A barber shop I go to for my haircuts had an independent barber working there who just didn’t understand how her behavior affected her success. When she was not cutting someone’s hair she would walk outside and smoke cigarettes. After that she would come inside and sit in the customer waiting area and complain about the absentee owner of the shop. She would criticize how he never did anything to promote the business, or put any money into updating the appearance of the shop.
Whether you own a company or work in a customer service job, your customer service skills are critical to your success. It is far too easy to take the people you are serving for granted when things are not going your way, or you are having a stressful day. Customers have their own set of problems and need you to give them the best service possible no matter how you feel.
According to Jay Conrad Levinson, marketing expert, “you must act on the knowledge that what customers value the most are attention, dependability, promptness, and competence.”
You demonstrate that you are paying attention to your customers by asking them questions. Dale Carnegie said that one of the best ways to “win customers and influence people” is to become genuinely interested in them. Questions will give you the opportunity to learn more about your customers, get to know them more personally, and give them the attention they want.
People like to do business with people they know and like. By paying attention to your customers, you will develop the kind of relationship that allows them to feel that you really do care.
Being dependable is another way of saying your customers do not like the wrong kind of surprises. They want to get what they expect, in the way they expect to get it. Do this consistently and you will satisfy this need.
Being prompt is essential to fulfilling most customers’ needs. No one likes to wait for service or for a call back or for an answer to their questions. They want it now and doing anything else can be perceived as a sign that you don’t value their time.
Competence can be described as your ability to get the job done right the first time. Know the answers to your customers questions. If you don’t know find out promptly and accurately.
Far too often business owners will hire employees and not train them adequately. What ends up happening is the person is not capable of doing what is necessary to provide the kind of service that makes the customer happy. Poorly trained employees usually results in unhappy customers and high turnover of employees.
So, to keep your customers happy and your business growing, remember to provide attention, dependability, promptness and competence to every one of them. When you do, both you, your employees, and your customers will live happily ever after.
Tom Borg is a consultant in leadership management, team building and customer service. Please see more of his blogs at csjobsblog.com and businessworkforceblog.com To view additional job postings at Nexxt
Whether you own a company or work in a customer service job, your customer service skills are critical to your success. It is far too easy to take the people you are serving for granted when things are not going your way, or you are having a stressful day. Customers have their own set of problems and need you to give them the best service possible no matter how you feel.
According to Jay Conrad Levinson, marketing expert, “you must act on the knowledge that what customers value the most are attention, dependability, promptness, and competence.”
You demonstrate that you are paying attention to your customers by asking them questions. Dale Carnegie said that one of the best ways to “win customers and influence people” is to become genuinely interested in them. Questions will give you the opportunity to learn more about your customers, get to know them more personally, and give them the attention they want.
People like to do business with people they know and like. By paying attention to your customers, you will develop the kind of relationship that allows them to feel that you really do care.
Being dependable is another way of saying your customers do not like the wrong kind of surprises. They want to get what they expect, in the way they expect to get it. Do this consistently and you will satisfy this need.
Being prompt is essential to fulfilling most customers’ needs. No one likes to wait for service or for a call back or for an answer to their questions. They want it now and doing anything else can be perceived as a sign that you don’t value their time.
Competence can be described as your ability to get the job done right the first time. Know the answers to your customers questions. If you don’t know find out promptly and accurately.
Far too often business owners will hire employees and not train them adequately. What ends up happening is the person is not capable of doing what is necessary to provide the kind of service that makes the customer happy. Poorly trained employees usually results in unhappy customers and high turnover of employees.
So, to keep your customers happy and your business growing, remember to provide attention, dependability, promptness and competence to every one of them. When you do, both you, your employees, and your customers will live happily ever after.
Tom Borg is a consultant in leadership management, team building and customer service. Please see more of his blogs at csjobsblog.com and businessworkforceblog.com To view additional job postings at Nexxt
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