I met a friend of mine for lunch the other day. He's originally from Germany, but has been living here in the UK for about 9 years now. He works for an English company, speaks fluent English, and considers himself almost as English as he is German.
We got speaking about his initial impressions of the country when he moved over, and I asked him if he remembered much about his first impressions.
He told me he really liked the people here, and being a bit of an architecture geek he loved seeing some of the beautiful old buildings we have in this country.
Then he had a sudden 'aha' moment.
"Actually, the thing that sticks in my mind above everything else was how bad the customer service is over here".
It seemed quite apt actually, as we were eating in a restaurant where we'd been ignored for the first 15 minutes after being sat down, they got his order wrong and completely forgot to bring mine, meaning I had to wait for a fresh meal to be cooked, which I then had to eat after my friend had finished.
Customer Service is a funny thing, and it got me thinking about what I might like to base my next email newsletter on. The Restaurant industry is of course very different to the Offline Marketing Consultancy Industry, but in a lot of ways they actually have very similar requirements when it comes to customer service.
And with it being such a huge part of your overall business, I thought it might be worth discussing what you can start doing immediately to improve your customer service.
1) Two Ears vs. One Mouth - My Gran taught me this one. You have two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as hard as you talk. Communication skills are important, but so is the ability to listen. In the same way that a customer doesn't want to ask a waiter for something twice, your customers don't want to have to tell you the same thing over again. If you're not the type who remembers things, take notes or record (with the customer's permission) conversations. Anything that will help you keep a track of what's been discussed and deliver on your promises.
2) Be Punctual - Dealing with things quickly is one of the best and easiest ways to keep customer service levels high. Things go wrong from time-to-time; that's just a part of life. But fixing problems quickly is a sure-fire way to cool your angry customer's down and keep things from escalating. If a customer knows that you're quick to deal with issues, they're much less likely to get upset with things in the future. It's like knowing that a restaurant are willing to take a wrong order back but more importantly, get the correct order back on your table in seconds rather than minutes.
3) Acknowledge Problems Immediately - This is one of the easiest ways to keep customers happy. If you're away from your office and you receive an email on your phone from an irate customer, and dealing with the issue there and then isn't an option, reply to the email. Explain that you're aware of the problem, you apologise for the inconvenience, and tell them when you plan to deal with the issue. It's like a waiter saying that they need a manager to deal with their complaint, and the manager will be with them in the next 15 minutes. They may not be getting a resolution immediately, but at least they know it's coming.
4) Set Expectations - In the same way that a restaurant should not advertise fast food if it's going to take 20 minutes to cook, you shouldn't promise things that you can't deliver. Be honest - People respect this far more, and you're less likely to get complaints as people are aware of what they're getting beforehand (so in theory, you only get a complaint if you mess up on your delivery). Set expectations about what you're going to deliver, how you plan on delivering and when you plan to do it by.
5) Always Over Deliver - I try to over deliver in everything that I do. It doesn't always happen, but if I'm always striving towards it, I'm more likely to make it happen. What about a Takeaway food service that had great food, friendly staff operating the phones, good prices, always delivered within the timeframe it said it would, and even sent a text message when you're driver was heading out so you could warm some plates up? Do you think they'd get become popular when compared with the normal takeaway restaurant? You bet they would! Small things can go a long way and make a big difference, and if you focus on over-delivering in your business, you often find that all the other parts of your business tend to fall in to place.
What do you think? Have you got any interesting customer service anecdotes? Or can you suggest any other ways to improve relations with you and your clients? Share them in the comments below.
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