You’re no doubt thinking what have ducks and eagles got to do with business? I recently saw an amazing phrase:
“Differentiate yourself from your competitors.
Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd”.
If you ask the average business what their customer service is like, 
they will probably say anything from “good” to “great”. However if you asked their customers, you’d probably get comments from “mediocre” to “ok” … although crediting some will say “great”. Whilst so many businesses seem to struggle with customer service, it’s not so hard if you take a moment to focus on what you’re doing.
A business consultant can help you and your staff to do customer service. We can talk 0411 622 666.
Here are some simple tips to do Customer Service:
- Ask what your customers want. When was the last time you did a customer survey and really asked what your customers are looking for, value in your service, or feel is lacking from you?
- Have the right team! If you employ surly, unhelpful ducks then how can you expect them to behave like eagles? Get the right team on board and then value them. Look after your team and they will look after your customers.
- Smile! OMG how hard can this be? I recently interviewed a person for my own position and they stated they had a bubbly personality, whilst maintaining a very serious face. This was a customer service role and yet this person rarely smiled during the interview.
- Acknowledge the customer. In retail, I know I’ve been served whilst staff talk to each other, and barely even look at me, let alone engage me. I feel I am almost intruding on their private discussion and shouldn’t be there.
- You can hear a smile. That’s right, you can actually hear a smile in a person’s voice. So, ensure even when you’re talking on the phone, you also smile. 🙂
- Under promise and over deliver. Once you know what your customers want, give them that, plus a tad more. If they expect delivery within 48 hours, set your goal to deliver in 24 hours.
- Use my name. This is so easy in retail. When you get a customers credit card (and let’s face it, most of us pay for products and services on a credit or debit card) it has the cardholder’s name. As I leave, you say “Thank Donna – hope you enjoy that movie” or “Have an awesome day Donna” … how nice is that. People love hearing their name and being acknowledged as an individual and important person.
- WOW factor. This doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult, just different. That little bit extra makes the difference and whilst you may not hear about it, it’s what keeps people coming back.
- Show the love. It’s a statistical fact that we lose 68% of customers due to a “perceived indifference” … in other words, they don’t feel the love. Ensure your customers feel important from how you start the sales process to how you handle a complaint.
Remember that customer service starts with you – if you don’t care about it, then don’t expect your team to have a care factor. It’s often simple; it’s an ethos you make part of your organisation’s attitude, as well as systemising various service strategies, so they occur as standard process.
Need to train your staff to do customer service the right way? A business consultant can help you with this. Email me at donna@donna-stone.com.au.
