All businesses require good customer service. To put it simply, It's an essential part of maintaining existing customers as well as winning over new ones. I think about this in my daily life and how customer service has affected me. Most recently, poor customer service led to me not buying something. I had an experience at a local shoe store where the employee was rude, ignored me, and didn't even acknowledge that I was present. What was the result? I went to the store a couple locations down the way and bought the same product giving someone else the commission.
This type of situation happens time and time again in all different industries. Often times customers are making decisions based on the service rather than the actual product. Customer service is what allows a company to stand out from their competition, in particular, it's what allows Call One to stand out from our competition.
As the customer service team lead, I strive to provide great service for all customers that I encounter. My first step to excellent customer service is to make it clear that our delivery is extremely important to us and that we strive for exceptional service at all times. I also make sure that initial contacts are timely and that we thoroughly explain the process, set expectations, and ask if our customers have any questions. Acknowledging the customer's inquiry is important as well. Whether I have the answer right away or need to do some discovery, responding promptly is key. Once I've established contact with the customer, I try to remain proactive and keep him or her informed along the way. I think that not doing this is probably the biggest driver of poor customer service. In addition to being proactive, I make a point to really listen to each caller. I take the time to understand each person's needs and address them as an individual; as someone who is in need of our assistance and not just a ticket number. At the end of each call with my customers I remind them of our service goal and ask if there is anything additional that I can do to assist them. Then I am sure to thank them! It is important to remember that great customer service doesn't end there. Follow through is a MUST! I always follow through on my commitments, and I train my team to do the same.
I believe the best lesson that I can teach my team is to follow the golden rule we were all taught as kids. "Treat others as you want to be treated". That applies to more than just childhood friendship. We should treat all customers as we would like to be treated if we were on the other side of the phone. Some of these steps may seem pretty simple, but they are what makes Call One truly shine and stand out from our competition.