Customer Service Information |
|
Customer Service - A Sweet Essence
First let us specifically define customer service. It is the performance of a duty or responsibility due to a customer as a result of selling them a product or service. We must distinguish between customer sales and service versus customer service. Whereas customer sales and service is largely concerned with selling an additional item or an additional service subsequent to an initial sale, customer service is mainly concerned with customer care. True customer service is synonymous with "ACCOMMODATION". When we sell a product or a service we accept the responsibility and the obligation to potentially provide our customers with a broad range of possible actions. These actions we define as customer service and may include necessary "ACCOMMODATIONS" to make the initial product or service reasonably useful in the way it was intended and in the way that it was marketed. "Due to unusually heavy call volume our customer service agents are busy helping other customers. Your call is important to us. Please continue to hold? Please continue to hold? Please continue to hold?" No article on customer service would be complete without addressing automated telephone systems. We are all consumers. It does not matter what else we do, whether we are manufacturers or clerks or customer service agents. We should make ourselves available so that our customers can speak with us. Nothing beats face to face contact but the next best thing is a person's voice. Overall, I believe that automated phone systems may be the worst single tool ever invented for all of us as consumers. There are a very few select companies whose systems serve us well by pointedly and quickly getting us fast service. But the vast majority of these automated telephone systems are nothing more than roadblocks to consumers. We have all been there and have been frustrated all too often. You might as well try to call the president of the United States. WE, ALL OF US, ARE PUTTING EACH OTHER ON HOLD ON THE TELEPHONE LINE... !!! Why not hire a live breathing caring human being who knows their job depends on their customer. This is not rocket science! When was the last time that you received outstanding customer service? Did you feel like you wanted to do more business with that company? Did you like the people who were helping you? Right there is one of the most powerful forces in customer service - customer loyalty and retention. What else is there in business with such a sweet essence. Biography: Since 1979 Jim Hoyle has owned and operated Lamp Manufacturer Factory Outlet. The company designs and manufactures truly unique lamps and acquires genuine antique vintage lamps through very special situations. They drop ship lamps worldwide for catalog companies, stores, designers, individual decorators and internet based companies of all kinds. Contact Jim at: junguljim@peoplepc.com or his company's website at http://www.hoylelamps.com
MORE RESOURCES: No, GPT-4o isn't going to kill teaching or customer service Business Insider NTTA customer service, Tarrant County district clerk spar over mistaken charge The Dallas Morning News For 13th Consecutive Year, Wolters Kluwer Customer Service Wins NorthFace ScoreBoard Awards Morningstar How did customer service get so bad? Financial Times Senate passes bill improving air safety and service for travelers, a day before FAA law expires The Associated Press Cognigy Named a Leader in 2024 “Conversational AI For Customer Service” Report The Bakersfield Californian What Consumers are Saying About AI and Customer Service Customer Think For 13th Consecutive Year, Wolters Kluwer Customer Service Wins NorthFace ScoreBoard Awards Business Wire CommBox Launches Connect Partner Programme, Offering Market-Leading Automation and AI Capabilities to ... Business Wire When consumers would prefer a chatbot over a person The Ohio State University News Opinion: If it's not dead already, customer service is certainly on life support • Asheville Watchdog Asheville Watchdog Frequently asked questions and customer service CSPI Newsroom Poll workers emphasize election confidence, customer service • Indiana Capital Chronicle Indiana Capital Chronicle Top Banks Offering 24/7 Customer Service in 2024 Business Insider Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) Senate Passes FAA Bill on Air Safety and Customer Service – The Presidential Prayer Team The Presidential Prayer Team They've got your back: Meet American's system customer service managers - American Airlines Newsroom They've got your back: Meet American's system customer service managers American Airlines Newsroom Verizon Down? Users Report Service Outage, Call Dropping | Ways To Troubleshoot And Customer Support Times Now The Marriott Maze: Navigating Customer Service Over $11, When Does It Stop Being Worth It? View from the Wing Rebuilding the IRS Improves Customer Service and Reduces the Tax Gap Center For American Progress AI enhances flexibility and efficiency for customer service centers, new research reveals | Binghamton News Binghamton University Porsche claims first place for customer service among premium car owners in J.D. Power Study Porsche Newsroom Customer Service Rep Confronts Customer Committing Fraud With The Consequences Of Her Actions. – 'It's okay to do ... Twisted Sifter How to contact Amazon UK Customer Service About Amazon.co.uk At some point, construction gave up on customer service – but it's far from a lost cause New Civil Engineer Citizen First Customer Service City of Lynchburg Air India rolls out iPad app for on board customer service Live From A Lounge Lee Michaels’ Scott Berg: How to make unhappy customers happy Greater Baton Rouge Business Report The correct airline customer service numbers to help avoid scams The Washington Post Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Forbes Recognizes Regions Bank for Best Customer Service Regions Financial Corporation Customer Assistance Programs DC Water Genesys & ServiceNow join forces to revolutionise customer service ChannelLife Australia Senate passes bill improving air safety and service for travelers, a day before FAA law expires Chicago Tribune Contact SEA Customer Care portseattle.org Customer Support GE Aerospace Buccaneers Continue to Excel in Season Pass Member Customer Service Experience, Voted No. 1 for Sixth ... Buccaneers.com Recent Developments That Could Impact How Companies Offer AI-Based Customer Service Chatbots | Insights Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Billing and Insurance WellSpan Health Ministry of Immigration aims to improve customer service following altercation at Western Border Breaking Belize News AI is replacing customer service jobs across the globe The Washington Post Customer Service Center - Recreation & Wellbeing University of California, Berkeley |
RELATED ARTICLES
Attitude of Service When conducting a training session about customer service, I always spend a fair amount of time talking about attitudes. After all, to be of service, you must develop an attitude of service. How Do You Create Customer Loyalty? Another sad fact of life is that these days, very few customers are loyal. Most of their loyalties lie with their bank accounts, and you can't blame people for watching their shrinking dollars. Become a Customer Enthusiasm-Guru! One thing all successful small business owners have in common is the knowledge that their business is based on enthusiastic customers. Despite their multi-tasking titles of bookkeeper, service provider and sales-manager, their most important title is Customer-Enthusiasm Guru. Why Cant Microsoft Make Soft Packaging? Why is it that Microsoft wants you to buy its product but does not want you to open the plastic case that is welded around the cardboard box? I believe that such packaging along with cockroaches will survive atomic disasters!Good luck finding any clue as to an easy way to open this fused bit of skin-tearing packaging. I split my scissors trying to pry open the ends. Carpet Cleaning in Surrey Like any business, carpet and upholstery cleaning requires excellent customer service and great value for money. There are a number of ways in which one can obtain these. Over Delivering Provides Big Results Over promising is a problem only when you under deliver. There are a number of ways that you can overdeliver to your customers or prospects, and as a result create a win-win situation for you both. Small Business Customer Service Can Work Against You Is the special treatment you designed specifically to keep customers coming back working against you?A local jeweler offers free lifetime battery replacement for any watch he sells. It's a good hook to keep customers walking back in the store on a regular basis and increases his sales volume. 6 Reasons Why Complaining Customers are Golden With Some Tips on How to RespondTt has probably happened to you if you own your own online business. You get an email or even a phone call from someone who is upset or unhappy with this or that about your business. Sorry, No Customer Service After 4:00 P.M. A few months ago, I wrote about ingenious styles of customer service that every business should know about, mostly because their employees were inflicting them on their customers.For instance, I warned about "in your face customer service" and "run for cover customer service", two equally effective opposites. Debt Elimination Scam May people these days have a problem with mounting debt. The average person is well below the bad credit limit and is in desperate need to fix it. Write a Business Thank-You Note Have you seen that thing on TV where the gal tellsthe nerd she wonders why he never asked her tomarry him and he stumbles and says "Thank You" andshe turns to butter?The point of the message is that "Thank You" goesa long way to making people feel better.Personally and in business, develop the "ThankYou" habit. Mexico: Online Ordering-Dont! I got it into my head sometime in December 2004 that I wanted order a laptop computer. I thought I would get one from the hugely popular computer company that allows you to call their 800 number and custom order what you want. 11 Ways to Get What You Want - Be a Clever Customer! We all want great service, whether we are buying our weekly groceries from a store, or want a billing hitch resolved at our local utilities provider. Whether it's getting our car fixed, or a great meal in a restaurant. Businesses Need to Rehumanise Big companies and corporations have lost the human touch. The question is, when will humanity catch on, or like robotic sheep will we do whatever the business shepherds tell us, no matter how bad we are treated? I am talking from firsthand interaction here. Automating Your Customer Support My regular readers will know that one of the things I highly recommend doing with any online business is automating as many of your day to day tasks as possible.From a personal point of view, one of the tasks that takes up a lot of my time is answering emails. How to Win the Hearts of Your Customers and Friends Those of us doing business over the internet have to become especially adept at our listening and speaking skills since we don't have the luxury of talking with our customers face to face. It's especially important to give those on the phone extra attention - listening to their voice, because that is the only thing you have to go on, to sense their emotion. Making Customer Satisfaction Surveys Work Why bother? Good customer service is the life blood of any business. Although new customers are important good customer service will help generate customer loyalty and repeat business. Making The Most Of Newsletters Newsletters can be wonderful tools for communicating with your customers or prospects. Because of their format, they're often infused with more credibility than traditional brochures. Increase in Customer Sales = Increase in Customer Service One of the most popular questions asked in online business forums or even by my customers and subscribers is this :"How the hell can I increase my sales?"or"I've got tons of visitors but nobody seems to be buying anything? What gives?"FISHNETS WITH HOLES? ANYONE?Getting traffic is not the be all and end all of a successful online business. It requires skills, specific online marketing strategies designed for your site and a robust customer service strategy. Leverage Customer Capital First If you're still dreaming about raising outside capital for your business before you have any paying customers, I've got a nice big bucket of ice water to throw on you. Wake up! The cold reality is that investors aren't interested in your business idea unless you can demonstrate that you've got customers who are actually willing to buy. |
home | site map |
© 2006 |