As a consumer purchasing products or services, I often stop to ask myself this question especially when dealing with the larger corporate organisations of this world, sadly in a lot of cases the answer is yes!
It is sad when the pressure of surviving into today’s economic climate means that organisations feel the need to strip their business model down in order to cut costs, however I strongly believe the lack of focus on the importance of “best in class” customer services has been growing over years and not just a result of our recent credit crunch. After all it’s often about keeping shareholders happy, when in fact the focus should always be on the customer who is our life blood. Look at any job site out there advertising for customer service positions and you will often see the salary levels offered indicate the level of priority given to the area of customer service.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
By focusing on best in class customer service you can maintain client retention and gain referrals, let’s face it, it’s hard to get new customers on board, and why do so many people over look what’s on their doorstep?
I recently received a recommendation from a family member for the services of a local garage, I followed up on this and used the services of this company, they were really good and I in turn have recommended them to others. I have calculated that the initial recommendation has generated no less than 7 new customers for this company in as many weeks.
The approach I apply with all dealings I have with customers is called “the no news approach” This simply means you contact your customer with an update even if there has been no movement for whatever reason.
“That’s a waste of time I hear you cry” well I am sorry to say you are missing the point, think of a time in your life where you became angry and frustrated over a situation, not because there had been a hold up but because no one had bothered to keep you, the customer informed.
How much better would you have felt in the knowledge that the people you had entrusted your business to cared about you knowing what was happening, after all you place your business with an organisation in order to release your time to focus on the things that you as an individual or organisation excel at.
The saying in this situation often goes “If you want something done properly do it yourself”. For me customer service is all about doing the job properly for my customer. It’s just good old fashioned business etiquette.