Reasons why good customer service will increase your business and bad customer service can put you out

What is Customer Service?
"Customer service is the sum total of what an organisation does to meet customer expectations and produce customer satisfaction".

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What is customer service?

·         The Importance of Good Customer Service In a Retail Store

·         Types of customers

·         Top 10 Ways to Turn Off Customers

·         21 Tips for Excellent Retail Customer Service

·         Appealing to Repeat (Loyal) Customers

·         Telephone Handling

·         Dealing with the Disgruntled Customer

·         11 Ways to Tell Your Customer No

·         G.U.E.S.T

What is Customer Service?
"Customer service is the sum total of what an organisation does to meet customer expectations and produce customer satisfaction".

There are many models of customer service but all agree that organisations should have clear answers to the following basic questions:

ü  Do customers have a clear idea of the service they can expect from you?

ü  Do you gather high quality information about your customers and what they want on a regular basis?

ü  Can you be contacted easily?

ü  Do you have competent and well trained staff?

ü  Do you respond quickly to queries and requests?

ü  Have you made it easy for customers to complain and make suggestions about the quality of your services?

ü  Do you involve your customers in the development of products and services?

Customer service can be used as a framework to look at all aspects of your business:

Ø  Image and presentation

Ø  Promotion of services

Ø  Contact and communication with customers

Ø  Service delivery

Ø  Monitoring and improving services

Ø  Resolving customer problems

Ø  Customer relationship management

Key to customer service is getting all members of your organisation to embrace it through training and development, at individual and team level. Creating a culture of customer satisfaction starts with effective management and leadership and having clear measures for customer satisfaction in all aspects of the business. This can be encouraged through:

• Creating your own Customer Charter or Code of Practice
• Benchmarking your activities against other organisations
• Creating and monitoring specific measures of customer satisfaction
• The Importance of Good Customer Service In a Retail Store Good Customer service in a retail store goes far beyond making that one sale to that one customer.

Here are 4 reasons why good customer service will increase your business and bad customer service can put you out of business.

1. Making or increasing the Sale.

2. Return Visit by the Customer.

3. Word of mouth advertising

4. Controlling Shrink.

The 5 Types of Customers

• Loyal customers – 20% providing 50% business.

• Discount customers

• Impulse customers

• Need-based customers

• Wandering customers

Top 10 Ways to Turn Off Customers

1. Dirty Bathrooms

2. Messy Dressing Rooms

3. Loud Music

4. Handwritten Signs

5. Stained Floors or Ceiling

6. Burned-out or Poor Lighting

7. Offensive Odors

8. Crowded Aisles

9. Disorganized Checkout Counters

10. Lack of Shopping Carts/Baskets

EXAMPLE OF VERY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

21 Tips for Excellent Retail Customer Service

1. Smile when greeting a customer in person and on the phone (and yes, they can tell if you are smiling over the telephone!).

2. Use age-appropriate greetings, and avoid referring to older customers and women as ―guys.

3. Be proactive and ask how you may be of service.

4. Stay visible and available, but don’t hover.

5. Don’t turn away, walk away, pretend / start to make a phone call, or duck beneath the counter as a customer approaches. (We’ve all had it happen to us.)

6. The live customer standing in front of you takes precedence over someone who calls on the phone.

7. Never judge a book by its cover—all customers deserve attention regardless of their age or appearance.

8. Leave food and beverages in the break room.

9. A customer doesn’t want to hear about your upcoming break.

10. Makes any personal calls when you’re on a break and out of earshot.

11. The correct answer is never ―I don’t know‖ unless you add to it, ―but I can find out for you.

12. If a customer wants something that isn’t on display, go to the stock room and try to find it.

13. If the item isn’t in the stock room, offer to call another store or order it.

14. Learn to read body language to see if a customer could use some help.

15. Don’t let chatty customers monopolize your time if others are waiting.

16. Call for backup support if lines are forming.

17. Be discrete if a customer’s credit card is declined by asking if there is another method of payment he or she would like to use.

18. Never discuss customers in front of other customers (they’ll wonder what you’re saying about them once they leave).

19. Inspect merchandise before bagging it to make sure it’s not defective or the wrong size.

20. Make sure customers receive everything they’ve paid for before they leave your store.

21. Smile as you are saying goodbye and encourage the customer to come again.

Appealing to Repeat (Loyal) Customers

• It is more efficient to serve repeat customers than to heavily promote to lure new ones.

• Often, new customers are lured because of a special sale, buy goods that have a low markup to the retailer, and then switch to another store when it runs a sale event. Repeat customers are more apt to buy a full range of merchandise, not merely discounted items. This means that the retailer can reach its profit margin goals.

• Revenues can be increased (not just maintained) by placing greater attention on repeat customers. They can be encouraged to shop more often and to purchase more on each trip to the store.

These are some hints for targeting current customers better:

• Develop a database with the appropriate customer information.

• Set up some type of frequent-shopper program that can reward people for their continued patronage. The program does not have to be complex.

• Communicate with repeat customers on a regular basis. Mail them a letter at least quarterly. Call them at least once per year. Customers are often quite impressed when they receive 'friendship' rather than "sales pitch" letters and calls. People like to feel appreciated.

• Run special events for good customers. This also lets them know how important they are to the firm.

• Offer extra services, such as free delivery or more liberal return policies, for good customers.

• Do not reward your new customers at the expense of the current ones. Think carefully about having promotions that offer benefits to new customers that are not available to current ones.