service Archives - Page 3 of 3

26
Jan 18
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Good Service Done Right, Can You Find It?

Tags : customer good quality sales service

It seems that there are universal truths about many things in life. Are there universal truths about customer service? Can we still get good service done right?

Many believe that it is a very interesting time for small businesses, franchise holders, and non-profit organizations. Likely, there are no limits on size, shape, or even sector. It could be your small town dentist office, a large-scale telecommunications provider, or the 1940’s railcar dinner.

Today, as frustrations mount with poor service, the desire for good service increases. Repetitive breakdowns cause people to seek something better. Rejection may lead to obsession, and stories of poor service lead to a new quest to find the exceptions.

Universal Truths

What are some of the universal truths about good service? What are organizations doing to deliver?

They are:

Timely
Responsive
Caring
Kind
Honest
Trustworthy
Valued
Considerate
Forthcoming
Well-managed
Respected
Active
Participative
Decisive
Resourceful

Perhaps this represents just a handful of the qualities that make things go more right, instead of wrong.

Wrong Things First

It is easy for organizations to focus on the wrong things first. By choice, they often focus on self-protection, cheapest to spec and good enough to close the sale.

These choices often become values and traditions. The traditions the organization holds on the inside. Their dirty laundry and the things they stuff in the closet.

They aren’t broadcast or made public, at least not in the written form. Customers quickly figure it out though, and they are just as quick to tell others or jump to a social media channel to spread the word.

Unfortunately, it is the evolution, the life cycle and a self-created destiny.

Good Service

For the organization that wants to change, the one that wants to grow its base, build a new reputation, and deliver good service, it often becomes about a process of unlearning.

Unlearning the bad habits, unlearning the self-protection factors that restrict quality and removing of the mindset of building or delivering to the cheapest spec wins.

Why is all of this important? It is important because there is a difference between done and done right.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

24
Jan 18
-

Successful Service Is a Promise Kept

Tags : customer problem promise service

Customer service goes wrong when the first reaction is to deny a problem exits. The most successful service happens when the promise to the customer is kept.

Every transaction contains a promise to the customer. This product will work, you will get fast delivery from our on-line store, pressing one will get you to technical support, and our waiting room is comfortable, you’ll be called shortly.

Customer Promises

Customer service is everywhere. Schools have students they are the customer. The barber has a customer sitting in the chair. Your cellular provider has subscribers.

It is the person who receives postal service mail, the person pushing the shopping cart, and the person channel surfing on their HD TV.

What every customer wants to know is that you’ll keep your promises.

You will educate my child, give me a great haircut, and keep my cellular network up and running. You will also deliver my mail, keep good store hours, and give me great television entertainment at a reasonable price.

Often the root of the problem starts with the perception of a promise not kept. The first interaction conditions what will happen next. Unfortunately, often the first message received is denial that a problem exists. Denials aren’t always verbal, sometimes they are visual.

Visual Denials

The website contact page takes you only to a form. A waiting room has only three chairs, one is broken, one is a child’s chair, and one has food on it. You can watch any one of the 15 stations in your TV subscriber package but you only want one.

It could be that none of those represents the promise that the customer expected, so they’ll often take what they can get, they will accept it as is. They’ll fill out the form, stand in the waiting room, and occasionally watch the one channel in the package that they actually enjoy.

Successful Service

Successful service is a promise kept. It is not closing the sale. It is not denial that there is a problem.

Customer service is only effortless when you don’t believe the customer could ever have a problem.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

02
Jan 18
-

Learning Customer Service Is Important

Tags : critic customer experience learning service

There is always a critic about customer service. People say hindsight is twenty-twenty. Is learning customer service important?

Talk to anyone long enough and they’ll share a bad customer service experience. It is easy to analyze the game after it is over.

Customers Matter

It is in the mission statement, the plague on the wall, and clever meme that is on the poster. Organizations always claim that customer service matters.

Show the customer that we care.

Take care of the customer.

Our customers are number one.

Understanding the Critic

The critic does not represent the truth about customer service or the customer experience. What the critic knows, says, or does is not representative of the knowledge of the team.

Knowing how a screwdriver works and being able to use one with precision are two different things.

Delivering exceptional customer service is a skill. When we understand that it is a skill then we also recognize that it can be built, developed, and shaped.

People often quickly scoff at the idea of learning more about customer service because they believe they already know it, and after all, they can point out all the mistakes of others.

The loudest critics may need the most development. Not because they don’t know what it is, but because they aren’t on the field delivering.

Learning Customer Service

Sometimes the learning part is not about what the tool is used for, but it is about how the tool is used. This includes when, where, and the management of circumstances and situations.

There is a difference between screaming from the bleachers, yelling at the television, or commanding it from the C Suite.

Organizational commitment and a culture of the service experience starts with learning but it is only made possible from action on the field. It will take more than knowing what the tool is used for and being a critic when the tool slips.

Learning customer service is always important. It starts inside the organization long before it is delivered outside.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

28
Nov 17
2

Delivering Perfect Customer Service

Tags : customer experience organizational culture perfection service

Is perfect realistic? Can you deliver the perfect product, service, and experience? What is required to deliver perfect customer service?

Beauty may exist in the eye of the beholder and the same is likely true for the customer experience.

Moments of Customer Service

Most of our experiences are the result of moments. The moment you hold the newest smartphone, the moment you look in the mirror wearing the new outfit, or that moment when you test-drive the new car. All of our experiences are about emotions. Some feel perfect, at least for that moment.

