IT ALL BEGINS WITH ATTITUDE
Providing great customer service starts when you get up each day. It begins with ATTITUDE. I don't believe this is just a simple cliché. The life you live each day begins with an attitude of some kind. Abraham Lincoln said words to the effect that a man is just about as happy as he makes up his mind to be. I have seen that to be true with a service mindset also. You can allow situations to occupy your thinking or you can put those aside, concentrate on providing properly for your customer and then pick them up later at an appropriate time. Don't worry. They will be there waiting for you.
We know that most days are filled with challenges of all kinds. Employees, schedules, equipment breakdowns, customer complaints...the list goes on. So if you know at the outset this is going to be the usual day, why begin in a grumpy mood? You already have a head start on it by knowing what to expect, so make it a positive. You are only making your day more difficult if you dwell on the negative that will come. Be tenacious as you greet each new challenge. When you work through it to success, your reward of satisfaction will be awesome; and if a customer witnesses your positive approach to their problem, you will raise your value with them.
A good example from our industry is when a customer is having problems with one of their service providers, i.e. local phone company, internet or long distance provider. Many times they can't relate the problem they are having properly and talk the tech language that is required. The customer is always relieved when we step in, spend the time with the support group and follow the trouble ticket to completion. We assure them that we will take care of the situation and that they can get back to doing what they do best in their business.
Sales turnaround specialist Lou Ludwig says, "If we don't wow them, it's likely that we won't do business with them...this is not a casual occurrence, it's a planned and consistent activity." Looking for ways to "wow" customers should be a daily exercise. Many times the seemingly insignificant things will speak the loudest to customers.
Another example from our experience is brought to mind. More than once we have been congratulated on leaving our work area like we found it or in better condition. We have all seen cluttered, dirty closets where communications equipment is located. That closet may not have been swept in the last 10 years, but when we left it was clean. For the observant customer, this speaks volumes about who we are.
Now, relate these examples to your personal industry. How can you perform a little better and provide a "wow" for your next customer? Maybe an extra special greeting to them when they walk in; maybe a little something additional added at no cost to their purchase; maybe asking them how their family is. One wise man said, "Everyone walks through life with a sign around their neck that says 'make me feel important'." If we can make that customer feel that they are important to us, they will be back time and time again.
I once employed a technician that was not a very good technician. However, he had the people skills that a service company should fervently seek. Customers loved him and even stood up for him when he needed to be reprimanded on a particular job. And they insisted that I and my service manager get to the bottom of the problem, because it certainly could not be the technician's fault. So, we reworked the job and solved the problem without pressing the issue. The customer relationship was worth more than the immediate understanding of where the blame actually lay.
Are you attacking each day with a great customer service attitude? Is your priority to provide service excellence or just to make a profit? These two goals go hand in hand, and I believe the attitude of customer service comes first. If you are striving daily to provide the quality product that your customer desires, you are stretching a long way toward continuing to build a profitable business.
So, as the old song says, "Put on a happy face" and enjoy providing the service that you are capable of.
This will bring us next time to performance. You can say it all day long, but you must do it!
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