These days it seems that we have collectively resigned ourselves to the fact that Customer Service “just ain’t what it used to be”. What that really tells us is that we all have opportunities to differentiate ourselves from “everyone else” by providing great customer service to our clients. And from a business growth standpoint, the best source of increased business and referral business should be our current customers and clients. After all, they are the ones that know us best and should be willing to tell others about us.
With that in mind, we recently sponsored a seminar that provided the following Customer Service tips. See where you can improve so that your customers become “Raving Fans” of your business.
10 Commandments of Customer Service
- Don’t expect your customers to tolerate customer service mistakes
- Always do what you say you will do when you say you will do it
- Never, ever make a promise that you are not sure you can keep because promise-breaking is the same as lying
- Never try to remember your promises; put them on a task list
- Remember that unacknowledged communication is the most profound form of disrespect
- Respond to every inbound phone call or email in half the time your customers expect
- Review your task list before the end of the day to make sure you have not broken any promises
- If it appears that you won’t be able to keep a promise, always re-negotiate before the deadline
- Use auto-responders and voice mail greetings to communicate your absence so you don’t appear non-responsive
- Communication technology problems are never acceptable excuses for breaking promises, so make sure your technology is working
Thank You to Dave Verbeten, of ActionCOACH in Libertyville for the Top Ten list.
About the author: Dan Sawchuk, CPA, is a co-founder of the LaCo Business Blog. Dan is the Business Development Manager with Accounting Freedom, Ltd. and Payroll Specialists, Inc. in Mundelein, IL. You may contact Dan directly at Dan@accountingfreedom.com.
