to Win the Loyalty of Customers Dr. Michael LeBoeuf, in his cassette album entitled, Win Customers and Keep Them for Life presents twelve principles that will transform the workplace into a customer-driven, highly motivational team. Can Three Words In Websters Dictionary Be The Key To Customer Loyalty? Are you concerned about customer loyalty? Are your customers so loyal that they will stick with you through hell and high water? And if not, you really need to question how you can create a customer relationship that's so gluey, that you never go bluey in the face. Funnily you don't have to go far. Raising The Bar For Online Magazine Subscription Services And Customer Service After years of flying below the radar in the magazine subscription service arena online, MagMall.com is gaining traction real fast. Service Equals Performance Equals Service Service can be described as a "performance" of some kind involving two parties whereby one party is the benefactor and the other party is the performing party receiving some type of monetary payment. The value of the Service depends on the personal experience of the benefactor. Be the Customer: See Yourself as Your Customers Do What do your customers experience when they interact with your business? As a mystery shopper, I help businesses see themselves through the eyes of their customers by posing as a typical customer and evaluating their service, quality and cleanliness. Was it easy to find what I needed? Were the employees polite and helpful? Was everything neat and clean? Was I thanked for my business? What happened when I made a return?Whether your business is an international retailer or a small one-person shop, what you don't know about your customers' perceptions of your quality and service can hurt you. Establishing Yourself as an Expert in the Eyes of Your Customers The most important aspect of a successful business is developing the correct mindset toward your customers. And this is not the over used phrase The customer is always right. What Every Manager Should Know About How to Win the Loyalty of Customers Dr. Michael LeBoeuf, in his cassette album entitled, Win Customers and Keep Them for Life presents twelve principles that will transform the workplace into a customer-driven, highly motivational team. The death of customer servie The other day a reporter call to interview me on the "Death of Customer Service". My first reaction was to deny that charge and claim that customer service is very much alive and well. Boomerang Customers- What You Might NOT Think Brings Them Back! With all of the calendars and PDA's and lists I make I recently did a really dumb thing. I forgot my best friend's birthday and her anniversary. 4 Tips Toward Overcoming Bad Customer Service Customer service is the pits, you say. You are not alone. 4 Customer Service Mistakes Companies Should Avoid Making 1) Being placed on hold endlessly. Don't you just love it when you call a company and they place you on hold, leaving you to listen to their latest on-hold, recorded sales pitch, over and over again. Customer Satisfaction Is Your Business Regardless of what business you are in - you are really in the business of satisfying customers. The degree of customer satisfaction you deliver determines the level of long-term success you will achieve in business. Attitude of Service When conducting a training session about customer service, I always spend a fair amount of time talking about attitudes. After all, to be of service, you must develop an attitude of service. Customer No Service - How to Lose a Loyal Customer! So today was the day where I almost stopped going to my favorite supermarket here in Milwaukee. If you're in Milwaukee, you know the one I'm talking about: the cool one downtown that has 1000 different types of produce, and a whole aisle dedicated to gourmet coffee and teas. The Added Value - Is YOU! If there was a restaurant in your town that was physically attractive and clean, had a pleasant variety of entrées on the menu, served food that was prepared in an attractive manner, and the service was outstanding--the maitre'd greeted you by name, remembered which was your favorite table, stopped by later to inquire about your needs and satisfaction, the waiters and waitresses bent over backwards to make your dinner a pleasurable experience and always treated you as if you were their most important patron--would you be willing to pay a little more than other restaurants charged?Many of us will pay a more to obtain better treatment. Why? Today, outstanding customer service has become the exception rather than the rule. Provide Exceptional Value - Grow Your Business The primary objective of a business is to get and keep customers. Growing a profitable business requires providing exemplary customer service and products or services of exceptional value. Customer Neglect What have you done for your existing customers lately? Probably not much, if you are like most businesses.I know that hunting new business is more of an adrenaline rush than working the business you already have, but it is not as crucial to your long-term success.
|
| Interesting articles | Home | site map | Link |
| © 2006 |