When it comes to customer service, good is not really good enough. The problem with providing good service is that it’s not great service. It’s average. It’s fine. And it’s forgettable. But if you provide unforgettably excellent service, your customers will keep coming back and will also be more likely to recommend you to others.
But how do you keep from settling for good service and strive for excellent service? You do it by going above and beyond what is required and exceeding your customers’ expectations. Here are a few ways to help accomplish this.
• Know what is average for the industry and your service area and surpass it. Find out what your competitors are doing that customers appreciate. Look at these as basic expectations and then come up with ways to take them a step further. Attend trade shows and industry meetings so you know what the emerging trends are. Read publications, such as the Pallet Enterprise and Pallet Profile or Recycle Record.
• Build a great team. The biggest limitation to great service is the people who deliver it. Hire people who believe in and know how to provide better than average service. Train your workers to not accept doing the bare minimum for customers by praising and rewarding those who go the extra mile.
• Be generous with your industry and product knowledge as well as your time. Don’t rush a customer through a phone call or a meeting. Listen to what they have to say. Provide thorough answers to every question. And if they ask something that you don’t have the answer to, go research it and get back to them with the answer. Once again, the Pallet Enterprise website (www.palletenterprise.com) is a great place to start your research for any industry topic.
• Be available. Many businesses today send all calls straight to an automated system that then sends the call to voice mail. Knowing that they can quickly reach a live person who can help them will go a long way in improving your customers’ happiness with your service.
• Do whatever it takes to help customers get out of a tight spot. If a customer calls saying they need an order fulfilled today, ask some production workers to stay late and deliver the order yourself if needed. If all else fails, call your competitor across town.
• Take care of mistakes. Mistakes are going to happen. What’s important is how you react when they do. Don’t wait for customers to complain when there is a problem. When there is a mess up respond promptly, take responsibility for the problem and provide amends. Write a note apologizing for the problem along with a coupon for a discount on their next order or maybe a gift basket.
• Get to know your customers. Being remembered makes people feel important. And there is much more to a person than how many pallets they want to order. Know and greet them by name. Know if they prefer email or phone. Remember little details about them, such as hobbies, children’s or pet’s names or a favorite team, and ask about them periodically. Have an interest in their well-being, not just their order totals.
• Express appreciation for your customers in small ways. Send a handwritten thank you note, deliver a box of donuts with an order, periodically give them one of your value-added services for free or come up with other small ways to let them know they are valued by you.
• Ask your customers. Ask specific questions about different aspects of their experience with your company. Then ask how you can make them more satisfied in any areas that you are told you do “fine” or “okay” in.
