The Journaling of Hewitt 126
Subtitle
Blog
What's The Customer Service Buzz About Your Company?
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If you're a routine reader of my column you understand that my primary animal peeve is bad customer service. Nothing chaps my backside more than paying hard-earned money for a service or product only to have the provider of said product and services become apathetic, obnoxious or just downright impolite after the transactional smoke has cleared.
The bottomline, my entrepreneurial friend, is this: it does not matter if your item is fast food, slow food, retail products, computers, mower, books, realty or autos, if a customer wants to pay you good cash in exchange for your services or product that customers should have to be treated with appreciation and regard, prior to and after the sale. Period. I'm continuously impressed at how many business owners and the frontline workers who represent them appear to forget this basic fact.
It's like the old stating about getting a little respect in the early morning. If you court me prior to the sale, you 'd much better respect me afterward.
Here's the point: client service must not stop after the sale. Customer support AFTER the sale can have greater impact on the success of your organisation than consumer assistance prior to the sale.
Nothing produces negative buzz about a business like bad customer service, and absolutely nothing will drive nails in a business' coffin much faster. News of bad customer care takes a trip like lightning and spreads like wildfire. Think back to the last time you were on the getting end of bad customer service. I 'd be willing to wager that you instantly headed out into the world and told everybody you met about the experience. You probably likewise alerted them to "never ever work with those & ^%$ or you'll get dealt with the exact same!"
As a company person, it should be your objective to make every consumer a repeat consumer, and among the best ways to do that is by providing exceptional customer care every time that client comes through your door. Superior customer care leads to increased client fulfillment, which leads to duplicate business, which causes client loyalty. It is also much cheaper to keep a customer than to get a brand-new one.
The fast food market is particularly susceptible to customer care issues. This is due in big part to the reality that every deal is an in person sale and the average fast food employee is a disgruntled teen who would rather be pushing a bed of nails than backing up a fast food counter schlepping french fries.
That does not always have to be the case. This is not meant as an advertisement for Chic Filet or as a slam at Taco Bell, however the difference in customer service between these two fast food titans is astonishing.
I utilized to regular both establishments (junk food is my fracture), so this is the voice of experience speaking. Behind the counter at the local Chic Filet are youths who appear genuinely pleased to be of service. They are clean cut and polite. They don't wear their baseball caps sideways or have anything visibly pierced. They look me in the eye, they smile like t here is no put on earth they would rather be, and they request my order in clear, concise English. They thank me profusely and invite me to come once again. Exceptional customer care after the sale.
Inversely, a recent journey to a regional Taco Bell almost ended on an episode of Cops because the girl behind the counter grew upset when I nicely mentioned that my nachos were stagnant and asked for a fresh bag (family pet peeve # 132: stagnant nachos). Miss Mary Sunshine took the offending nachos from my hand and slam dunked them in a trash can, then tossed a replacement bag (which were also stagnant) on the counter in front of me. If I had any more complaints she 'd be pleased to escort me outside to discuss them in information, she then provided me a look that plainly said that. I like nachos, but not a lot that I would run the risk of getting my behind kicked by a dissatisfied teenage girl using a sideways Taco Bell cap. Not-so-excellent customer service after the sale.
Now, which restaurant do you believe I will go to the next time I feel the requirement to feed my junk food monkey? And which dining establishment do you think I enthusiastically recommend to my buddies? The one that comprehends the significance of great customer support prior to and after the sale, obviously.
The worst client service experience I've ever had actually involved the purchase of a vehicle at a local secondhand cars and truck lot. I purchased the used Ford Expedition on a Friday evening and when problems arose with the car over the weekend, I went back to the car dealership on Monday early morning to speak with the sales manager. To state the least, the sales manager (who acted like my finest friend on Friday) was not delighted to see me on Monday.
The dealership owner later offered and apologized to take care of any problem I had, the damage to his service had actually already been done. The bad buzz maker started the 2nd I left his lot.
Do you think I informed everybody I met about my experience with that car dealership? You bet your stagnant nachos I did. Do you think I will ever buy another automobile from that car dealership? Not on your life. Do you think anybody I've outlined the experience will purchase a vehicle from that dealership? Most likely not. Do you believe the owner and sales supervisor discovered anything from the experience? We can just hope.
In the end, what is the value of terrific customer support before and after the sale?
Priceless, my pal.
Simply valuable.
Now, can someone please get me some fresh nachos ...
The bottomline, my entrepreneurial buddy, is this: it does not matter if your item is quick food, sluggish food, retail items, computers, yard mowers, books, real estate or automobiles, if a consumer is ready to pay you excellent money in exchange for your item or service that customers is worthy of to be treated with thankfulness and regard, before and after the sale. As an organisation person, it should be your objective to make every customer a repeat client, and one of the finest ways to do that is by delivering superior customer service every time that customer comes through your door. Superior customer service leads to increased client fulfillment, which leads to repeat company, which leads to customer commitment. Outstanding client service after the sale.
