Whether you are a start-up or a fully established organization, customer service will be an unwavering feature to tend to. In other words, the same zeal and commitment you put in at the time of launch should be unchanged 50 years from now. If you want your company to be considered an industry-great, remember it is your customers who will lead you there. No matter how good the product or service is, people do not want it unless they know you have their back. So if you feel like you may have been slumping in this area, perhaps it is time for a refresher.
Patience
There is no escaping it, unreasonable customers will come your way, and you will also have to deal with them. As much as you would like to send them on a one-way trip to the moon, you need to ensure you handle matters professionally. For that, you need to be patient. And if you are not patient by nature, then cultivate it. It is not easy of course, but you will find that doing this will make life a lot easier for you. Instead of feeling like you are going to implode with rage, you will tackle the issue impartially and objectively. Which is always how you should handle any problem within the business, at any time.
Training
If your company seems to have slid off its ratings lately, this might be time for a crash training for employees. You see, though these things are important to someone when they first join, over time, as they get comfortable, most people tend to slack off. Which ultimately is evident in the quality of their customer service. So take some time to retrain everyone, not making them hate it of course, but explain how it would help them (more sales, more profit, more bonuses), as a core part of improving business CRM. It will help keep their people skills polished.
Be Proactive
Nothing is more off-putting than walking into a store and seeing the staff lounging about, completely disinterested in what is going on. It’s even worse when you see them look up at you as if you just destroyed their entire existence. Naturally, you would not want this for your customers either. Motivate your staff to be proactive. They should be alert, aware and helpful, as well as friendly and welcoming. Being proactive is one of the biggest drivers of customer satisfaction.
Constant Professionalism
We all have problems to deal with, but these should not be displayed in front of the customer. Of course there are exceptions, such as when receiving bad news, which can be understandably disconcerting and even understood by the customer. However, fights with people over the phone or loud, crass conversations withing earshot of customers is unacceptable. It is irresponsible, unprofessional, and completely rude. Your job is to tend to the customer at all times, not be distracted. Have some rules set out for customer service in the office, so you can ensure they are abided by as well.
