Customer Service
Go the extra mile
A man and a young teenage boy checked in to a hotel and were shown to their room. The two receptionists noted the quiet manner of the guests, and the pale appearance of the boy. Later the man and boy ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. The staff again noticed that the two guests were very quiet, and that the boy seemed disinterested in his food. After eating, the boy went to his room and the man went to reception and asked to see the manager.The receptionist initially asked if there was a problem with the service or the room, and offered to fix things, but the man said that there was no problem of that sort, and repeated his request.
The manager was called and duly appeared. The man asked to speak privately and was taken into the manager’s office.
The man explained that he was spending the night in the hotel with his fourteen-year-old son, who was seriously ill, probably terminally so. The boy was very soon to undergo therapy, which would cause him to lose his hair. They had come to the hotel to have a break together, and also because the boy planned to shave his head, that night, rather than feel that the illness was beating him.
The father said that he would be shaving his own head too, in support of his son. He asked that staff be respectful when the two of them came to breakfast with their shaved heads. The manager assured the father that he would inform all staff and that they would behave appropriately.
The following morning the father and son entered the restaurant for breakfast.
There they saw the four male restaurant staff attending to their duties, perfectly normally, all with shaved heads.
Now, I don’t expect you to shave your hair off for your customers, but how vitally important is it that we show the customers that they are important to us. How can we do this?
Get a pen and paper and write down some ways you can go the extra mile.
Here are some examples:
– Rather than give your customer another number to call – do a warm call transfer.
-Rather than just telling your customer where to find something, walk them to it.
-Ask if there is anything else you can do for your customer.
-Remember their name
Give your customer the best possible experience and they will be wanting to shave their heads for you!
Let go of your banana……
I would like to relate to you a story that I use in my training courses- it’s called ‘The Monkey and the Banana’.
You have probably heard about a rather interesting method they sometimes use when trappers use to catch a monkey for the zoo. They place a cage in the jungle, inside of it a bunch of bananas. A monkey then comes along, see’s the banana, grabs it- but can’t get it out. No matter how hard he tries; he can’t pull his hand through the rungs whilst still holding the precious banana.
The trappers then come along and take the monkey away. If you were standing in the jungle, watching all of this happen, you would probably yell in exasperation ‘Let go of the damn banana!’
We can be like this when it comes to our attitude in business. We let our stubborn habits, and methods prevent us from moving on- even if doing so will help us.
What can I change first? You can start off by changing yourself. What’s your attitude like when you come into work? Do you wow your customers? Do you turn complaints into compliments?
Or do you just get on with it, it’s not really anyone’s job to wow.
Try some of these small changes to the way you treat your customers:
Make them come back
‘How do I keep my customers coming back?’. Easy. Make them want to come back.
I’m going back to France this year, why? Because from start to finish it was one of my best holidays- and I want to experience it again. Create an atmosphere where the customer from start to finish has the best experience- so much so that they want to experience it again.
I just recently bought some more data for my clients from a company called CorpData. From the start I was treated with excellent customer service in the way that they answered my calls, processed my orders and dealt with my queries. To top it all off I’m always very pleased to find a box of homemade fudge (my favorite) in my letter box, thanking me for my order.
‘How do I keep my customers coming back?’
- Make them feel valued
- Show them you care
- Stand out as different
- Make memories for them
Do this and you are sure to make your customers hungry for more.
Willing to help
I don’t know, just a second, we can’t do that. NO! Customers don’t want to hear what you can’t do. Rather than focus on what you can’t do – show them how your willing to help.
Follow this negative to positive table when dealing with inbound inquiries.
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I don’t know
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That’s a good question. Let me check and find out. Are you okay to hold? |
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Just a second
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It may take me a few minutes to get that information are you okay to hold? |
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We can’t do that
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That’s a tough one let me see what I can do. |
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You’ll have to
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Here’s how we can help. |
Universal expression of happiness
A smile is the universal expression of happiness. If you’ve ever been exposed to any level of sales training, this concept was probably introduced to you. Put a smile on your face before, during and after your prospecting efforts.
This serves two purposes. First, if you are smiling then you can’t be frowning. It’s impossible to be in a bad mood when you are smiling! Even faking a smile or forcing a grin makes you feel better and actually fools your body into feeling more cheerful. The very act of smiling raises your endorphin level, which are the body’s natural opiate. The benefit is, the more you smile, the healthier you become.
Second, a smile is contagious, even over the phone. When talking to a prospect, they can sense the mood you are in. It’s a safe bet that people would rather do business with happy salespeople. Therefore, make sure you are coming across in the most positive light possible.
Some salespeople go as far as keeping a mirror in front of them when cold calling, just to make certain that they are, in fact smiling. So, just smile! Not only will it make you healthier, it will make the prospecting process more enjoyable, especially when you notice the results of smiling (more smiling customers).
http://ow.ly/i/4pXv8
The Value Of Good Customer Service
Honest. Helpful. Empathetic. Wouldn’t you agree that these qualities are lacking in today’s modern business world?
How do you feel when you experience bad customer service? Angry, frustrated, put off. Are these the impressions we want to instill in our customers? How do we show we value a customer?
‘Your true worth is determined in how much more you give in value than you take in payment’- The go-giver.
By exceeding customers expectations for what they paid for; they are willing to come back for more. No matter their age, job, experience every customer wants to feel valued and appreciated. Try to spot great opportunities to do things that are quirky and out of the ordinary furthermore, showing how much you value your customer.
I would like to relate to you a story about a little girl and Sainsbury’s supermarket.
Lily Robinson (who insists that she is three and a half years old) was quite confused by one of Sainsbury’s products called tiger bread. In her eyes, the bread didn’t resemble a tiger at all, and in fact looked very much like a giraffe.
It’s hard to disagree with her!
With a little help from mum and dad, she wrote a letter to Sainsbury’s customer service department. To her surprise, customer support manager Chris King (age 27 and one-third) told her that he couldn’t agree more.
He explained the origins of the name:
“I think renaming tiger bread giraffe bread is a brilliant idea – it looks much more like the blotches on a giraffe than the stripes on a tiger, doesn’t it? It is called tiger bread because the first baker who made it a loooong time ago thought it looked stripey like a tiger. Maybe they were a bit silly.”
Knowing the customer was certainly right in this instance—and spotting an unusual opportunity to do something fun—Sainsbury’s changed the name of the bread and put signs around their stores that give a humorous nod to Lily’s original idea.
Showing excellent customer service is becoming more of a rarity than an Italian who doesn’t like pizza. So how much more vitally important that we stand out-and keep our customers coming back.
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