Good customer service requires quick and efficient attention to client needs. While customers may be happy to wait for certain results, there are some things you should never make them wait for. Boost your reputation for great customer service by ensuring that you don’t make them wait for these basics.
1. Price Estimates, Price Lists, and Quotes
Customers may be willing to wait for delivery of goods and services, but they do want to know what they’ll cost before they commit. If you’re slow to provide product and price information, they might just take their business elsewhere. Be geared for speed in this area. Set the response time bar high and ensure that you have trained staff armed with reliable equipment to provide electronic or hard copy information. Simple things like inkjet printers and easy access to information help your sales staff to provide the basics without making customers wait.
2. Call Backs
While on-the-spot information is ideal there are times when we need to consult specific people before giving customers the feedback they need. If, for some reason, that person isn’t available when customers visit or call in, we can offer to call them back – but they aren’t expecting to wait long for our response. Forgetting a call-back altogether is a huge faux pas and it could even be a deal-breaker. Customer Relations Management Software can help you to allocate tasks and deadlines, ensuring that you’re never late for a call-back.
3. Delivery of Goods and Services
Once customers have committed to paying for your goods or services, they need clear and accurate information regarding delivery. When things are going smoothly, there shouldn’t be any interruption to the schedule, but sometimes, problems outside your control rear their heads. No matter how good the reason for late delivery, your first priority is to have a contingency plan that allows you to keep your promises. If that fails too, good communication is key. No customer is going to give your business the thumbs up if you don’t keep your promises and don’t bother to inform them if you’re running late.
4. Customer Support and Complaints Resolution
Delivering as promised isn’t the end of the road by any means. In the days – or even months – following the successful fulfilment of a transaction, your customers may have questions or complaints that require urgent attention. Once again, making them wait (or ignoring them and wishing they’d just go away) isn’t going to do your business any favors. Prompt resolution of questions and complaints can turn unhappy customers into ardent supporters. Don’t make them wait if it’s at all possible, and if you must, tell them what process you need to follow and when they can expect feedback.
Time is of the Essence
No matter how unique your business is, it owes its survival to its customers. Providing reliable service and individual attention will earn you repeat business and referrals. Not doing so will earn resentment and a blow to your business’s reputation. While happy customers might not tell everybody about the great experience they had when dealing with your business, you can be sure that unhappy customers will be ready to tell their story to anyone who will listen. Attend to customer needs; address their concerns with patience and understanding – and keep those waiting times as short as you possibly can!
