We all have some personal experience in this area. Who hasn't called a company to request assistance just to get a long list of......"press 1 for this service, press 2 for the next service, etc., etc., etc. Or possibly you have e-mailed the customer service center for a product just to find out that the answers to your questions are pre-written and they really don't resolve your problem and, to make matters worse, that is their entire customer service department. There is no one you can talk to. Even if you are lucky enough to speak to a real live person, they often have no idea how to assist you or are very rude and just plain don't care!
We all understand the need for fiscal responsibility, but doesn't someone out there understand that customer relations is the number one way to make money. Word of mouth is the biggest and best advertisement that a company can have. If a customer is treated well, they will tell others, but if a customer is treated badly the will tell many
I have some personal experience in customer service and how good it can be. I owned my own business and actually called it "The Personal Touch". I also worked for a company whose President and CEO treated his employees with respect and kindness and made it clear that customer service was our Number One priority.
Not only were people on the phone treated with individual attention, but they were kept abreast of the steps in the resolution of their problem until it was complete. People who came to the business in person were greeted with a smile and were directed to the individual or individuals who could resolve their problem quickly and efficiently.
But customer service is not just taking care of the customer when they have an issue with you. Customer service starts within a company. I am going to present you with 2 scenarios below, then we will move on.
Scenario No. 1:
You walk in to the reception area of a business. There is a person behind the desk. You notice that he/she is quite disheveled, hair unkempt, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. The desk is quite messy and this person is obviously on the phone with a friend. You wait patiently for a few moments, but this person does not acknowledge you. Finally you say "excuse me". The person is obviously irritated, but asks the person on the other end of the phone to hold on and asks you, "what is it?" You explain why you are there. He/she points to the door and tells you that so-and-so will help you, and then goes back to their phone conversation.
Scenario No. 2:
You walk into the reception area of a business. There is a person behind the desk. This person catches your eye because he/she is dressed very neatly in business attire and his/her hair is very neat. The desk is well organized and the person is hard at work. Before you can say anything he/she stands and greets you with a smile and says "Welcome, how my I help you?" You explain why you are there. The person says, "Oh yes, of course. I know just the person you need to speak to. Give me just a moment to get them for you." He/She picks up the phone, makes a quick call and tells you that the person will be right with you. While you wait the minute or two for your assistance, this person engages you in a conversation while smiling and laughing. When your assistance arrives, the person who first greeted you introduces you to the assistant and sends you on your way.
Now, which scenario would you rather be in. Obviously, Number 2. But, what you may not realize is that the differences in the scenario are not the fault of the 2 greaters involved. The differences are the fault of management. Obviously the management in scenario Number 1 is not aware that first impressions are very important in Customer Relations and Public Relations. If I were a customer and walked into the situation in scenario Number 1, I would tell everyone I know about how bad the service was there and I would probably consider taking my business elsewhere. I would be concerned that that was the way all their business was handled. In scenario Number 2, I would probably not tell as many people, but I would feel confident in the people who were handling my busininess and would likely stay on a s a long time customer, and be very willing to recommend them to others.
The other factor is this. If I walked into a business and was treated rudely by the first person I saw, when I then spoke to the person who was supposed to help me, I would already be upset and less likely to feel like negotiating a resolution. On the other hand, had I walked into a business and was treated like the person in scenario Number 2, I would already feel like I was being helped before I got any further and would be more likely to negotiate resolution.
The business world has gone casual. Not only in the way they dress, but also in their treatment of customers. It starts at the top and trickles down through to those who deal with customers on a regular basis. The standards for doing business have gone casual. If the top people in the company don't set the standards for themselves first and then also require them of the other employees, customer service always suffers.
I mentioned before that I worked for a company whose President and CEO was a wonderful leader. Unfortunately, the company was bought out by a larger business and as I, and those of us who had worked under this man and cared about our business and our customers, watched all of this be torn down and the personal touch go out the window and the character of the executives and employees change, we little by little left this company. ( As a note, the President and CEO also left) I am still in touch with some of the few that are still with the new company. The number one thing I hear from them is that no one cares. No one cares about the employees, no one cares about the customers.
We are living in a time of financial crisis in this country. We need to get back to the basics. True Customer Service is one of the first basics of good business. We need it back.
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