s t l o B Nuts &
r u o y g n i n of Run s s e n i s u Small B CUSTOMER SERVICE I was raised with the idea that no job was any more important than another. How many of you would frequent a restaurant if you knew the tables wouldn’t be cleared or the dishes cleaned? That is a little extreme, so let’s say the restaurant has clean tables and dishes. The hostess takes forever to recognize you are wanting to be seated, however, or the waiter takes your order incorrectly and never refills your drinks. Again, imagine the restaurant has none of these problems and the service you have received up to the point of being served the meal has been excellent. Now the food has finally arrived, you are ready to dig in, and as soon as the bite of food enters your mouth you gag. You are starting to get the picture. In any business, it takes all the members to make it successful. Many business owners often forget that they are in business to serve their customers, not themselves. Once we begin to look at our customers as another dollar and not the reason for our existence, we begin to lose our meaning as a business. Of course, the idea of being the next Amazon is very pleasing to the ears of many business owners. However, answering customer 20
April 2019
questions over live chat or email is not very satisfying to many of its customers. Plus, since it is unlikely one of us is going to be the next Amazon, maybe we should refocus on customer service. Trust me, as a business owner and consumer, it is customer service that makes the sale and prompts the purchase. What is good customer service? Have you ever entered a business establishment and as soon as you walk through the doors you hear a “welcome to…” blurted out by an employee? Maybe someone at a corporate office thought that was good customer service. Never mind that you are not even sure who welcomed you to the business, because you failed to make eye contact with any of the employees. I don’t believe this is what a customer is going to believe is excellent service. Many employees are never taught customer service, just like many business owners were never brought up in a business environment that taught the value of customer service. It can be taught. Organizations like our local Chamber of Commerce put on events for local
businesses to send employees to learn about customer service. Many books have been written about the subject and every owner should read at least one, and then share it with the employees. Your organization could also do in-house training where they do some role-playing practicing customer service in different situations. Whatever makes sense to your organization, is only going to help your organization to be aware of what excellent customer service looks like. Remember that an organization can be made up of many different types of employees. Some have direct interactions with the customer and others do not. Remember that customer service is for everyone but might look a little different for each employee. Customer service is doing the best at your job and meeting the customers’ expectations. So, if you want your organization to thrive it might have everything to do with excellent customer service.
