By Nancy Friedman, Keynote Speaker; Customer Service & Communications Expert; and President of Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training
FACT: The best weapon for a successful business is customer service.
It’s that simple. We will pay more for better service!
So whether you’re a small business owner or Hewlett Packard or only looking for ways to improve, read on. We believe in helping businesses get better at communicating with their customers.
To get off on the right foot with your customers whether it’s via phone or face-to-face, or any of the other touch points, here are the Telephone Doctor’s Six Cardinal Rules of Customer Service.
Adapting these easy steps will make your day, and more importantly, make the customer’s day a better experience for you and your company.
Cardinal Rule # 1 – People Before Paperwork
When someone walks into your place of business, or calls you while you’re working on something, drop everything for that person. Remember, paper can wait, people should not. We’ve all been abused when we go shopping and been ignored and we know how that feels. Let’s not abuse our own customers. Remember: People before paperwork.
Cardinal Rule # 2 – Rushing Threatens Customers
Sure, you may understand something real quick, but rushing the customer along will only lead to them feeling intimidated and you won’t see them coming back to you. Take it easy. Remember, speed is not success! Trying to be “done” with a customer as quickly as possible is seen as being rude and uncaring. Take your time with each and every contact.
Cardinal Rule # 3 – Company Jargon
Ever get a report from a company and not understand it? Some companies have company jargon that makes the CIA wonder what’s up. Be very careful not to use your own company jargon on your customers. You and your employees may understand it very well, but the customer may not. And you’ll only cause a lot of unnecessary confusion. Spell things out for your customers. Don’t abbreviate. Remember our motto: don’t use military language on civilians.
Cardinal Rule # 4 – Don’t Be Too Busy To Be Nice
Hey, everyone’s busy! Bad excuse. Being busy does not give you carte blanche to be rude. Remember, you meet the same people going down, as you do going up. They’ll remember you. (What’s worse than being busy? NOT being busy.)
Cardinal Rule # 5 – “Uh huh” is not ‘Thank You’ — “There ya go” is not ‘You’re Welcome’
How often do you hear these slang phrases? We need to remember ‘Thank you’ and ‘You’re welcome’ are beautiful words. The customer cannot hear them too often. However, if you’re telling your customers to “have a nice day,” please say it with meaning! I recently had a checkout clerk tell the FLOOR to have a nice day. She never looked at me. Make eye contact when you’re saying something nice.
Cardinal Rule # 6 – Be Friendly BEFORE You Know Who It Is
There’s a good lesson to be learned here. The Telephone Doctor motto: SMILE BEFORE you know who it is a good one. It will earn you many classic customer service points. The customer needs to know you want to work with them, no matter who they are. Remember, sometimes it’s way too late to smile and be friendly after you know who it is.
Any one of these tips can boost your customer service!