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Customer Service Information
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One of the Secrets of a Great Customer Experience A few weeks ago we conducted our annual "Customer Experience Study Tour" in London England. This is where we take delegates to visit a number of leading Customer Experience companies for a behind-the-scenes look at how they approach the task of building a great Customer Experience. Companies include Prêt-a-manger, Virgin Atlantic, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Dell Computers, T-Mobile, Lexus Cars, AOL and Microsoft. As we travelled around these companies on the luxury coach, I pondered what the common traits are of companies who provide a great Customer Experience. Undoubtedly one of these traits is "attention to detail". Listening to Customers - 5 Tips In a strange juxtapositioning of articles, this month's UK 'Management Today' has three pieces, relating to the importance of listening to customers. Passing the After-Sales Test Some time ago a major UK food retailer decided to branch out into non-foods. Well, they all do it now, but in those days it was unheard of. Alongside the fruit and vegetables, meat and tinned foods they sold refrigerators that they had purchased at very low cost from an eastern European company (these were the days when East and West Europe rarely traded with each other). These fridges were very cheap ? and they worked! The retailer passed on much of this low cost to grateful customers who purchased them in great numbers. What the retailer didn't consider was that fridges ? unlike tins of beans ? occasionally need spare parts. They sometimes breakdown or are damaged. What the retailer forgot was AFTER SALES. It was entirely understandable the customers would make the assumption that the retailer would have this in hand. Trouble is, they didn't. The parts - and the engineers who knew who to fit them - were in Poland. So, to many customers, what seemed like a bargain turned out to be a problem. This retailer is now very successfully selling non-food goods alongside food products and I am sure they did the decent thing by refunding their disgruntled fridge customers of many years ago. Not all companies are so good with their customers. Some will sell products as a one-off transaction and will not be interested in what happens from the moment the product has been sold. "We don't do repairs and we don't sell spare parts. Contact the manufacturer." This is not a lot of good if you live in the U.S. and the manufacturer is in Shanghai, for example. Of course, some products and are not designed to be repaired or refurbished. The manufacturers simply expect them to be thrown away at the end of their life, even if that life is relatively short. An example is the microwave oven. Who fixes yours? Nobody, I suspect. They are usually repairable, but rarely is one ever repaired. No, they just end up in landfill alongside many other goods that are also thrown away rather than "made good". No wonder many countries around the world are introducing legislation to limit the extent to which such goods can be tossed away so casually. So, next time you are considering a purchase, especially the purchase of an expensive product or a mechanical product, consider the following tests: 1. Is it built to last? 2. Does it come with a guarantee? 3. Is there evidence of the product's durability? 4. Is it designed to be repaired? 5. Are spare parts available? Remember also, that repair is better for the environment than replacement. Of course, old products do need to be replaced eventually, but why replace prematurely just because you have purchased a product that failed the tests above? One group of products that pass these tests with flying colors is Insect-o-Cutor Fly Killers. Have a look at www.flykiller.net and you will see them there. Let's put them to the above tests: 1. Insectocutor Fly Killers are made of steel. Their solid construction is one of their best selling points. 2. They come with a 5-year guarantee 3. Go to any restaurant or commercial kitchen and you will see Insectocutor fly killers that have been there for 20 years ? and still going strong! 4. Insectocutor fly killers are constructed in a logical way making repairs straightforward. Insectocutor also provides support for repairs. 5. Insect-o-Cutor sells a range of spare parts for all of their fly killers ? even for models that are no longer in production. And their best UK distributor, Arkay Hygiene ? at www.eeeee.co.uk - is always happy to provide these spares as well as replacement u.v. lamps and glueboards After sales is just as much about the customer as it is about the product. Making a sale is not the end, it is just the beginning. Insect-o-cutor is a good example of a company that demonstrates its concern for it customers through the long-term support offered for its range of products. Just think on that one when you are next down the municipal dump with your broken down microwave! Write a Business Thank-You Note Have you seen that thing on TV where the gal tells the nerd she wonders why he never asked her to marry him and he stumbles and says "Thank You" and she turns to butter? Debt Elimination Scam May people these days have a problem with mounting debt. The average person is well below the bad credit limit and is in desperate need to fix it. What Every Manager Should Know About Seeing the World from Where the Customer Is Standing It is important to remember that the customer doesn't necessarily see things in the same way we do. This point was brought home to me one day while I was shopping with my daughter, Stefanie, who was two years old at the time. Foolproof Customer Service Strategies (That Only A Fool Would Try!) Ever notice how customer service varies from store to store? You walk into some stores, and before you can say "Buzz off!" a salesperson asks "May I help you?" Customer No Service - How to Lose a Loyal Customer! So today was the day where I almost stopped going to my favorite supermarket here in Milwaukee. If you're in Milwaukee, you know the one I'm talking about: the cool one downtown that has 1000 different types of produce, and a whole aisle dedicated to gourmet coffee and teas. The one with the free samples, the wine tasting and cooking courses. Yeah, that one. Top Ten Strategies for Delivering 5-Star Customer Service Customer satisfaction is valuable, but customer loyalty is priceless. In today's competitive world of business, it is becoming more and more important to deliver customer service that is unbeatable. These ten creative strategies can support you in turning your customers into walking billboards for your business. Customer Service: Everyone is Fighting Their Own Personal Battles Relationships... Money... Health..The Past...Failure..Mental and Spiritual Battles..Time Constraints...Professional pressures.. Sales Marketing: 10 High Impact Ways To Improve Your Customer Service If you want to last a long time in business and succeed, you must learn how to make your customers happy. Customer Service - How Good Are YOU? At 8.30 am a wealthy client (on his way to make a presentation to the local council at 9 am) walked into a store that sells photocopiers. They also provide a copy service. He wanted to make a back-up copy of his lengthy presentation. Everyone talks in code! How often have you left a meeting with a customer or your boss telling yourself he likes my ideas. Only to find later that you didn't get the sale or your boss has told everyone that you are crazy. Responding to Complaints It's possible that in the course of your business dealings, you may (just may) have to deal with a complaint from a customer or client .... What Type Of Software Is This? The other day while at the book store, I came across some accounting software CDs strewn with other CDs and books in garage sale box. Keeping Clients Happy Keeps them Coming Back Whether you are a seasoned small business professional, or you have just opened your doors to new clients, your marketing strategy should not only involve bringing in new business, it should also include keeping your current clients, your most important asset, happy and coming back for more or referring your services. How To Handle Customer Billing Snafus Q: I just discovered that for the past six months I have been billing a client half of what I should have been. Should I just include the total of the past due balance on his next bill or contact him first to let him know that it's coming? This client has been difficult in the past, so I'd rather not deal with him until I absolutely have to. My partner, on the other hand, thinks we should call the client and let him know what's going on before sending the bill. What do you think? -- Louis K. Cheap To Keep You've heard it all before when it comes to stats about customer retention. Acquiring a customer costs five to 10 times more than retaining one. Repeat customers spend, on average, 67 percent more. After 10 purchases a customer has referred as many as seven other people. Outsourcing: The Unspoken Costs Outsourcing seems to be the new-new thing and approximately 50% of our major corporations are doing it. What are the costs? The benefits? And what skills need to be managed in order to make it work optimally? The Art of Giving Great Service Sales is tough to get right, and depends on retaining those customers, yet people do it badly and unprofessionally all the time. It's really not difficult to learn the art of good service, and if you get it perfect, you will see those rewards.
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