| |
| |
|
Customer Service Information |
|
|
|
Caring for Your Customers
You probably think I am going to say something like, "The customer is always right." Right?? Wrong. I have many philosophies when dealing with customers, but I definitely do not believe that the customer is always right. However, when the customer is wrong, you must handle the situation delicately. There are many types of customers and each one needs to be treated with respect and consideration no matter how difficult they may be. I have found that most (not all) people can be soothed out of their "nastiness". I used to work at our local casino and I would get all kinds of customers to deal with. Most of them were very pleasant as in the IM business, but there were a few that were very difficult. There was this one night when I came in contact with this particularly difficult lady who, of course, was having bad luck. She was just a bit**in" and blaming the casino!! I calmly yet firmly talked to her in a reassuring and respectful manner each and every time I came around. I noticed that each time I did talk to her she became more and more relaxed and controlled. Until finally, later in the evening, I went into the Ladies Room and who should be there, but the difficult lady! Well, as I came in, she burst out, " There she is. There's that girl who was so nice to me all night long and made me feel so much better"! She could not have been more grateful. ;-) Now this will not happen everytime you run into a difficult customer, but it could happen often. Treat people with respect, kindness and consideration and more often then not, you will be able to calm down a dissatisfied, belligerent customer. Listen to the customer and let them know you will do everything possible to get the problem resolved. Show them that you care! You need to actually care about your customer and care about making sure they are satisfied with you and your service and/or product. Do not just think of the customer as another sale. If you get the eternally nasty customer who will not be consoled no matter what you do, do not lose control or sink to their level. Remain calm but firm. The customer is not always right no matter how much they think they are. Be courteous and polite. Since I have been online, I have only encountered about three customers of the eternally nasty type. ;-) I did my best, but to no avail. So I had no choice but to send them on their way. I stood up for myself and for MOE and did not insult them in any way. But as we know, there is just no pleasing some people. I would say that 99% of the people I have encountered online have been absolutely wonderful! They make it easy to treat them with respect and courtesy. I, who has been painfully shy most of my life, love working with people and enjoy interacting with them online and offline. I think all (well, almost all) people are good in one way or another and deserve to be treated as such. This is why I do business by the motto: Treat others as you would like to be treated and Be true to yourself and your customers! About The Author Terri Seymour owns and operates MyOwnEzine.com You can contact Terri at mailto:ter02@newnorth.net
MORE RESOURCES: Spirit Airlines Employees In Philly Take Customer Service To Another Level By Trading Insults Outkick Ada Supports $500B Customer Service Labor Market with AI Agent Powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service Morningstar Can artificial intelligence rescue customer service? The Economist Dialpad Unveils New Contact Center Solution Leveraging AI to Boost Customer Service Efficiency Telecom Reseller CMS to lower importance of ‘call center’ metric in Medicare Advantage star ratings - Healthcare Dive Better living through AI? WORLD News Group The Crappy Service Continues at Idaho grocery Stores News Radio 1310 KLIX Springfield CU needs to know what your water lines are made of. Here's how to find out - News-Leader Ryan Fisher honored for customer service Jamestown Sun Open Position: Customer Service Coordinator (Remote-Part Time) America's Charities Birmingham Water Works warns customers getting service but not a bill, disconnection could be coming WBRC Ada Supports $500B Customer Service Labor Market with AI Agent Powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service PR Newswire America's Best Customer Service 2025 Newsweek Entergy New Orleans’ commitment to proactive service Entergy Newsroom Using the power of AI to improve customer support Inside INdiana Business Claims Processing Outsourcing Canada: Cynergy BPO – The Backbone of Canada’s Leading Insurance Companies Insurance Edge ServiceNow and Five9 Expand Partnership With Turnkey AI-Powered Solution for Unified Employee and Customer Experiences Business Wire Consumers embracing AI-powered customer support Retail Customer Experience From the Web: ‘AI Giants Deploy Digital Customer Service Agents’ ACA International Westney customer service desk to be temporarily closed November 16-17 Durham Region Transit Generative AI’s Potential to Improve Customer Experience Bain & Company Senior Property Tax Freeze program offline until Monday due to overwhelming traffic - Spectrum News Tennessee theme park beats out Disneyland for favorite theme park, best customer service titles KTLA Los Angeles Duck Creek Establishes Center of Excellence in Poland to Enhance Global Support for Customers GlobeNewswire Updated Customer Service Hours - Several Departments Downtown Riley County Official Website CSPI & Nutrition Action Customer Service CSPI Newsroom My experience as a Customer Service and Sales Intern Toby Shapiro's Experience at A.D. Sutton and Sons Chapman University BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE Forbes Parking Customer Service Center: Temporary Relocation for Renovations City of Norfolk (.gov) Dallas Water Utilities customers receive notification letters about their service lines Dallas City News Fifth Third Private Bank Named Global Private Banking Award Winner, Honored as Best for Customer Service Business Wire Good customer service does exist Houston Herald Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) Phone Tap: You Didn’t Say Goodbye MOViN 92.5 Dollywood beats Disney, Universal and other popular theme parks again! Here’s why Knoxville News Sentinel Charter Names Robyn Tolva Senior Vice