Christmas is a great time to observe customer service in action.
Christmas is a stressful time for many, both financially and emotionally. Christmas shopping is often part of this stress.
Hallmark Of Good Customer Service
The pre Christmas rush can also be a stressful time for small business retailers and staff. Customer service that shines at Christmas is likely to shine all year through.
I was trying to track down a particular book for a Christmas gift. I phoned the bookstore, where I am a regular customer. There was no acknowledgement - just a hasty "Can I call you back?"
The Importance Of Being Customer Focused
She told me that it was their busiest day of the week, and she'd try to call me back. Try? I asked what the time frame would be and she said "As soon as possible." She asked for my name and phone contact. I felt very rushed as if I was wasting her time.
Calm Friendly Customer Service
About 3 hours later, I received a call from a second person, following up. She was very helpful, calm and friendly. The book was not available, but she gave me the details and offered to order it in. This assistant did a great job of being customer focused.
Which person would you rather deal with
? It's often not the answer that determines customer service perceptions, even if it's not the one you want to hear.
It's Not What You Say. It's How You Say It
It's the way something is handled that makes for a lasting customer connection and relationship.
Good story and Good insights! This article reminds me of a book I have read--- Becoming a Customer-Focused Organization by Craig Cochran. "The customer is the sole reason organizations exist,” Craig Cochran points out throughout this concise and practical book, which outlines the fundamentals of building process controls around internal and external customers'true needs. "Customers who complain are not nitpickers or looking for discounts, they' re committed to your organization,” Cochran says, noting that complaining requires time, effort and emotion. “Someone who isn't committed to your company wouldn’t bother complaining." I found it very useful to relate my life for I am a manager. And it provides me with many fantastic methods when coming across those familiar problems with my customers. Here is the book I found: http://www.dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=73898 , I think it is really a useful book for those companies which may think they’ve tuned into customers when, in reality, they're self-absorbed.
Posted by: Rex | December 20, 2007 10:56 PM | Permalink to Comment