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Customer Service Tips for Small Businesses
We hear it all the time about big companies, and most likely we have professed a few of the same sentiments ourselves: "They've gotten too big to care about individual customers," "Personalized service is a thing of the past," and "If you get mad...
Do You Have an Exclusive Market Segment?
You do if you’re a business, non-profit or association manager with important external stakeholders whose behaviors affect your department, division or subsidiary the most.
In your own best interests, here’s what you’d better be doing about...
The Best PR Has to Offer Managers
How cool is this? You’re a business, non-profit or association manager. You decide to get serious about your public relations and shift the spotlight away from communications tactics. You implement an action blueprint that (1), helps you...
Think Positive - Care For Your Customers
Operating a business on a daily basis dealing with customers can actually be frustrating and they often don't make it easy for you and your employees to treat them nicely.
You need to remember where all your revenue and sales come from for your...
Why Communication Skills Don't Work In Customer Service
Every time my firm conducts communication skills training, we know someone is going to object.
“That doesn't work. Everybody's heard of active listening. You can't use that stuff anymore.”
And we have to admit, there's a lot of truth in...
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Where have all the delighted customers gone?
WHERE ARE THE DELIGHTED CUSTOMERS?
QUESTION
If every company wants to delight its customers, then how come we don't spend most of our ‘customer days’ delighted?
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES?
The so-called new economy and most new business have been built around a specific promise. This promise is that the 'customer is in charge’. The reality is that customer service has reached the pits. Call centres in the depths of the countryside leave us hanging on while we listen to more piped music.
As customers we feel betrayed. It seems remarkable that an entire business philosophy, a mantra chanted across the modern world is so obviously without substance. Many banks, universities, shops, restaurants, builders' merchants, and software companies patently fail to deliver. The customer is not king. The customer is left waiting to be heard (again!).
To reflect on what has happened, one of the promises of the new economy evangelists was that the customer would finally be in charge. We weren't supposed to need to call the customer care department because everything would be right first time!
The reality is somewhat different. How often does the call centre tell you 'We are experiencing higher than usual call volumes' or 'all our customer service
operatives are currently busy' or ‘you are in a queue’? This first statement is almost always followed by the second (incongruous) comment, 'We value you your call'.
Basically, the new economy was meant to make service better, quicker and more effective for customers. At the same time it was meant to make it easier and cheaper for the companies. So much for the theory.
Companies are starting to wake up to the fact that the customer is actually very angry with them. Customer service ratings are a nonsense - the average score is always 'above average'.
Most customers do not feel 'in charge'. So, see what happens if you do put them in charge…
About the author:
Robert Craven - author of business best-sellers ‘Kick-Start Your Business’ and ‘Customer Is King’ (foreword by Sir Richard Branson)... ‘one of the UK’s leading marketing specialists’... the ‘entrepreneurship guru’. He runs The Directors’ Centre (http://www.thedc.co.uk), helping growing businesses to grow.
Robert Craven rc@thedc.co.uk http://www.thedc.co.uk http://www.kick-starters.com
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ICS: Institute of Customer Service |
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Customer Service – 8 Rules For Good Customer Service |
Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers ... |
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Help | IndyStar.com |
Customer Service • Terms of Service • Send feedback about IndyStar.com • Subscribe Now • Jobs with us. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the ... |
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