Time to talk about Customer Service
Posted By admin on December 3, 2008
If there’s one thing that gets my goat, it’s lousy or non-exsistent customer service.
Let me define “customer service” for you. This is my opinion, but after owning my own “brick and mortar” business for 16 years, working as a customer service rep for a search engine, and being a “customer” for at least 50 of my nearly 63 years, I believe I’m heartily qualified.
Customer Service: It means to “serve your customer”. That means you provide for your customer before your customer knows they need service.
It means you prevent problems, and if a problem occurs, you correct the issue, keep your customer informed of what steps you’re taking to correct and then, MAKE SURE YOUR CUSTOMER IS MORE THAN SATISFIED.
Satisfied customers are the one’s who disappear from your radar. Sure, they got decent customer service, but because they had a problem and you merely satisfied them… they’ve gon searching for a company that makes them feel like a King or Queen forever.
Here are some of my picks for companies that provide excellent to “out a sight” customer service.
Most recently I’ve been using software from OIOPublisher. Everytime I”ve had a question, it’s been answered immediately… well beyond my expectations.
Entrecard, while experiencing “growth pangs” has been providing excellent customer service as they struggle to stay ahead of the curve. They’ve most recently added a dedicated customer service rep and he’s gone back through every “help request” making sure issues have been solved.
I had a recent good experience with projectwonderful.com. I sent a short email complaining about a problem I was seeing with their service. They responded with a long, personal email giving me some ideas how to solve the problem. I’ve continued to use them because of that service.
If you don’t take care of your customer, somebody else will.
It’s all about being pro-active not just after you close a deal with a customer - it’s a lifetime commitment as long as you both are doing business together. Well for some, it extend beyond doing business together.
That is why for us who market CRM softwares, it is essential for businesses to appreciate its benefits - by being on top of every situation to help manage your Customer concerns and issues - and also opportunities.