Are you burning out your fuse?

With this summer’s launch of the ‘Rocket Man’ film, telling the story to Elton John’s complicated life, we’re taking his songs as inspiration this month.

And, since the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing is fresh in our minds, the song Rocket Man “…burning out his fuse up here alone” seemed a good place to start.

Are you like the Rocket Man?

Running your own business isn’t “…just my job five days a week”, but it can lose some of its sparkle, making you feel a little bit isolated and negative. Here we take a look at some words and phrases we might start to use that could leave customers feeling less than entranced.

Clichés

When we’re busy and a little bit bamboozled, it’s easy to fall back on some tired old chants that can be really annoying for our customers.

Why? Because they are vague, insincere and unhelpful.

There really isn’t any charm in “We regret any inconvenience caused”, if you really don’t sound regretful at all. On the other hand, a well-conjured response that reflects your customer’s language and point of view, especially if you can confirm that you understand how they feel, can be mesmerising.

Hiding behind the filing

You are powerless with your paperwork; it just keeps piling up. You find a problem and call up your client. It might be tempting to start with “My records show…”, but that won’t bewitch them.

They want to know that you value their business and respect them as a customer, so spend a few moments checking when you last spoke with them and try to build some rapport.

Tell them that you’ve checked their file and seen that their work has been completed or their products delivered. To be completely spell-binding, why not ask if they are entirely satisfied? Then you can go on to ask if they can help you to resolve the problem you discovered. It will work like a charm.

Do you really mean it?

You might feel that it’s polite to say, “Don’t hesitate to get in touch…”, but it could turn into a curse if they take you at your word.

Having invited them to contact you, you’ll need to be ready to give them your undivided attention. That’s not always easy if you’re already fiendishly busy.

Alternatively, you could tell them about the resources available on your website, the best person to contact with their query or you can ask a Genie to work her call-handling magic.

Keeping your promises

As we all know, the Devil is often in the detail. If your customer has a complaint you can’t simply wish it away. It won’t vanish just because you say, “Thank you for your feedback”.

In fact, more customers just go elsewhere, rather than taking the time to tell you about a problem, so it really is worth paying attention.

Give them a marvellous response and they are more likely to remain a valued customer and tell others too. Take the time to be sure you really understand the situation and be specific about what you will do.

Avoid shortcuts

If you‘re plagued by a never-emptying Inbox, it might be tempting to create an automatic response that says, “Please do not reply to this message as the mailbox is not monitored”.

This not only tells your customer that you are probably too busy to work with them, it also says that customer service isn’t your top priority.

With some clever rules applied to your Inbox you can prioritise the messages you need to see straight away and keep the rest for a time when you can give them your full attention.

Share the Genie Joy

If any of these workday workarounds are finding their way into your business, then it might be time for one of our Genies to join your team. They are all experienced call handlers and administrators with a positively star-spangled outlook on life. From their magic carpet they can spirit away your office chores and make sure your fuse doesn’t burn out.

Talk to a Genie today.