| |
| |
|
Customer Service Information |
|
|
|
All of the World of Business Is a Stage
One of the basics of acting taught to me in grade school was the important principle of "staying in character." Staying in character means holding the image and personality of the character you are assigned to portray without letting your own personality leak through. Applying the principle in school, I would lock my legs stiffly and allow my arms and hands to flex gently as if they were in a flowing breeze. It was not easy for me as a third grader to stay in character as a tree. My professional acting career still lies dormant, but the concept of being in character is wide-awake. I heard a story last week about a small business that makes a point of having its employees remain in character at all times during the work day. No, I'm not talking about Disney World. I'm talking about a dentist's office in the UK. The owner is so adamant about the professional staff acting in the best interest of the practice when dealing with the patients (customers), that a sign is installed on the employee lounge door that says " BackStage". The backstage sign makes the important point that the rest of the office space requires an onstage performance for all on the team. The help wanted advertisements never have the following wording included in the job description; "Acting Experience, a plus". Employers should include the phrase. Wouldn't it be nice if other businesses would enforce the onstage performance of their employees? · Grocery store cash register operators would end their cross- chatter with each other, act in a friendly way and would acknowledge the customers' existence. · Receptionists would present an image of helpfulness and appreciation for customers as they enter and exit the office. · Retail clerks would joyfully point out where items are on the shelves. · Professionals would acknowledge that they are running behind on appointments and apologize for the inconvenience. · Staff would notice when customers, even those not within their assigned area, are not getting the proper attention they deserve and would ask on their own if they could be of help. Businesses that have a written plan and policy for maintaining a professional level of service always are the most impressive. They are impressive because the standard of service against which they compete is so unprofessional. It's not hard to distinguish yourself from the rest of the group when your business stays in character. Is your business or organization in character for customer service or just playing out its own melodrama? Doug Emerson trains consults and coaches business owners on how to make more profit in less time using 8 key strategies. He writes a free electronic newsletter about the business of life called Getting to the Point. Free subscription available at the homepage. http://www.douglasemerson.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Customer-Service - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Develop Loyal Customers for a Lifetime - part 1 (1 - 10) Traditional marketing strategies encourage business owners to continually grow their businesses by adding new customers. In today's competitive world of business, it is more important than ever to aim for more transactions with existing customers by using the power of customer follow-up and attention to good service. The History of CRM -- Moving Beyond the Customer Database Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one of those magnificent concepts that swept the business world in the 1990's with the promise of forever changing the way businesses small and large interacted with their customer bases. In the short term, however, it proved to be an unwieldy process that was better in theory than in practice for a variety of reasons. And The Difference is... Attitude I returned a rental car at an airport yesterday. As the person who was going to check me in approached, he smiled (which shocked me) and said, "Hello Mr. Be A Resource What is one of the greatest ways to add value to your business? Nope, it's not giving away free merchandise, offering special discounts, or even creating a preferred customer club. One of the most valuable commodities that you can provide your customers is INFORMATION. Why Passenger Surveys are a Transport Operators Best Friend Public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate the multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Not only are surveys an efficient method of market research that will help identify areas of passenger dissatisfaction, they are also perfect for measuring the effects of improvements and can, at the same time, help promote new initiatives to customers using the service. Mastering Challenging Service Situations During the course of everyday business, many of you encounter unsatisfied customers. How you and your staff handle these situations, will shape your service image and ultimately your bottom line. How To Keep Your Customers Coming Back -- Understanding Customer Retention Why do some businesses offer points, stamps or every tenth coffee for free?These businesses understand that a customer retention program is a fantastic way to ensure that customers keep coming back. The most recognized customer retention programs are those loyalty programs used by retailers, but this same principal can be applied to any business that wishes to maintain a loyal customer base. Dont Be Afraid To Give Problem Customers The Boot Q: In a recent column you made the point that the customer is always right, which I agree with. However, in the same column you also said that it is sometimes necessary give problem customers the boot. What Every Employee Should Know About How to Prevent Customer Service Conflicts There are five techniques that have been proven to be effective in resolving, minimizing, and preventing conflicts. And by conflicts I am referring to any of the following that may take place between two or more people: misunderstanding, miscommunications, arguments, disagreements, mixed messages, fighting, etc. Customers - Hold Onto the Ones Youve Got You probably spend a great deal of your time looking for new customers or clients. However, are you sure your doing enough to hold onto the ones you've got. Clients - What They Want from You A growing number of individuals are finding themselves called to help others and go on to fulfil this call by training to become a practitioner in one of the healing arts.The range of conventional, traditional, holistic, complementary and alternative therapies is extensive with new thoughts on old themes being introduced almost daily. What Every Manager Should Know About How to Prevent Customer Service Conflicts There are five techniques that have been proven to be effective in resolving, minimizing, and preventing conflicts. And by conflicts I am referring to any of the following that may take place between two or more people: misunderstanding, miscommunications, arguments, disagreements, mixed messages, fighting, etc. Sales Marketing: 10 High Impact Ways To Improve Your Customer Service If you want to last a long time in business and succeed, you must learn how to make your customers happy.You have to know who are your customers, what they want and keep in touch with them and their needs. The Number 1 Rule for Businesses - Be Professional Have you ever walked into a store and things looked sloppy? Stores should have nice neat displays, right? Normally, yes, but sometimes they get a bit messy on busy days and we all understand how that can happen.But what if you were to walk into a store as soon as it opened in the morning and the place looked liked it had been ransacked? What would you think?You'd probably think it wasn't very professional-looking. Small Business Customer Service Can Work Against You Is the special treatment you designed specifically to keep customers coming back working against you?A local jeweler offers free lifetime battery replacement for any watch he sells. It's a good hook to keep customers walking back in the store on a regular basis and increases his sales volume. Why Communication Skills Dont Work In Customer Service Every time my firm conducts communication skills training, we know someone is going to object."That doesn't work. What Every Employee Should Know About How to Win the Loyalty of Customers Dr. Michael LeBoeuf, in his cassette album entitled, Win Customers and Keep Them for Life presents twelve principles that will transform the workplace into a customer-driven, highly motivational team. What Every Manager Should Know About How to Learn from the Complaints of Customers and Employees Listening to complaints, whether they're reasonable or not, is a part of every manager's job. Sometimes complaints can be overwhelming. Making The Most Of Newsletters Newsletters can be wonderful tools for communicating with your customers or prospects. Because of their format, they're often infused with more credibility than traditional brochures. 4 Customer Service Mistakes Companies Should Avoid Making 1) Being placed on hold endlessly. Don't you just love it when you call a company and they place you on hold, leaving you to listen to their latest on-hold, recorded sales pitch, over and over again.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |