WOLRD CLASS CUSTOMER SERVICE

World Class Customer Service is the process of consistently communicating to every

customer, whether it is an internal customer or an external customer that they are
valued, and that their satisfaction is paramount to your organization.
How can World class customer service be achieved?
Listen to your customers: It seems obvious but you would be surprised how many
companies do not listen to their customers. It is easy to say, but more difficult to do.
Remember, the customer is always right so always ensured you hear and understand
what the customer is saying.
Be empathetic: When a customer contacts your support desk, it is usually because they
are in a state of agitation so always be understanding and empathetic irrespective of
why they are speaking to you.

Customer service culture: Customer service is not a department it’s an attitude, and
one that should resonate right through an organisation. Putting customers first right the
way through an organisation will always ensure that the customer is heard in all parts of
your business.

Keep customers updated: It pays to keep the customer updated on progress. You
need to be careful not to harass the customer with meaningless updates but ensure that
customers are kept in the loop until their issue is resolved. Don’t let the customer get to
the point where they wonder what is happening next as they will either email or phone
you for the update.

Hiring the right people: It seems obvious but some companies hire out of necessity
rather than taking the time to hire the right people. Having the right people dealing with
customers will have a positive impact on the customer experience and customer
satisfaction.
Be honest: A reputation is hard won but easily lost. Customers are not stupid, treat
them with respect. Be honest and own up to problems and show the customer you are
human and that they can trust you.

Speed of response: Whenever a customer has a need to contact you, it is done at the
point they have the problem. If you can respond quickly, then the customer can
continue with limited interruption. Don’t leave the customer long enough for them to
get fed up waiting and go somewhere else.

Answer the phone: How many times have you been on hold and heard a message
saying, “Your call is important to us”. Large companies like to tell people that their call is
important but then are quite happy to leave a customer on hold for long periods of
time. Over time, this call holding becomes the company culture with little focus on
remedying the situation. Customers are busy therefore, make life easy for them and
they will return. So, answer the phone in a timely manner and show that your customers
are important to you.

Complaints and escalations: If a customer has any need to escalate or complain then
you need to make sure you leave the customer feeling happy. This is not easy to do as
the customer is already unhappy with the way that they have been dealt with which will
have no doubt followed company policy. If you really are serious about growing your
business, do whatever is necessary to keep the customer happy, including making a loss
if need be on a single transaction. It will pay off over time as customers will not be afraid
to come back.

Pre-empt further questions: When responding to a customer, pre-empt any further

questions they may raise from the answer you give them. Providing a fullend detailed
response to their question they have not yet asked will always impress. When dealing
with customers you need to do what you say you will do, when you say you will do it
and keep the customer updated. Don’t over communicate but ensure a customer does
not get to the stage where they wonder what should be happening next. Things will go
wrong from time to time but what separates good companies from great companies is
what they do about it and how they handle it. Always make a customer feel important
and give them a buying experience to remember, in a highly positive way. Believe me,
they will come back, and bring their friends.

Customer service can be the differentiator between success and failure so consider
whether you provide your customers the very best service you can. It will not only keep
you in the game for longer, it will differentiate you from your competitors and help grow
your business.

What is Service Excellence?

Johnston, R. & Clark, G. have written in their book Service operations management book
that Service Excellence means that it is not about exceeding the expectations of
customers, but primarily about “delivering what is promised and dealing well with any
problems and queries that arise”.

Or Johnston, R. has said in other words that it is all about the organizations being “easy
to do business with”.

Why Service Excellence is important?

Considering the recent economic recession, Service Excellence topic is drawing more
attention. Being more customer-focused and providing Service Excellence is becoming a
significant advantage and performance differentiator for both, private and public
organizations. It helps business to win clients in an extremely competitive environment
nowadays and it facilitates cost saving.

How much does poor customer service cost?

It is easy to imagine how much a company loses when a client is serviced in a way that
does not meet his/her expectations and (s)he decides to refuse for service:

 The service which was almost paid for was not carried out lost profit
 An opportunity to gain a loyal client was squandered lost potential profit in the
future.
 The situation became a reason for anti-promotion of the company though it
could have become its good promotion (oral recommendation) lost opportunity
to increase the number of clients through one client.
 Attracting new clients will last longer and will cost more money dissatisfied client
talks about his/her experiences to six people on average so it will be more
difficult to convince these people to use services of the company;
 Company probably spent a lot of money on creating the image because of the
situation the money spent on gaining one client was wasted.