The one that understands the value of good customer service before and after the sale, of course.
The bottomline, my entrepreneurial friend, is this: it does not matter if your item is fast food, slow food, retail products, computers, mower, books, realty or autos, if a customer wants to pay you good cash in exchange for your services or product that customers should have to be treated with appreciation and regard, prior to and after the sale. Period. I'm continuously impressed at how many business owners and the frontline workers who represent them appear to forget this basic fact.
It's like the old stating about getting a little respect in the early morning. If you court me prior to the sale, you 'd much better respect me afterward.
Here's the point: client service must not stop after the sale. Customer support AFTER the sale can have greater impact on the success of your organisation than consumer assistance prior to the sale.
Nothing produces negative buzz about a business like bad customer service, and absolutely nothing will drive nails in a business' coffin much faster. News of bad customer care takes a trip like lightning and spreads like wildfire. Think back to the last time you were on the getting end of bad customer service. I 'd be willing to wager that you instantly headed out into the world and told everybody you met about the experience. You probably likewise alerted them to "never ever work with those & ^%$ or you'll get dealt with the exact same!"
As a company person, it should be your objective to make every consumer a repeat consumer, and among the best ways to do that is by providing exceptional customer care every time that client comes through your door. Superior customer care leads to increased client fulfillment, which leads to duplicate business, which causes client loyalty. It is also much cheaper to keep a customer than to get a brand-new one.
The fast food market is particularly susceptible to customer care issues. This is due in big part to the reality that every deal is an in person sale and the average fast food employee is a disgruntled teen who would rather be pushing a bed of nails than backing up a fast food counter schlepping french fries.
That does not always have to be the case. This is not meant as an advertisement for Chic Filet or as a slam at Taco Bell, however the difference in customer service between these two fast food titans is astonishing.
I utilized to regular both establishments (junk food is my fracture), so this is the voice of experience speaking. Behind the counter at the local Chic Filet are youths who appear genuinely pleased to be of service. They are clean cut and polite. They don't wear their baseball caps sideways or have anything visibly pierced. They look me in the eye, they smile like t here is no put on earth they would rather be, and they request my order in clear, concise English. They thank me profusely and invite me to come once again. Exceptional customer care after the sale.
Inversely, a recent journey to a regional Taco Bell almost ended on an episode of Cops because the girl behind the counter grew upset when I nicely mentioned that my nachos were stagnant and asked for a fresh bag (family pet peeve # 132: stagnant nachos). Miss Mary Sunshine took the offending nachos from my hand and slam dunked them in a trash can, then tossed a replacement bag (which were also stagnant) on the counter in front of me. If I had any more complaints she 'd be pleased to escort me outside to discuss them in information, she then provided me a look that plainly said that. I like nachos, but not a lot that I would run the risk of getting my behind kicked by a dissatisfied teenage girl using a sideways Taco Bell cap. Not-so-excellent customer service after the sale.
Now, which restaurant do you believe I will go to the next time I feel the requirement to feed my junk food monkey? And which dining establishment do you think I enthusiastically recommend to my buddies? The one that comprehends the significance of great customer support prior to and after the sale, obviously.
The worst client service experience I've ever had actually involved the purchase of a vehicle at a local secondhand cars and truck lot. I purchased the used Ford Expedition on a Friday evening and when problems arose with the car over the weekend, I went back to the car dealership on Monday early morning to speak with the sales manager. To state the least, the sales manager (who acted like my finest friend on Friday) was not delighted to see me on Monday.
The dealership owner later offered and apologized to take care of any problem I had, the damage to his service had actually already been done. The bad buzz maker started the 2nd I left his lot.
Do you think I informed everybody I met about my experience with that car dealership? You bet your stagnant nachos I did. Do you think I will ever buy another automobile from that car dealership? Not on your life. Do you think anybody I've outlined the experience will purchase a vehicle from that dealership? Most likely not. Do you believe the owner and sales supervisor discovered anything from the experience? We can just hope.
In the end, what is the value of terrific customer support before and after the sale?
Priceless, my pal.
Simply valuable.
Now, can someone please get me some fresh nachos ...
The bottomline, my entrepreneurial buddy, is this: it does not matter if your item is quick food, sluggish food, retail items, computers, yard mowers, books, real estate or automobiles, if a consumer is ready to pay you excellent money in exchange for your item or service that customers is worthy of to be treated with thankfulness and regard, before and after the sale. As an organisation person, it should be your objective to make every customer a repeat client, and one of the finest ways to do that is by delivering superior customer service every time that customer comes through your door. Superior customer service leads to increased client fulfillment, which leads to repeat company, which leads to customer commitment. Outstanding client service after the sale.
The one that understands the value of good customer service before and after the sale, of course.
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