Customer Service is our number one priority, now Mean It

When was the last time you went into a store, ate at a restaurant or customer service call for assistance and had an absolutely horrible? I bet you can come up with the answer in about a second and a half. Not only can you come up with it, you could give me every little detail about it. Now think about the last time you had an experience that has made your day. A bit 'harder is not.

Says an old proverb, "A satisfied customer will tell one person and an unhappy customer will tell 10 people". Can your company afford to have those 10 people then say another and another? In most cases you would think that the answer is no. As a leader, how often the customer service problems Get your high level? When they do how do you manage? Of course the first response should be to manage the problem for your customer, but what to do next? You mean there's a next step, you're saying to yourself, but I handled the matter. What you must understand is that if this problem was so great that at this level there are many who have not been increased.

Bill Gates says: "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." Once this experience has happened should be taken as an opportunity to reassess your company, team and processes. This was an issue between a member of that team and a client who may have been a bad day? If so, by all means, sit down with that person and talk about ways in which they could otherwise handle the situation should occur again. It was a case where you could have a bigger problem with your product or service? If so, this might take the team approach to solve the problem. Maybe you need to get together a group to contact customers proactively others and let them know of a potential problem, thus reducing the pain for your customers.

As small business owners who thrive on referrals, we rely on our customers to tell their customers and business partners as we were able to assist with their needs and what a great job we did. Many small businesses have a limited budget for marketing and struggle with ways to get their names in the community, with this in mind, this positive print is worth more than money can buy. It will enable your business to grow and become the "go to" company for your product or service. This does not mean that there were not bumps along the road to success with this client, but what it means is that it was handled quickly and professionally and with results that delight the customer. In fact, many times it's just a bump will be discussed and the professionalism with which the team has managed.

I realize that sometimes these bumps can be very expensive to fix. For example, if all of a sudden you realize the widget you just sent 10,000 presents a problem, what is the net effect of your bottom line, if all 10,000 are to be replaced? One line of thought would be best to what happens when my client receives the order and then delivers it to their clients and then give as a gift for their sister. No matter what the cost, it is easier to handle the problem immediately before it gets to that level? Look at the current crisis in the toy industry, with products used for lead-based toys. More manufacturers have had to step up and deal with calls of a huge number of products. This has caused the public to become involved not only limited with the toy recalls that directly affect them, but manufacturers and stores bought them.

Now, I'm not saying that they knew the problems and did nothing about them, but wonder what would have been easier to communicate with their dealers and let them know what the problem was first made his way to the great public? In recent years, many toy manufacturers have seen sales decline and the rise of electronic toys for younger and younger ages. This will not help. So let me ask this, now think it's worth what ever the amount fixed by the 10,000 widgets immediately, no matter the cost?

Customer service is the key to success that many people speak and not following them. This is what distinguishes the company from successfully fly at night. Why? Because if you plan on being here for the long term it will be your reputation and costs more to repair than to build. The customer service is our number one priority, now seriously .......