10 Customer Service Lessons In 2 Minutes
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Sep 17, 2012
I have found that some of the most read posts I end up with are when I give some quick points on a particular topic. I don't get tons of comments, but the visits work. There's something to be said for points without much detail; people will process the information in their own way without you telling them much more.
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It is in this vein that I now give you 10 customer service lessons that, hopefully, only takes you 2 minutes to read:
1. The customer isn't always right but they're always the customer. Going above and beyond for them is just good business sense, and if you can solve their issue, both of you will feel pretty good after it's over.
2. Customers are more than just the people looking to buy something. From where I sit everyone is a customer, which includes your employees, your friends, even strangers you might encounter on the street.
3. There's nothing wrong with smiling. Smiles can disarm the hardest criticism if they're genuine. If smiling isn't in your nature, you shouldn't be in front of people.
4. Customers don't owe you a thing. Sure, you'd like them to be as friendly to you as you are to them but that's not always the case. Do the best you can; be the bigger person if necessary.
5. If you rely on tips, you have to be even nicer. I tip well because I engage the people who bring me my food at restaurants. Those who don't engage back get the average minimum. I go out for a good experience, not to feel like I'm intruding on someone who doesn't want to be there.
6. People you're talking to on the phone can tell your moods easily. If you're just going through the motions or speaking in monotone your customer will notice is. A little bit of personality never hurt anyone.
7. Providing the best customer service doesn't mean going overboard. Unless you're the owner, giving away everything because it's not your money isn't great customer service, but bad business.
8. The words "thank you" and "you're welcome" are very powerful customer service tools. It doesn't always take much to provide good customer service, and if you sound sincere, you'll win friends.
9. Gauge whether people are comfortable with you using their name. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone wants you calling them by their first name, especially if they rarely use it. Doesn't hurt to ask when possible.
10. Always give your best; customers respect that. Even if everything else goes wrong, customers are often pretty forgiving and willing to give you another chance if it looks like you're putting forth the effort to provide them with a great experience.
Superb tips, Mitch. I doubt that it require more than basic education and common sense, unfortunately many people still don’t understand that completely.
I’m with you Carl. Being nice doesn’t take much more effort than being nasty to people.
Wow Mitchell, you covered a topic I just wrote about. I agree the customer is not always right but he is the customer.
It is an honor to have a particular customer because most customers have many choices.
The customer need to be appreciated.
Sometimes the customer will return based on the experience he has. Thanks Mitch
No problem Michael. I could have gone into 20 customer service lessons, and I probably will write a follow up to this one, but there are also times when one has to decide a customer isn’t worth having if that person is disruptive to many other customers. I was watching this show a couple of days ago where this one guy was boisterous and mean and drunk, and no one was doing anything about it until one person finally stepped forward and forced the person out. The other customers were extremely relieved and it shows that not every customer is deserving, although the flip side is that the bartender at this place should have stopped serving the guy before he got that drunk.
Customer service also means paying attention, right? 🙂
You’re right, you always have to respect the customer and do what you can to help them but that only extends to a point.
That’s always been my belief Julian. We at least have to try to satisfy them in some way.
I love #1 Mitch and it’s the first time I’ve heard someone point out the fallacy but at the smae time point out an equally important truth.
If that’s your own invention, you should be proud, I’m certainly going to borrow it.
The rest of your post is great too.
Thanks Roz, and yes that one is mine. I wrote it on this blog maybe 5 years ago and have repeated it here and there. In my career I’ve dealt with some lousy clients or customers, but they were only lousy until I was able to help them out; customers that is. Then they turned out to be the sweetest people; that’s what it’s all about. Clients can be a different story but that’s for another time. lol
Well it’s a great soundbite Mitch, the simple ones always are. That one is worthy of framing.
I deal with clients for a living as I’m in sales your point is valid, always be courteous and aim to do your best work.
My only caveat is you don’t have to do business with everyone who comes your way and there are some that you are not going to be able to do your best work for or that are willing to pay for it. It’s ok to say no up front, but once you’re engaged and the contract is signed – they’re the customer – and you owe them your best work.
Exactly. We have the right to determine who we want to work for based on our vibes. Early on it was a lesson I didn’t learn, as it was all about money, but as time has gone by I realize if I’m not feeling it then I can’t give my best.
Glad you agree Mitch. Not every entity out there is going to be your ‘dream client’ – you will have your own criteria as I do but it usually boils down to: you’re able to do your best work for them (not just any old work) and they in turn are willing to pay for it.
Mitch
Great points and all really valid. Love the first one – the customer isn’t always right, but they’re always the customer. Brilliant.
On tipping as a feedback mechanism.
Do you find that tipping does create the responsibility to strive to provide better service?
Here in Australia tipping isn’t customary, in fact I would say its a rarity. I wonder the introduction of tipping would create a better customer service environment?
Jackie, tipping is definitely an incentive to give great customer service. In the States, restaurants can pay less than minimum wage because it’s expected that waitstaff will earn tips, which will put them over minimum wage and then some. The average tip is around 15% of the bill. However, good service usually gets better tips; I tip somewhere between 25% and 30% if the service is good.
Good tips, I have a couple I would quibble with: customers have an obligation not to be rude beyond certain limits.
Your role in providing service should define your behavior, not tips. I understand, sadly, most of our organizations are badly managed and therefore looking out for yourself and your tips becomes more important than playing your role in the organization. This is a failure of management: creating a system where this is the sensible behavior by employees.
I ran across this great quote from Gandhi the customer “is the purpose of [our work]… We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.”
http://management.curiouscatblog.net/2012/04/09/the-customer-is-the-purpose-of-our-work/
Thanks for your input John. You’re correct, but you have to remember a couple of things.
One, these were short tips so the article could be read in less than 2 minutes. If I’d started going into extra explanations that would have killed the general purpose of the post.
Two, there are differences in how customer service should be provided based on the business and its importance. True, we want everyone to be positive when dealing with customers, but in food service there’s a direct correlation between great customer service and how much money those folks have the opportunity of making. The other day I tipped someone 100% of the bill because they were extraordinary, when I’m obviously not obligated to tip anything, although since they’re allowed to make less than minimum wage it’s certainly not fair. How often have you gotten superlative service that encouraged you to tip that much? Isn’t that great advice one could give a food service worker, especially in a short tip that took, what, 15 seconds at most to read? lol
Understood, I meant to make a comment as further discussion of what you mentioned to provide a bit more detail for those interested in more detail.
It is one of the truths of making blog posts that they are almost certain to be somewhat simplified. As you say that is sensible. Then as people practice the basic rules a few will want to learn more, which is great. But most places would benefit greatly from just following a few simple ideas.
Thanks for the clarification John. Truthfully, most of my posts aren’t that simple, which is why I change up from time to time. I do shoot for entertaining most of the time though. 🙂
Soon I’ll write a post about my experience shopping for a smartphone.
The folks at the Apple and Microsoft stores have some of the best people I’ve ever experienced in my life.
They’re courteous, ask how they can help, and go above and beyond and ask you your name.
Special.
Steve, I’ve heard that those types of stores really pour on the customer service; I’ll have to shop at one of them one of these days, probably when Windows 10 comes out.