Communication key to customer service

Keep your customers informed

Customer service is where businesses lose and maintain customers. It is also something that can be fixed.  The more information you give people and the faster you deal with issues, the more customers you’ll retain.

NewVoiceMedia’s 2018 “Serial Switcher’s” report found that businesses loss $75 billion a year due to poor customer service. Naturally, that varies by the size of the business and, of course, the state of their customer service. Small business owners rarely can afford to lose business, especially due to treating customers poorly.

Don’t be defensive

When presented with a problem human nature makes us want to defend our position. Sometimes that is accomplished in a passive manner by making excuses. Sometimes more confrontational. Instead, we should be empathetic and ask ourselves what can be done to make it better.

Lack of communication

A big issue with poor customer service is poor communication. Either before the problem arises or after it has been brought to the attention of the business. Most issues can be avoided by communicating with customers. Like in public relations, getting out in front of problems will save you headaches later. If a problem is identified from within that will lead to dissatisfied customers, let them know. The more information they have the less likely they may complain, they may even be sympathetic to your problem.

Lack of communication allows the customer to mire in the situation and build ill will towards the company even before the problem is addressed. This is why the poor customer service reps have to start with customers who are already ramped up to a 7 on the first interaction. That’s if the customer personally makes contact. Most complaints today are expressed online either through bad reviews or social media posts. Once that happens the complaint reaches a much larger public audience and is there to stay. Some businesses address these complaints by deleting bad comments or reviews. Not only does this mask the problem it also will affect their search engine rankings, which may cause poor search results.

An example comes from personal experience. We were having problems with the delivery of our newspaper. (Yes, I still read daily news printed on paper) After a week and a few automated reports of no paper being delivered the problem seemed to be corrected. The next week a representative from the paper called to ensure everything was back to normal. Seems they had a carrier quit unexpectedly which caused the delivery issues. While I appreciated the call to make sure service had been restored, wouldn’t it have been better to call when the problem occurred? Let the customers know that they are experiencing manpower issues, explain corrective measures, and that service would be restored shortly. I know I would have been more sympathetic and appreciative.

Sometimes a simple communication of thanks sends a surge of goodwill to customers. One time I received a thank you note after an online purchase. The card was handwritten with the simple message, ‘Thanks for keeping the lights on”. I’d never had any in-person interaction with this company, but receiving a handwritten thank you went a long way in my assessment of the company and definitely enticed me for future business

Communicating with customers at the earliest point of a problem is one of the best ways to avoid complaints. If you’re having an issue that will affect service or the customer experience let the customer know before it is recognized or goes public. This starts on the frontlines. Employees have to know what they are allowed to handle in their purview and what is the company position.

Lee Cockerell, former Executive Vice President of Operations for Walt Disney World Resort, explains in his podcast, Customer service is not a department but is an attitude. Employees at every level should be empowered to serve the customer.  

Please refer to the blog archive for more posts on customer service.

How well do you know someone?

Watching the vetting process for the new presidential cabinet you heard politicians and others vouching for the nominees.  They would qualify their knowledge of the person’s background by stating how long they’ve known the person, “I’ve known this person for five years.” Really? Five whole years?

There is the possibility that you can really get to know someone in a short span of time. But it is highly unlikely, especially if you’re not with the person 24/7. There have been incidents of husbands and wives, who have been married for more than a decade, not knowing of the others “secret” life. So how can you vouch for a person, you have known for five years, and periodically interact with? If your “friend” is forty and you’ve known them for five, or even ten years, that seems like an eternity. However, they’ve had twenty-two years of adulthood before you ever met them.

Then you have the now cliché neighbor of a crime suspect, “[He’s] always been a good neighbor. Quiet. Never bothered anyone.” Chances are the neighbor is basing their assessment on fact. They never really knew the suspect so, of course, they were quiet and never bothered anyone.

If a background investigator has ever contacted you regarding an investigation for a security clearance how well you know someone can become shockingly evident. People obtaining security clearances fill out a questionnaire, part of which includes references. These references have to be non-work, friends and neighbors. Sometimes you have no idea why your name was used. You hardly know the person. But sometimes the investigation is for someone you’ve “known” for ten or more years (Most backgrounds require the reference to be a person you’ve known for five or more). But you don’t hang out with them, you don’t interact socially, you lose touch. But here is your name as a reference. The investigator starts asking the standard questions and you realize that although you’ve known this person since college, you cannot provide one piece of information that can verify anything about the person’s proclivity for cheese or espionage.

So to stand before a congressional committee and state that, “I’ve known this person for five years and they have absolutely the best character”, is little bit of a stretch.

See our blog archive for other posts relating to character association: 

Don’t want to know July 24, 2013

Have you ever been convicted of a crime February 3, 2014

More Southern hospitality

Living in the Mid Atlantic region you’re not really in the north or the south and sometimes it depends on who’s asking. If you live in a metro area you are more accustomed to a fast paced lifestyle. You get use to it. Not sure if it’s the pace or living in zip codes instead of actual towns, but when you leave the hustle of the Washington metro area heading south there is a marked increase in hospitality and friendliness. I wrote on this topic once  before (Southern hospitality June 2016) and it was noticed again on two separate trips this year. Maybe being from out of town you expect to be treated as such or maybe there is a real difference. Whatever the reason, it is welcomed and why we enjoy traveling thru the South.

