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Customer Service Information |
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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: AI Chatbots Are Ready to Talk to Customers. Sort of. The Wall Street Journal Pricing, AI, DPA, Customer Service Tools; Bill Emerson Interview; Training This Week; STRATMOR CD Workshop Mortgage News Daily Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in ‘Best Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Yahoo Finance Qme secures $3M funding to streamline customer service across Africa Techpoint Africa Building Competitive Advantage in Customer Care Through AI The Business of Fashion 311 Customer Service Center City and County of San Francisco FTC Finalizes Order with H&R Block Requiring Them to Pay $7 Million and Overhaul Advertising and Customer Service Practices for 2025 and 2026 Tax Seasons Federal Trade Commission News Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in ‘Best Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Business Wire Ikea expands integration with assembly services platform Chain Store Age JEA is inviting bids for 19-story downtown tower that used to be its headquarters The Florida Times-Union American Lamprecht Enhances Visibility for Air and Ocean Shipments Using Descartes Solution Supply Chain Dive Women in Fintech: A Conversation About Loyalty Ecosystems in Financial Services with Becky Hill Finovate Neterra Enhances Its Customer Service Monitoring System Total Telecom Gladly Named a Leader in Constellation ShortList™ for Digital Customer Service and Support PR Newswire QueueKiosk™: Saving Thousands of Active-Duty Man Hours & Improving Customer Service at the MPF Office Kiosk Marketplace Finally, hard data on a real-world AI business use case: It’s huge for customer service Sherwood News Liverpool reinvents customer service through digital platform ComputerWeekly.com Firm to expand customer service in Yorkshire with new service centre Golf Business News CSPI & Nutrition Action Customer Service CSPI Newsroom Textron Aviation to Open New Service Facility at Essendon Fields Airport, Expanding Capabilities in Australia Pittsburg Morning Sun Help Department of Taxation and Finance Six Game-Changing AI Customer Service and CX Strategies Hospitality Net Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) New York State Department of Health Cigna's customer-centric strategy could ripple across the sector Modern Healthcare Major AI Success Story: Giftify Achieves 40% Faster Customer Response Times with Enterprise AI StockTitan Contact Us About Your Bill myclearwater.com Customer Service Center apps.tampagov.net 311 - Birmingham’s Customer Service Center City of Birmingham (.gov) DESCO's meeting held to enhance customer service and power reliability The Business Standard Palm Coast Utility Department Celebrated for Enhanced Customer Service City of Palm Coast 70% of customer service to rely on AI by 2028: Gartner Outsource Accelerator Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) My experience as a Customer Service and Sales Intern Toby Shapiro's Experience at A.D. Sutton and Sons Chapman University 3 Ways To Quickly Make $50 GOBankingRates Delta’s annual profit-sharing day spotlights ‘people first’ strategy The Atlanta Journal Constitution Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Celebrate Customer Service Week City of Riverside (.gov) Which companies have the best customer service? Amazon, Shein, Costco among top-rated brands USA TODAY Con Edison Proposes Investments to Meet Growing Demand for Clean Energy, Enhance Customer Support T&D World Fulton County Recognized as a 2024 National Customer Service All Star Fulton County Government Contact Reverb Support Reverb Charter Names Robyn Tolva Senior Vice President, Customer Service Reliability | Charter Charter Communications America's Best Customer Service 2025 Newsweek 8 strategies for using AI for customer service in 2025 Sprout Social Attorney General Bonta Demands Better Customer Service for Californians California Department of Justice AI for Customer Service Market worth $47.82 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™ PR Newswire Can artificial intelligence rescue customer service? The Economist Permits–customer services King County Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications Federal Communications Commission Shep Hyken, HPU Customer Service Expert, Mentors Students and Staff High Point University Department of Transportation Governor Tom Wolf President Biden Announces New Customer Service Actions, Targets Subscriptions and ‘Doom Loops’ CX Today 11 key elements of excellent customer service Business.com Launch of New Districtwide Customer Service Platform The School District of Philadelphia Summer EBT | Department of Human Services Governor Tom Wolf Video Quick Take: Intercom’s Brian Donahue on How AI Agents Can Be Your First Tier of Customer Service Support HBR.org Daily |
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