Why does it pay to invest in customer service?

Various research has shown how much business can lose because of poor customer
service. However, there arises a question if the expenditure on improving and then
keeping high level of customer service will not be bigger than the possible income
increase resulting from these actions. It is not so because of a simple reason good
customer service does not require big investments but creating the proper culture of
contacts with clients in the company and maintaining it on the same level.

The key element here is motivating the employees in a proper way and constant
monitoring of the customer service quality. It is important to involve the employees
themselves in the process of deciding about the customer service. It is them who are in
the direct contact with clients and meet them most often and that is why they usually
have the best ideas concerning this issue. If the employees have an opportunity to
communicate these ideas, they become responsible for the service as they want it to be
as good as possible.

In such a situation the only expenditure that the company incurs is the cost of regular
observing researches, which relate to motivational baggage. Those results make the
employees think about innovations and eliminating mistakes. The rest becomes the
culture of the company and so it drives itself on

Examples of Few Companies Known for Good Customer

Service

Apple

Apple is the brainchild of the man who epitomized excellent customer service, Steve
Jobs. Continuing his legacy, Tim Cook is leaving no stone unturned to ensure his
customers remain loyal. Apple went to the extent of opening a personalized support
portal where you can view every Apple product you have ever bought and receive
support for the same.

Hilton Worldwide

Another hotel major features in this year’s hall of fame and Hilton does so with finesse.
One step into the hotel and we understand why. Every staff member warmly
acknowledges you, the hotel services are round the clock, they readily to admit to
mistakes and instantly rectify and provide compensatory benefits.

Amazon

Free shipping, automatic refunds, price guarantees, Amazon is the king of the customer
service world. This is a no brainer. Every customer service rating manual on Earth has an
Amazon case study in it.

Customer Service Moments of Truth

Moments of truth are those interactions where customers put in a high amount of
energy to reach a satisfactory outcome. A company could have thousands of moments
of truth in a single day. Whether adversely or favourably, they incredibly affect
companies’ relationship with customers and their perception about the brand. Some of
the examples for it can be flight delay, a damaged product or even an advice to the
customer. If companies give customers’ emotive needs precedence over their hard-set
agendas, customer loyalty is the consequential emotional behaviour that these
moments of truth would result in. And once customers are emotionally connected and
rationally satisfied, that is when profitability would also come in.

Handling Moments of Truth Requires Emotionally Intelligent Personnel

An insight into consumer behaviour reveals that 15% of their decision making is rational
and 85% of it is emotional. Even behavioural psychologists strongly argue that a
significant percentage of human decisions is emotional rather than rational. Likewise, it
has been seen that there is a huge difference between customers who are rationally
satisfied and those who are emotionally satisfied and only emotional satisfaction
translates into huge loyalty and profitability.

Customers are not merely numbers or names on a spreadsheet, they are humans with
feelings. Getting close to customers through some emotional characters is very
important for a perfect marketer or a product owner as they crave a real sense of
connection with the companies.

Managing customer relationships

Customer Relationship Management is about managing your relationship with existing
customers with a focus on creating loyalty towards your business. After you've made the
investment in finding new customers, it’s important to consider how you can manage
your customer relationships to build your business and your customer base, and keep
your customers returning.

Benefits of building relationships with customers

 You will be able to build goodwill and the value of your business.
 You are more likely to keep your customers returning to your business.
 Improved word of mouth will help attract new customers.
 The after-sales service you provide becomes an investment in the customer
relationship.
 Being customer-focused can drive innovation and improve profitability.
 Focusing on customers can help you with your business planning activities for
long term success

How customer relationship can be managed?

Understand your customers: Understanding your customers is crucial in knowing how

and why they buy from you. Customer profiling and market research can help you in
better understanding your customers. Read our tips on understanding your customers
for ideas on how to build relationships with customers to better meet their needs and
wants.

Communicate with your customers: Managing the customer relationship involves

building trust with your customers so they’re less likely to buy from your competitors.
Communicating with your customers is a good way to build up trust and improve
customer satisfaction.
Regular communication with your customers across all your channels is important in
keeping them up to date with your business and helps maintain the relationship. It’s
also important to communicate with your customers in a way that suits them. If they
have subscribed to your social media channels, calling them may not be an appropriate
or welcome form of communication.

Focus on service: Providing a high level of customer service is important in building

customer relationships and to keep customers coming back. As part of implementing
good customer service practices in your business, you may decide to develop policies
and procedures to help encourage a customer focused culture amongst your
employees. This includes procedures for greeting and serving customers to resolving
customer complaints. Remember to train your employees in good customer service
practices when they start with your business and throughout their employment to
ensure a consistent experience for your customers.

Seek continuous feedback: Seeking regular feedback from customers may help
improve your customers’ satisfaction with your product or service, leading to repeat
purchase behaviour and an increase in sales. There are several ways to gain feedback
and it’s important to remember that customer complaints can give you valuable insights
to help you improve. As part of good customer service always remember to thank your
customers for their business and for any feedback they provide.

Possible ways of collecting customer feedback

Surveys or forms

You could use a printed feedback form or survey and place this in a customer facing area of
your business, such as the reception or sales counter. Clearly explain what the feedback will be
used for, e.g. Please use this form to give your thoughts on our business, product or service, so
we can improve. Include the postal address of your business and ideally a reply-paid envelope,
so customers can complete the form later and post it back to you if they prefer.
Social media channels

Social media can be used to engage with your customers by posting questions about your
products and services and asking for their feedback directly. You can also use the tools or apps
available within your social media platform, such as polls and surveys, to help you gather
feedback.

Feedback via phone or email

Look at the ways customers contact your business and consider whether it may be an
appropriate way for them to give their feedback. For example, you could set up a business
phone number ideally toll free or a customer service email address for customers to call or
email if they have complaints or feedback.

Focus groups and interviews

This is a more formal method of seeking feedback, but may be a useful approach for your
business as part of market research activities that you may be undertaking. If you are
conducting formal interviews, make sure you include questions about previous customer
experiences and ideas for how your business can improve.

After sales follow-up feedback

As part of your after-sales customer service, you could contact your customers directly, by
calling them or email them a feedback survey. You may also choose to simply chat to them
face-to-face to gain their feedback on how they found the service they received from your
business.

Review your customer data

This is an indirect, but useful method for gaining insights on your customers, preferences and
trends. You may be already collecting statistics and analytics that may be useful for identifying
how you can provide better service to meet the needs of your customers. For example, your
sales data may show that your customer numbers increase over lunch, so you may put more
staff on during this time to ensure your customers receive timely and prompt service. The
method you choose will probably depend on your customer base and the type and size of your
business.

Keep your loyal customers: Once you have invested time and money in
finding new customers, focus on keeping these customers and making them loyal to
your business. Customers that meet your preferred type or customer profile are the
customers that are worth focusing on. It’s your loyal customers that become particularly
important when business is slow, as they can help keep you in business! They may also
refer your business to their family and friends, helping you build your customer base.

Handle customer complaints well: A customer complaint presents an

opportunity for you to turn a poor customer experience into a positive one. By handling
customer complaints well, you are more likely to encourage these customers to return
to your business and prevent negative word of mouth. You might also turn them into
long term loyal customers. Ensure your employees are adequately trained in customer
service, particularly handling customer complaints and dispute resolution. Having this
process documented in internal policies and procedures can ensure that customer
complaints are dealt with correctly and consistently.

Remember, customer complaints can be a valuable source of feedback for your

business, so you may wish to keep a record of complaints to help you find areas needing
improvement.

Measure your customer service levels: Measuring your customer satisfaction levels
is important for ensuring that you’re meeting your customers’ needs. There are several
ways to measure your customer service so that you get a good idea of where your
business is at in the eyes of your customers. Measuring your customer satisfaction can
also provide you with ideas and suggestions for where your business can improve.
There are several ways that customer service levels can be measured. They are as
follows;

 Asking customers after a sale or service experience what their thoughts or

opinions are on your business.
 Place customer surveys in store or provide a questionnaires or feedback form
online.
 Hire secret/mystery shoppers to try your service and gain feedback.
 Reading online review websites or forums.
 Observing interactions between employees and customers to ensure your
employees are providing good service.