At some point in your life, you must have experienced absolutely stellar customer service. It was so amazing that you actually caught yourself remarking on how great it was. How often do you treat your own customers that same way?
The difference between good customer service and great customer service isn’t that far off. Here are some tips and tricks you can use in your own business to go the extra mile for your customers.
Good Customer Service – Your customer emails from your website. You respond within 24 hours.
Great Customer Service – You respond to that customer within minutes. (And watch out, this is fast becoming the standard of simply “good” service.)
Good Customer Service – Your customer is not happy with a product/service and wants to return it or get a refund. You willingly accept the return less any restocking or trouble it causes you.
Great Customer Service – You not only graciously accept the return but let the customer know you will waive all fees associated to ensure that their experience is a good one. You then suggest alternative products/services that might fit them based on their feedback on the initial experience.
Good Customer Service – You are on the phone with a customer and another customer walks in your office. You whisper to the customer standing in front of you that you will be right with them while you finish your call. They wait 5 minutes.
Great Customer Service – You tell the person on the phone to hold for one moment and you will be right back with them. You greet the customer in front of you and quickly assess their needs. If you can help within 15 seconds, do it. If not, explain you need XX minutes to finish the call you are on (they already know you are on the phone) and will be right with them. You return to your call, apologize for putting them on hold, and finish helping the caller.
Good Customer Service – A prospect is on the phone and asks you a question you don’t know the answer to. You put them on hold to find the answer and then come back to them with it.
Great Customer Service – You explain you don’t know the answer but will get them the answer. You tell them you recognize their time is valuable and offer to either put them on hold or to give them a call right back. If they want to be called back, you get the answer and call back within minutes with the answer, letting them know they are a priority.
Good Customer Service – For one reason or another, your customer is irate and you have to deal with it. While they are being offensive and it was not your doing, you work to the best of your ability to help them.
Great Customer Service – First, you apologize, even if you had nothing to do with why they are upset. You accept responsibility. Let them know you will work to resolve this and actively search for ways to turn their frustration into satisfaction.
As you can see, in many cases the difference between good and great actually isn’t that far off. If you are already delivering good customer service, stepping it up a notch is very attainable. Schedule some time to talk to all your employees who interface with customers, using these examples and real-life ones from your business. You may be surprised how eager your employees are to serve customers better and how appreciative your customers are for more personalized attention.