Every Single Contact Counts:
Are All of Your Employees Providing Excellent Customer Service?
By David Saxby, Article in its
original form on
www.phoneplusmag.com April 2004
I recently
rented from one of the national rental car companies. My first two
interactions with their employees were great! And then there was Robert! Why
do I remember Robert’s name? Because he was downright rude and condescending.
He cared nothing about me as a customer. I was angered by the way he treated
me, and I told him exactly what I thought of his behavior.
For me it was a great reminder that
each and every employee has an impact on the total service experience. This is
true of car rental companies and telecom companies. With number portability a
reality for most, providing excellent customer service should be at the top of
every carrier’s goals for 2004. If customers aren’t getting excellent
service, number portability will make choosing the competition easy — it will
take only a phone call.
Here’s what you can do to retain
customers through stellar service:
Service Standards Rule.
Establish standards for greeting a customer and when to use the customer’s
name. Develop standards for how to deal with unhappy customers. Empower your
staff to go the extra mile to exceed the customer’s expectations for service
without having to get management approval. Create a standard for the correct
way to put customers on hold and handle transfers. Communicate all of these
standards to everyone in the company. Management should coach employees to
make sure the standards are used during every customer interaction, whether it
is in the office, on the phone or in the field.
Consistency is Key. Consistency
is one of the keys to great service. Does every customer experience excellent
service? The new customer who is establishing service, the existing customers
adding features to their phone, the customers calling to report trouble with
their lines — are they all treated in the same friendly, efficient manner?
What impression do you make if you
provide top-notch service when a customer calls today and then lousy service
when that same customer calls tomorrow?
Lasting Impressions Matter. Do
your employees ask questions to determine the customer’s needs? Do they listen
to their customers so they can understand what is important to them? Does
every employee take five seconds to make eye contact with a customer, smile
and communicate a heartfelt ‘thank you’ with a sincere tone in his or her
voice?
Employee Development is a Must.
When budgets are cut, training often is one of the first items to go. After
9/11, most airlines made drastic cutbacks in training and other services to
survive. Southwest Airlines increased its training budget. Why? “Any airline
can fly 737s to different cities,” says Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart. “Our
secret weapon is our people. So we had to invest in them.” Southwest
understands that without training, employees lack the confidence, knowledge
and skills to provide high-quality service.
No Substitute for Measurement.
If you called every customer who did business with your company in the last 30
days, how would he or she rate the service experience? What suggestions would
they have for improving the level of service you offer? What additional
products are they looking to buy that you could sell them? Companies are
afraid to ask their customers the tough questions. Why? Because they’re afraid
of the answers. Make the commitment to ask your customers what they think
about your products, your service and your employees, and do it every month.
So how did my interaction with Robert
end? I left a voice mail for the general manager. I let him know I was a
frequent customer and, based on my experience with Robert, I had rented my
last car from his location and would choose his competition in the future. I
left my name and number. Did the company care enough about my business to call
me back? No.
Do you have a Robert at your company?
Measure-X
888.644.5499
www.measure-x.com
The Customer Service and Sales Experts for the utility
industry!
