By
Oliver Mills
Many organisations complain about the quality of customer service.? Sometimes, we see letters in the social media about the level of service in particular establishments, from hospitality to commercial.? This means that customers feel they are not getting the kind and quality of service they are accustomed? to, or that a business in the customer service field should provide.? This could range from receiving warm coffee, to soup that is too hot, to outright rudeness by a street level internal customer.? Or, even more bizarre, we hear of ?instances? where some employees in the very small business areas ?do not welcome visitors? to their shops, or even thank them for coming.? Surprisingly, visitors notice these neglects, and talk about it to others.? Businesses at all levels, and of various kinds, must realise that external customers are their pay rolls and profits. Everything possible should then be done to make the customer experience a pleasant, and unforgettable one.
This idea about the need for good customer service is dealt with by John Seddon, an occupational psychologist, in a recent article he calls ?The Secrets of Good Customer Service.? In part, he states that customer service managers who want to deliver great service must unlearn many things they currently believe, and start putting people, not costs at the centre of their thinking. For him, the secret to great service is to give people what they need, and suggests unlearning, and studying how services don?t work, then rethinking and discovering how they could work, as a strategy.? He further calls on managers to design a service that works.? This means having a thorough knowledge of demand, which is what people need as they see it.
For him, demand is critical for everything else.? Managers should therefore build a design which is highly sensitive to people, their needs, and ?context.? The individual is placed at the centre of service provision, and those needing help are met by people with expertise.? Services are tailored, fast, friendly and purposeful.? And? everyone is more motivated and engaged, with innovation emerging naturally. Managers then understand that managing value drives costs from the system, while managing cost drives costs up. The key, then, is for managers to ensure there is continued knowledge of demand, determine what the need is, provide the required expertise, and render ?tailored services with dispatch.? The writer?s secret ?to great service, is to give people what they need.
When these ?secrets? are initially looked at, to the untrained, they come over as meaningful and innovative.? No human resources practitioner would object to the need for managers to unlearn and relearn, since practices change constantly.? Also, putting people above costs is standard, and so is giving people what they need, and? concentrating on how things could work.? To me the latter is much more efficient than studying how services don?t work.? This seems to be misdirected energy.? When the writer calls on managers to design a service that works, this is important at one level.? But I hardly think that there is not a manager who does not do this at some time or the other.? Possibly the ?secrets? or strategies mentioned could better relate to managers at particular levels, but a credentialed and highly experienced manager, would have these as a normal part of? his/her repertoire.? Most managers also would see demand as an important factor, so is determining needs, and providing competent people to deal with them. ?These ?secrets? as I have indicated earlier, would definitely be relevant for managers at specific, indeed initial levels of the organisation.
What the writer could have concentrated on, is stressing the importance of continuously monitoring customer needs, and meeting them fully, and professionally.? There should also be a customer profile, updated often, as circumstances related to the economy, age, interests, and preferences undergo change.? This ensures the customer?s ?preferences are always a concern, and are delivered on time.? Again, this is related to customer satisfaction, and how it is managed.? It is both anticipating and satisfying needs, based on the purpose the customer has for them that is an essential element of great customer service.? Not the preferences of the establishment.
Furthermore, to me, other secrets that make customer service great are old fashioned courtesy and politeness, a welcoming atmosphere, having conversations to more specifically determine customer desires, and giving information new to the customer, about the country, the economy, business opportunities, and even levels of civility.? Here, the tone of voice, eye contact, and genuine, spontaneous smiles are crucial.? It sets customers at ease, builds rapport, and makes the context more human.? The idea of stranger and local disappears, replaced by two individuals with common interests.? One interested in making a sale, or supplying a need, the other with expectations of professional service, and having his/her interests met and satisfied.? Also gauging customer perceptions and intention are cardinal secrets that make customer service great.
Great customer service again requires delivering on promises,? being honest, ?and displaying interest.? Fostering trust and credibility, and not coming off as being inauthentic.? Some people, the moment they come into contact with tourists, for example, immediately change their accents and mannerisms.? Of course, the aware tourist easily detects the ?put on.?? Great customer service further requires consistency in our behavior, and with the products we offer, be it within a hospitality setting, or about town.? Our culture, and ways of being are game for external customers. They want unique local stuff, from food, to other cultural items.? And we should tell the truth about what we offer, its origins, and how what we offer fits into our cultural scheme.
We should also treat internal customers with the same courtesies and respect.? This refers to local persons employed in the business places, and residents as well.? They also keep the wheels of the economy spinning. ?And can often make suggestions as to how we could enrich our product, and make it work for us in a wider and more meaningful way.? The trick to great customer service does not mean engaging in activities to fool, or be disingenuous with customers. Rather it consists of the honest? strategies we employ to make customers feel wanted, respected, and appreciated, while meeting their genuine needs totally, and hopefully, ours in the process.
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Posted by john Glasgow on Feb 3 2013. Filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entrySource: http://tcipost.com/?p=27128
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