President, Customer Service Reliability | Charter Charter Communications PHL Impression Makers - American Airlines Customer Service Agent Shatara Hester Philadelphia International Airport A faster Customer Service in Thailand Saint-Gobain President Biden Announces New Customer Service Actions, Targets Subscriptions and ‘Doom Loops’ CX Today Drycleaning Automation vs. Customer Service (Part 1) American Drycleaner Fulton County Recognizes National Customer Service Week Fulton County Government Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Southwest Airlines to offer buyouts at LAX, Burbank, Long Beach and John Wayne Los Angeles Daily News 8 strategies for using AI for customer service in 2024 Sprout Social Want better customer service when you travel? You must be joking Elliott Advocacy Banks with 24/7 Customer Service Business Insider |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Dissatisfied or Rude Customers Can Be Satisfied Customers On a recent airline flight I was an upset customer. I was arriving on a late inbound flight and connecting with the last flight out on the same airline, but the connecting flight left without me! At first, I was furious when told to wait in a line of 300 people to resolve my problem. Customer Neglect What have you done for your existing customers lately? Probably not much, if you are like most businesses.I know that hunting new business is more of an adrenaline rush than working the business you already have, but it is not as crucial to your long-term success. Hit The Jackpot With Customer Complaints Our most powerful instinct is to avoid customer complaints, but they may be the best thing that happens to your business. Here's why. Courting Customers - From First Date to Marriage Landing a new client is like courting a potential spouse. The first date is usually a make or break situation and if the door is still open, the work has just begun. Putting The Serve Back Into Customer Service Good service is easy to spot and hard-to-find. Mediocre serviceoccasionally stands out but only because it's the cream-of-the-crap. How to Retain Your Customers the Dish Network Way Customer retention is vital to a business. If you cannot retain your customers you will be continually losing current customers and always on the search for new ones. Provide Exceptional Value - Grow Your Business The primary objective of a business is to get and keep customers. Growing a profitable business requires providing exemplary customer service and products or services of exceptional value. 4 Customer Service Mistakes Companies Should Avoid Making 1) Being placed on hold endlessly. Don't you just love it when you call a company and they place you on hold, leaving you to listen to their latest on-hold, recorded sales pitch, over and over again. The Importance of Good Customer Service Do you have good customer service? Even for your free giveaways?I have been thinking over the past couple of weeks why some WAHP's have trouble growing their business. They host chats or do online parties. Five Ways To Wow Your Client Running a business is about providing goods and services to human beings. Their experience with you can make the difference between a good day, a terrible day, a nothing-special day, and a "WOW" day for them! Wouldn't you like to be the reason a client's day changes from boring to "WOW?"The benefits of this approach are good for everyone involved. What To Do When Youve Blown It It's bound to happen sooner or later - yes, even to you and your business. Sometime or other, you will make a blunder that upsets a customer. It Is All About Customer Service! In this day of terrible customer service, it should come as no surprise that serving your customers, also known as visitors to your web site, must be a top priority. Forget about return on your investment, how your site looks, keywords, meta tags, and the like. Say It With Humor When you own a business, you may find yourself in situations that may be a little tricky to handle. Dealing with customers who steal is one of them. Be the Customer: See Yourself as Your Customers Do What do your customers experience when they interact with your business? As a mystery shopper, I help businesses see themselves through the eyes of their customers by posing as a typical customer and evaluating their service, quality and cleanliness. Was it easy to find what I needed? Were the employees polite and helpful? Was everything neat and clean? Was I thanked for my business? What happened when I made a return?Whether your business is an international retailer or a small one-person shop, what you don't know about your customers' perceptions of your quality and service can hurt you. Transforming Disgruntled Customers into Your Biggest Advocates "I am writing to complain about the widget I bought from your site the other day."Sell anything and eventually you will be on the receiving end of a sentence like this. Make Sure You Get The Customer Perspective Businesses that fail, often forget to seek out the customer perspective. I have talked to some folks at businesses that were less than succesful, and when asked if they actively seek out customer comments, the answer invariably is no. Making Your Contacts Work For You The best way to explain this concept is to tell you a story. While calling for lease purchasing property, I spoke with an older widowed woman. Client Service as a Competitive Advantage As someone who has been heavily involved facilitating strategic planning processes with organizations during the last 15+ years, I often find it somewhat amusing how people answer the questions I pose.For example, if I ask people, "What is your unique differentiation in the marketplace?" or "What does your organization really excel at?" They will almost always reply, "It has to be our client service. Customer Loyalty Loyal customers are the foundation of almost every business. Going the extra mile to provide outstanding customer service is the first step to customer loyalty. Handling Angry Clients What do you do when your client gets mad at you? How do you handle this? An angry client can be one of the biggest time and energy drains on a sales person. What you should specifically do will obviously depend on what the client is angry about.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |