What Does Good Customer Service Mean to You?

One of the big things to define for any business is what good customer service means to you.  In order for staff to be able to fulfil the role of great customer service, it is important that the company knows what this means to them.  This changes with different types of business but there are some points that are almost universal.  Here are a few examples.

Quick response time

Companies, like the DVLA,  offer a lot more ways to get in touch with them now than ever before.  There are telephone numbers and email address, online chat facilities and of course social media.  The result of this is that customers expect a quick response time to their queries.  If you offer Twitter as a way to receive customer feedback and queries, then you need someone regularly checking for those tweets.  The same goes for a dedicated email address or a live chat service.  Staff need to know what to do, how to do it and make sure it is done quickly.

Customer knowledge

For some businesses, a key part of customer service is to get to know those customers and to make sure you offer a personalised service.  Something as simple as remembering their name in association with the product or service they bought can help offer good customer service.  Look at Starbucks – in 2012, they did an initiative where if people introduced themselves, they got a free drink and gave away over 350,000 drinks.  Now, they ask your name and add it to your drink.  You feel like they know you and are just a bit.

Handle mistakes promptly

We are human, and humans make mistakes.  The key to good customer service is to quickly handle those mistakes and impress the customer with how you do this.  Customers will accept something going wrong when it is efficiently handled and will often be return customers even after a mistake.  But by putting it off, trying to shift blame or ignoring the problem, you can guarantee to lose the customer entirely.

Go the extra mile for your customers

Customers expect good service so if they get great service, they are more likely to remember it, tell others and to come back to the business.  This doesn’t have to mean great big gestures that cost the company a fortune – little things or subtle touches can work.  You can even automate some stuff like follow up emails or check-ins to see if everything was okay.  It makes the customer feel more important but doesn’t need much time or resources.

Look at the long-term goal

The aim of customer service is to provide a good experience and also to great brand loyalty with that customer.  Stats show that a satisfied customer will recommend the company to at least three other people.  An unhappy one will go on Facebook and tell 3,000 people how bad your customer service was.  So consider long-term goals with customer retention when you are looking at how you define great customer service.

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