Therefore, the customer service that we deliver, the things that delight and inspire customers, they are all about the moment. Those moments are often connected to people, places, circumstances, situations, and timing.

What is perfect right now, in this moment, may be a one-time experience. What is happening now probably isn’t the exact thing that will happen next.

Perfect customer service is situational. It is like leadership, communication, and delegation. What is perfect in this moment, for this person, in this situation won’t hold true for very long.

Circumstances Define Perfection

If you are insisting on delivering perfect customer service every time, you may want to think about the circumstances before planning for the outcomes.

Having an umbrella at the right moment may be perfect, holding an umbrella all the time, perhaps not so much.

Rules, policies and procedures are necessary, but they seldom consider every possible circumstance.

Perfect Customer Service

If you’re looking for perfection, you’re going to have to have truth. The truth is perfection is a moving target. Consequently, rules and policies are guidelines.

Organizational culture will shape the flexibility around the circumstances that will lead to the perfect moment.

What happens the next time, in the next circumstance is only perfect for that moment.

Your culture won’t define the moments, but the outcomes of the moment are defined by your culture.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

22
Sep 17
-

customer service pain points Appreciative Strategies

What Are Your Customer Service Pain Points?

Tags : assessment customer experience pain service

Everybody quickly recognizes that customer service should be a happy experience, or at a stretch minimizing a not so great experience to be better. When was the last time you really considered customer service pain points?

There is often chatter about touch points, but pain points perhaps not so much. One of my favorite provocative questions is, “What are you doing that punishes your customers?” Sometimes people feel shocked about that question, but it is an important one.

Customer Service Pain Points

Like touch points, pain points might be assessed everywhere. Here are a few examples:

What or how convenient is parking
Where are the restrooms
What should people do while they wait
How long do they wait
Are there stairs, or an elevator
How many clicks to make a purchase
How available is a human
How responsive to email
How is the experience too fast, or too slow
Is the product intuitive? For whom?

Certainly, this list could get long quickly. Most businesses follow an established pattern. Waiting rooms get chairs, sometimes a television or closed circuit advertising, perhaps fresh water or a coffee pot. The bus should arrive on time. Pizza delivery should be hot, and shipping for my on-line purchase fast.

Assessment and Brainstorming

What does your business do? How do you assess pain points? Have you done it lately or are you merely copying what the shop across the street is doing?

Have you considered internal customer service? How responsive are you to email? Are you available or often too busy? Are projects completed on time? Does everyone do their part? Are people waiting for other people? What do they do while they wait?

How should internal service be measured or evaluated? Compared with what?

Just Enough or More?

Many businesses and organizations are on cruise control. They are doing what they need to do to get by. Spending just enough on advertising may not help growth. Shipping just fast enough to avoid complaints won’t set you apart. Providing services or comfort comparable to the competition won’t make you memorable.

When you do everything just as good as the next person, internal or external, the best you can hope for is to be number two. Cruise control may be similar to coasting. We all know you only coast one way—downhill.

Reducing or eliminating customer service pain points will make your touch points more memorable. What is the customer’s pain?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

25
May 17
2

Consistency Matters for the Customer Experience

Tags : authenticity consistency customer experience service trust

Have you ever wondered if consistency matters? In your customers’ eyes, consistency may be the only thing that keeps them loyal.

Yesterday I had lunch with a coaching client at one of my favorite pizza shops. Knowing that I frequented the shop, the client asked, “Is the pizza good here?” It hit me when I had to pause before answering. There is one significant problem with this pizza shop. It lacks consistency.

Customer Experience

Go to a McDonald’s, Burger King, or Pizza Hut anyplace you can find one. At any of these establishments, you’ll have the same or very similar quality of food. You can count on it.

You know how it will taste. The menu might be the same or very similar, and the ambiance will be identical.

Knowing what to expect matters and consistency may be why we shop, buy, or consume. Inconsistency brings on trust issues and the inability for the customer to recommend the quality.

During our lunch, I went on to explain that sometimes the pizza is fantastic, but other times it is just OK.

OK isn’t always good enough. It may be when the alternatives aren’t any better, but when you recognize that there are many lunchtime choices, this pizza shop may lose business.

Consistency Matters

Whatever your business is, trust in the notion that consistency matters.

Consistency may be why people shop, and it is certainly a big part of why they trust. Lack of consistency may signal problems. It detracts from the customer experience.

When organizational leaders or front-line employees don’t care enough to make it consistent, customers may not care enough to return.

The perceived value drops from exceptional to average, and average is available everywhere.

Authenticity and Loyalty

Loyalty may make a difference, but the ease of purchase somewhere else may outshine loyalty even on a good day.

If you work for a business, an organization, or an institution, is the output consistent?

Only when your output is consistent and original is your work good enough to be labeled authentic.

What is not authentic may be considered to be available anywhere.

The question then may become, “Are you loyal?”

No one needs to ask why.

– DEG

Consistency always matters. It is why I wrote this book:

#CustServ Customer Service Culture

Get it Now on Amazon

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Originally posted on May 25, 2017, last updated on December 23, 2018.

Tag Archives: service

Jan 18

-

Universal Truths

Wrong Things First

Good Service

Jan 18

-

Customer Promises

Visual Denials

Successful Service

Jan 18

-

Customers Matter

Understanding the Critic

Learning Customer Service

Nov 17

Moments of Customer Service

Circumstances Define Perfection

Perfect Customer Service

Sep 17

-

Customer Service Pain Points

Assessment and Brainstorming

Just Enough or More?

May 17

Customer Experience

Consistency Matters

Authenticity and Loyalty

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