Friday, August 19, 2011

Customer Service Tips : Take Care of Your Business!


I pride myself on packing my items at Back Home Again to arrive in one piece. But this week I made a mistake and something arrived damaged. I immediately refunded my customer's money and apologized. When my customer offered to return the item, I said no thank you. I will never ask a customer to be inconvenienced by my mistake. Here's my best tips for great customer service

1) Make every effort up front to ensure that your customer has nothing to complain about. Dust off your items, pack well and be honest with descriptions, double check to see that the mail address is accurate. Sloppiness will lead to poor customer service quicker than anything!

2) Ask your customer what they want. Offer options in taking care of a problem. Tell your customer I can do choice A, B, or C which one works best for YOU.

3) Take responsibility. At Back Home Again, the buck stops with me. I'm the chef, cook and bottle washer, only I can make it right!

4) Have clear policies. If you haven't already, officially document your return policies and put them in your shop's policies. It will save you headaches and set the stage for good customer service. Here's mine...

5)Connect with your customer. For me personally, this is the biggest of all customer service concepts. I love to connect in a personal way with the person on the other end. Online we do this with the language we choose, returning e-mails as quickly as possible and expressing empathy. “I am disappointed and sorry that your item arrived damaged.”

There is no big mystery to great customer service and it doesn't take an MBA to figure it out. Treat others as you like to be treated and understand how customer service affects your bottom line. An unhappy customer will not only stop shopping with you {we all love return customers} but they are likely to tell their friends. In the online world, this could mean a posting in a forum or a blog posting that alerts others to your poor customer service. And, unlike a face to face conversation, the online written word lives on forever for all to see. Spend 15 minutes today thinking about ways to improve your customer service and feel free to leave your comments or tips!


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4 comments:

  1. Customer Service have been an important pillar for businesses, I couldn't agree more to that. Got a tons of helpful tips in here. Time to put learning into actions...must share this tips for fellow followers. software development

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  2. Creating products that are worth your customers' money and providing services that are of high standards can guarantee customer satisfaction. Also, taking responsibility for any glitch concerning your goods can assure customers that you are more than willing to compromise to keep them happy and satisfied.

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  3. I agree that the 5th is one of the vital contributions to attain outstanding customer service. In addition to that, being connected in a timely manner is also important. I mean, it’s better to be updated on both ends, from time to time. I believe that way; any irregularities will somehow be avoided.

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  4. Establishing a genuine connection with your customer gives the impression that you are offering them credible and topnotch goods and services. Also, this can take your business to places, since client-client recommendations contribute to your business' solid foundation.

    ReplyDelete