Putting Your Customers' Needs First

Service Tips … Things to Think About!

Here are some quick suggestions on how you can be a more successful Customer Advocate in your company:

• The Customer is Always Right… No, the customer is NOT always right…but he is ALWAYS the Customer! When people present the argument of “whether or not” the customer is always right…they are missing the point! It is not important whether they are right or wrong…but it is important that you ALWAYS remember when dealing with them that they ARE YOUR CUSTOMER! Treat them with respect…even if they are angry or upset with your company. I have heard customer service managers and others say I would not take that from anyone…if someone cussed me out … I would hang up on them! While I can understand their feelings, I cannot accept their comment as the best solution to the problem. Serving customers well can at time be a very difficult process. As a customer service representative or sales representative, you occasionally encounter someone who has had a very bad experience with your company…on top of that they may be having a very bad day. It takes very little to set someone off…if they feel that their needs are not being properly addressed. In these situations, the best action…is nothing…shut up and LISTEN to what the customer is saying to you…give them a chance to “unload”; they are NOT mad at you personally…they are upset about your product/price/service or even some other unrelated event. After they unwind…even the most frustrated customer must come up for a breath of air sometime…simply state that you are SORRY that the service or product did not meet their expectations or whatever and that we want to make it right. That will catch most angry callers “off-guard”, because we are so busy today defending what we do as a matter of course, they expect us to take issue with their remarks…we forget to say we are sorry! Next…ask the customer what we need to do to correct the situation so that it will not occur again. Usually, they will “ease up” and begin a rational conversation at this point. And by the end of the conversation, the angry caller is usually apologizing for their behavior. All you need to say is: yes…I know how you feel. Thanks for calling me and giving our company the opportunity to correct this situation for you. And thanks for doing business with us!

• Handling Customer Complaints

In 43 years of handling customer service complaints at three different companies, I have NEVER had a customer hang up the phone on me. I have often heard other customer service managers remark that they will NOT tolerate customers “cussing at them” or being “obnoxious” or “disrespectful” to them.

Here is how I handle a call when dealing with an irate customer: