Center for Business, Industry & Labor

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On Target • On Demand • On Site

Spotlight on Customer Service

Understanding how we define customer service starts with understanding what it is not. Right away we think of customer service as a complaint desk, but if we treat it that way, that's what it becomes. If our service staff feels the point is to stop complainers from complaining, they will fail to identify customer trends. True customer service takes a positive view of the customer, becoming customer-focused, by getting closer to the customer. In simple terms, the basic function of customer service is to retain customers and keep them buying.

Customer Service is not...

• Staffing a complaint desk
• Fixing what the organization did wrong
• Greasing the squeaky wheel
• Convincing customers of your point of view

Customer Service is...

• Doing ordinary things extraordinarily well
• Going beyond what is expected
• Adding value and integrity to every interaction
• Being your best with every customer
• Surprising yourself with how much you can do
• Taking care of the customer like you would take care of your grandmother

Here's a good rule of thumb to use with every customer: If you wouldn't say or do something to your grandmother, then you shouldn't say or do it to your customer. This will help you provide an exceptional service experience to everyone.

There are five key principles of providing Exceptional Customer Service:

1. Service

2. Listening

3. Attitude

4. Communication

5. Teamwork

Deal or No Deal

As the holiday season quickly approaches, most of us will get to experience retail customer service, or perhaps a lack thereof. The days when companies were simply required to meet customer needs are over. Customers today are more and more demanding because they are smarter and have more choices. The merely satisfied customer is not necessarily going to be a loyal customer, i.e., someone who not only returns, but will promote or become an advocate for your business. In some ways, customers approach receiving service with a "Deal/No Deal mindset; that is, either exceed my expectations or I will take my business elsewhere.

How do we create work environments in which customer expectations are consistently exceeded, thus making the Deal?

Listen: Talk to your customers and listen carefully to what they have to say. Turn your customers into advocates - someone who will tell their friends and family about your products and services. A satisfied or happy customer will tell three to five persons about good service. We can exceed the competition by giving the customers what they want and making it personal.

Survey: Survey your customers to find out if they're satisfied with your products or services. Make the survey simple, four or five questions, and leave room for comments. Often times, customers may need to tell you things that you forget to ask. If you get negative comments make sure you follow-up with the customer immediately to address the issue and fix the problem.

Find Out About the Competition: Always engage your customers in conversation about your services. You will usually find out about the customer's needs and possibly how your competitors fit into the equation. Is there something you can offer that your competitors are not? Think of the ways you can go the extra mile to exceed your customer's expectations. If you always make it your mission to surprise and delight your customers, the word will spread quickly.

Mission Statement: Does the mission of your company focus on customer service? Make the mission statement personal for each customer that comes through your doors. Post your mission statement somewhere where everyone will see it, both employees and customers.

Make it Personal: Make customer service personal for everyone in your organization. As customers interact with each employee, are they conscious of their body language, voice tones, and how to show that they're listening? Knowing they are being listened to and heard will increase your value to the customer and ensure that you are going above and beyond customers' expectations.

We must always think of ways to engage our customers in conversation to help us uncover their wants and needs. What can you do to turn information and creativity into action for the customer, thus getting the customer to say everytime, Deal!
 

Generation Y and Customer Service

"Tell me about your employees who are 25 years of age and younger", is a favorite question of mine during one of my workshops, "Communicating and Managing the X and Y Generation Employees". The reaction from those significantly over the age of 25 is one of head shaking and frowns. I consistently get the following replies: no work ethic, always talking on their cell phones, want to work their schedule not the one that is posted, sloppy appearance, and most of all, no communication skills. How did you answer that question?

I recently read the following statistic," 72% of retail employees enjoy customer interactions. But that satisfaction level drops to just 55% among employees between the ages of 16 and 24."
So what's going on with the young employees and yes, the young customers? I predict that dealing with the "Y" generation, those born after 1980, will be the biggest wake-up call businesses will need to address, and soon.

If you have children born after 1980 you already realize some of the signs that the people in my audiences have addressed. However, their "baby boomer parents, who are currently 40-60 years old" have written this behavior off to just that, behavior of young people as they ponder their Woodstock days. Ah, it will pass and these fresh faces will conform to our management and customer service training. Think again.

Let me share some information from Eric Chester, author of the book, "Employing Generation Why". Eric's book has really made me take a closer look at my own Gen Y kids but also take a totally different look at the expectations we have for this age group when it comes to their first real jobs and not only how we are going to manage them but how will we deliver service to this instant gratification generation.

Eric says, "Generation Why has never known life without cell phones, pagers, fax machines and voice mail. Their world has always included minivans, bottled water, cable television, overnight package delivery, and chat rooms....And sadly enough; Gen Whys have never known a world without AIDS, without crack or without terrorist attacks. They've never known a world where kids didn't shoot and kill other kids. He goes on to say, "Gen Why has grown up in an instant world and they don't buy in to the old "patience is a virtue, and "good things come to those who wait" axioms".

The scary thing is that we "Baby Boomers" created this fast paced, technology savvy, multi-tasking generation and I think what we see, sometimes frightens us.

Research shows that the Gen Y group is over 60 million in size, just about the size of the now "retiring" Baby Boomers. The "Gen X" group who were born between 1965-1980 is a little over one half the size of the Baby Boomer numbers. Why is this important? Well, when the Baby Boomers start to retire there is not going to be enough "Gen X'ers" to replace them. The next people up for promotion are, yes you guessed it, the Gen Y's!

Do I have your attention yet?

We are dealing with a generation who has a different set of values and attitudes and beliefs, most of which we helped to create. We were the ones that scheduled those little tikes every night of the week with baseball or soccer practice, dance lessons, voice lessons, tutoring for kindergarten and heaven knows what else would fit into their tiny schedules. No wonder why my kids never had a problem sleeping at night, they were exhausted.

Here's how to kick up your expectations of Gen Y and look at them an important part of your business instead of a hindrance.

1. Recognize their intelligence.
   This is a group of young people that have been eager to learn. They grew up with technology and it is an important part of them. While the boomers are still trying to program their VCR, the "Y" generation is watching videos on their ipods that they have 5,000 songs downloaded to. Harness their creativity and their knowledge of technology to make needed changes to your business. Request their feedback when trying to solve business problems as they may come to the table with unconventional yet very smart solutions. Make sure that you acknowledge their accomplishments publicly since this is a group that has grown up with trophies and certificates and awards as feedback for a job well done.

2. Recognize their impatience.
   Chester calls this group, "stimulus junkies" and that title makes sense. This is a group of multi-taskers that can have an IM conversation with 8 people on their computer, text message someone else on their cell-phone, while listening to their i-pod and downing a burger and a Red Bull! Lists don't intimidate them so provide them with enough work to keep them busy and don't waste time in the explanation. Be direct and to the point because that is how they have learned to communicate. When you hold a meeting, stay to the point and use visuals if you can as they have been used to stimulation during their learning processes.

3. Recognize what customer service means to them.
   This is the area I believe businesses will struggle with the most. The Gen Y group has been able to get whatever they want, whenever they want at lightning speed and they don't really see a need to be loyal to anyone. They have been used to employees at Old Navy with headsets and roller skates to bring them whatever they wanted while they were in the dressing room. They don't think twice about Googling a business and purchasing on the internet. To them, speed is a way of life. My son has worked for McDonalds for a number of years and his experience with giving good customer service is getting the correct order into the hands of the customer as quickly as possible.

If you want them to build a relationship with a customer, you are going to have to explain "why" first, and then deal with the how. The Gen Y's don't make eye contact very well because they tend to be focused on screens of all sizes and not a human face. Maybe that is why only 55 % of that age group actually likes interacting with the customer. When you are training, try using video or web training or even roll playing to explain exactly what your customer service should look like to your customers.

But what about Gen Y customers and what they want as far as customer service? It's no different from your Gen Y employees. These "customers" will probably make very little eye contact, probably engage in very little chit chat and want to get what they want and get out of the store in a short period of time. They won't really care if you ask them about their day or what they are wearing or if they have been in the store before. They will get frustrated very quickly if you don't know the answer to their question immediately and they can smell BS a mile away and they don't need it or want it.

As you can see, it will be even more important to educate your Gen X and Baby Boomer employees on how they should be greeting and treating this new customer instead of making the assumption that they are cold, uncommunicative, young punks.

On the contrary, they are our future. This group of fresh faced young people will embrace change, they will find the answers to curing AIDS and breast cancer, they will teach society how to reject prejudices and they will demand ethical behavior in business and those they choose to do business with.

It's not your father's customer service strategies anymore. Frankly, it's not your father's business anymore. How will you change what you are doing to embrace the Gen Y's in your business as employees and as customers? The future of all of our businesses rests on that answer.

Anne M. Obarski is "The Eye on Performance!" As a professional speaker and trainer, Anne helps companies focus on the profit building service strategies that will keep their customers coming back. Anne presents nationwide keynotes, break-out sessions and customized training in the area of customer service. She has written "Surprising Secrets of Mystery Shoppers" and "Real World Customer Service Strategies That Work". For more information visit her website at www.merchandiseconcepts.com.

How to Make Your Customers Feel Important

We can read lots of books and articles about Customer Service strategies and how to build processes that will serve customers more successfully. All of these things are valuable, but if we put all of our focus on processes, systems, strategies and procedures we may lose track of something very important:

Customers are people first.

This means that each of your customers, like everyone else, wants to feel important. It is a universal truth - we all want that feeling, and will gravitate towards those that make us feel that way. Having customers gravitate towards you is a very good thing!

Here are seven ways that you as an individual, regardless of any corporate policies or systems, can make customers feel more important, written from the customer's perspective:

1. Please use my name
   I know I may have a customer or registration number and that I might need to give that to you. But I also know that once you put that number in the system, you know my name. Use it. If I hand you my credit card, now you know my name too. Please use it.

2. I want to be a part of the "in" crowd
   That's why I like being invited into Frequent Flyer clubs, frequent buyer clubs or anything that provides me with discounts, special services, education or surprises. If you have this kind of club, invite me to join. If you don't have one yet, please think about starting one.

3. Ask me for my advice
   I have an opinion, and if asked in the right way, at the right time, when I know you really care about the answer, I'll give you that advice. Opinion cards may be OK, but I would love to be asked personally. Give me the chance to tell you what I think, and I'll reward you with more of my business. I don't often get asked for my opinion and it feels good. And who knows, you might even get a great idea for a new product or service.

4. Acknowledge me
   I know you are busy sometimes. I can see the line. I even understand that your system might be down, or that you have five people in the phone queue. I've been there, I work too. But when I call or come by, acknowledge that I am there and let me know you are glad I'm in the line. A smile and a hello, or a "We'll be with you shortly" will go a long way. Acknowledge me and I'll understand. Ignore me, and well, how do you feel when you've been ignored?

5. Surprise me
   A little extra something with my order or a hand written note would be nice. A special discount "just because" or a free sample of dessert. It doesn't have to be a big thing, and it doesn't have to be every time. If you get a good surprise, do you want to share it with others? Me too.

6. Apologize
   I hate it when people try to prove they were right, or don't mention that fact that the order is three days late, or the surcharge can't be removed, or the item is out of stock. But again, I know things do happen. When things do go wrong though, please give me a simple apology. Here's the funniest thing. When you make a mistake, and then apologize (perhaps even including a surprise of some sort) I'll love you more than ever. Apologies and good service recoveries are so rare that you can take my dissatisfaction and turn it into loyalty, if you will do this right.

7. Listen
   Most all of the other things I've told you require you to listen. I can tell when you are really listening to me and that makes me feel very good - because true listening is rare, sometimes even at home. Listen to my concerns. Listen to my ideas. Listen to my order, so we don't have any misunderstandings. When you really listen, you can't believe how good that makes me feel.

All of us can do most of these things each day. When we do we will make our work more enjoyable, easier, and quite likely will begin creating legions of loyal customers immediately.

by Kevin Eikenberry, www.sideroad.com