Hospitable

While in Alabama near the Georgia line and always on the lookout for BBQ, we came across a little place not much bigger than a shack, but on a late Sunday morning the place was packed. We stopped for some take out and the bill came to $15.10. All I had on me was $20 and other bills. Not wanting to short this small business a dime I told the cashier I’d have to run out to the car. There was a nice older lady waiting for her order near the register. She immediately spoke up and offered a dime to cover me.

Now this wasn’t a great act of kindness that will save mankind. It was only a dime. However, everyone seemed to know each other. I’m sure I was pegged for an out of towner. This lady didn’t need to say a word. But she spoke up and opened her purse. Probably, “A had to be there” moment, but it was very touching. And the BBQ was excellent! What made it for me was the Georgia style mustard BBQ sauce, which I had fallen in love with on an earlier trip to the area and seek out whenever I’m in the Deep South. But this isn’t a food blog.

The second trip took us through the Carolinas and did not disappoint. Everyone we came across was astonishingly friendly. People speak to you when passing-wish you a good day-Cashiers, clerks, hotel employees, everyone.

Visiting an antique store in North Carolina we were greeted by a friendly proprietor that was not extraordinary, especially with the theme of this blog. But what was surprising was his willingness to get out from behind the counter, engage us in conversation, and point out the different collections within the store. The openness and hospitality to strangers that we come across again and again. Now I’ll give him a bit of salesmanship, I mean why not be friendly and show people around. Only going to increase sales. But we have been in plenty of stores, similar and otherwise, where the clerks/managers/owners could care less. You’re lucky of they make eye contact.

During our visit we came across another shopper. He was looking around just like us. After a few excuse me’s and pardon me’s (small store) we began commenting on what each other was examining. A chat started and for the next ten minutes we had the most enjoyable conversation with the gentleman. We parted with a hardy handshake, a God Bless, and safe travels.

To top off our visit, the proprietor had learned we were passing through on the way North. He wanted to make sure that we knew about the gasoline shortage. (Having disconnected for a few days we completely missed the Alabama pipeline leak that was affecting the entire South) Stations were running out of gas and he encouraged us to top off before leaving town, giving us a few suggestions on which stations still had gas.

I texted a friend who was vacationing in South Carolina at the time to make sure he knew about the gas shortages. He replied that he did, receiving the information from a friendly southerner the same as me. “Amazing”, he wrote. “can’t see that happening at home”

Sunday in the south

Several years ago we had just gotten off the interstate in North Carolina, checked in to our hotel, and went looking for dinner in the nearest town. Unfamiliar with the area we thought that what was once a thriving town had been denigrated by the loss of industry or a box store shopping center. The town looked like it had some business but every thing was closed, no one around.

Then it finally hit us. It was Sunday evening, in a small town, in the South. Nothing was happening or was it going to happen. But that was OK. It’s refreshing to come across old time values. Take a moment to slow down and observe the day of rest.

Well, we fell for it again. The night before visiting the aforementioned antique store we did some exploring for what we might do the next morning. Again, the town looked deserted. Nothing open, no one out and about. Save for the few people you saw sitting on their porches enjoying the unseasonably cool summer evening. Wondering what had sucked the life out of the town we came back to our initial finding-Sunday in the South. It’s just the way it is.

We could all take a few lessons from these experiences. Wave and say hi to strangers. Take a break on Sunday. The world might just be a better place.

Southern hospitality

Whenever we travel to the southwest part of Virginia, we are always amazed at the friendliness and hospitality encountered from employees at almost all businesses.

This was even more evident on a recent trip to Charlottesville. Shopping at an antique store in Ruckersville we had a nice conversation with the cashier. As expected, he was polite and friendly. We learned that he knew a little about where we were from in Maryland and even had some connections to the area. Telling him about our weekend plans he graciously made some suggestions on what we should do and see on the way to Charlottesville. He told us about an alternative route that had more antique stores, vineyards, restaurants, and an overall nice road for scenery. He asked about our tastes and suggested the stores and restaurants we may enjoy visiting.

The suggestions did not disappoint. At each location we stopped we told them how our original “guide” told us about their business. They in turn suggested other businesses we would enjoy visiting. All of these were a few miles apart and it wasn’t apparent that they had any relation to each other-Just businesses helping each other.

It’s easy to forget about the golden rule sometimes, especially in the impersonal world of business. It was such a pleasure to be a stranger and greeted with such hospitality. But to see individual businesses, some that would be competitors, freely offering suggestions to travelers was a refreshing surprise. We never would have had this experience had we continued on the main highway, missing this little detour. Now it is go to route to Charlottesville.

The hospitality didn’t end en route but continued once we arrived in Charlottesville. We love the pedestrian mall on Main Street. Parking isn’t hard to find but can be tricky with restrictions and meters. Finding a pay lot with no meters and no one in the pay booth, it was difficult to discern the process from the posted signs, as they directed you to pay at the booth. Not wanting to get a hefty ticket or worse, towed, we must have looked a little bewildered. A gentleman leaving the lot noticed us, pulled up, and rolled down his window. He immediately recognized our problem and told us that after a certain hour the booth is closed and there was no reason to pay. But just in case, he gave us a business card and told us that we could use him as a reference since he worked in the adjacent building. We thanked him and he drove off.  We parked. Enjoyed Main Street. And returned to an unflagged car.

Southern hospitality exemplified.