“Do you always speak over your customers like this?” - A poor customer service experience and how you can avoid them

There must be something in the water. Lately I’m hearing an alarming amount of stories from friends, connections and business associations about POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!

(Capitals and exclamation marks because that’s how you feel when you have an experience like that… right?)

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m an optimist and always love to look for the best in situations and people. But when I heard these stories about such poor customer service from people that I trusted well admittedly, I was very disheartened.

One of the stories goes like this … 

My friend, John* had ordered a product from a very well known retail brand. The delivery of the product was time sensitive as John had organised a tradie to be onsite to help with its installation. 

When the product arrived, John opened the package only to find it was not at all what he had ordered. Understandably, he was very upset, frustrated and inconvenienced. 

John called a Customer Service representative from the very well-known retail brand who connected him with the sales person that sold him the product. 

To add even further to John’s frustration and disappointed, the sales person was less than helpful and in fact made him, THE CUSTOMER, feel like a liar!  

John: Do you always speak over your customers like this?

Sales Rep: No, only to the ones that don’t listen to me.

Can you believe that? How would you feel if your staff were talking to your customers this way? 

So by all accounts, with this story as just one example of what I’ve been hearing, it really seems that many businesses have dropped the ball on enforcing Customer Service Standards. Perhaps with everything going on in the world right now it doesn’t seem like such a priority. 

Well, I’m here to remind you that it certainly should be and it seems timely to revisit the basics here are our tips hope you find them helpful. 

10 Tips to Creating Exceptional Customer Service

1. Learn your customers name and refer to them by it often. If they are a repeat customer (at a Cafe', gym, automotive service), learn their name and greet them when they arrive. 
2. Be energetic, show that you are happy to be there and have energy when you talk on the phone or in person. 
3. Enjoy your job. We all have to work so why not choose to enjoy it? Reflect on the reason you have a job. What is your why? Then be grateful and make a conscious choice to enjoy everyday. It truly shows when people appreciate and enjoy their work. 
4. Acknowledge your guests, shoppers, callers, customers and smile. You will be surprised how smiling can instantly change a person’s attitude and it’s contagious… in a good way! “If someone doesn’t have a smile, give them yours.”
5. Care about your customer’s story. Ask questions and learn about what success looks like for them. If a customer is shopping for a new kitchen, why not celebrate their success of either buying a new home or renovating their current home? Get excited and it will make your job so much more enjoyable!
6. Be Knowledgeable about your product or service. When you take pride in going a good job, it shows. Not only will you feel good about genuinely helping others, but they will really appreciate it too. If you don’t know something, take the time to find out and grow. 
7. Remember personal details, ask questions, make notes and refer to it when you see the customer again. For example, when going to the gym the coach/trainer knows that their customer is planning for a big birthday and wants to get into shape. So what does the trainer do? They support and customer and keep them motivated because they know their goals and are helping them achieve it. 
8. Have fun and invite your customers to join in. Create opportunities for your customers to play as part of their experience. We all crave Play and sometimes the customers you wouldn't expect will be the ones that embrace the play the most. 
9. Follow up with them after their purchase or check in with your customers during your visit. Ask for ways that you can Make Their Day! Challenge yourself and your team to research your guests, customers and clients to learn more so that you can find unique ways to connect and show you care. 
10. Give away stuff for FREE! No matter how many workshops we deliver people continue to say that their customers want stuff for free so find a way to provide extra value.

Some good news..

Now, can someone please restore my faith by sharing your POSITIVE customer service experiences with us all in the comments below? I would love to hear them!