This is a blog post from http://stephanieathome.blogspot.com/
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| picture courtesy of cartoonstock.com |
Oh where, oh where did customer service go? While renovating our house we've made purchases from a lot of different businesses. From mom-and-pop shops to the big box retail companies to independent contractors and I must say the one thing that they all have in common is a general lack of good customer service. It seems to me the general attitude these days is to just 'get the job done'. But, it should (at least in my opinion) be about more than just getting the job done, it should also be about delivering the best experience possible to the customer.
What does that mean exactly? It's all the things that show you care and actually value your customers. It's putting the phone down when you're clearly on a personal call to ring a customer up at the cash register rather than making them wait till you're finished telling Missy about your hot date last night. It's about actually leaving your store open till the closing time printed on your front window rather than locking the doors and packing up at quarter-to, so you can get out of there as soon as the clock strikes 5:00. It's about skipping lunch (and yes I've done it many times before myself) to help a customer rather then telling them they are SOL because it's time for your break. It's using words like 'good morning', 'good afternoon' and 'good night". It's about simply thanking your customers for their purchase. It's about letting them know that you would be happy to see them come back again.
It's all of those little things (that don't cost anything extra to do by the way), that will make a customer drive past three of your competitors and go out of their way to shop with you because they want to repeat the great experience they had the first time. Soon that repeat customer turns into a loyal customer. Then their loyalty spreads to their family and friends. And in no time you've developed a cult following all because you said 'good morning'. Ok, so it's not quite that simple, but still I wouldn't underestimate the power of good customer service.
So all you business owners out there, think about the little things you can do to help your customers have a more enjoyable experience when they enter your store. And don't keep it a secret, train your employees to put a smile on the customer's face. After all, you don't want someone you're paying to lose you money at the end of the day. So spread the word, good customer service is the newest trend in town and it's here to stay.
To read more from Stephanie @ Home, visit her blog, http://stephanieathome.blogspot.com/
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