Caring for the customer

KISHOR'S POSTS A customer service personnel who was tried of his job, quit and joined the police force. Months later a friend asked him how he liked being a policeman. “Well,” he replied, “the pay and the hours are good but what I like best of all is that the customer is always wrong!” when we talk of “customer care” many have no clue or the professionalism involved. Everyone has a different perception of what customer care is. The simple rules of business etiquette with regard to customer service state that to establish personal credibility with the client and build a relationship of mutual trust and respect, the attitude of putting service first is the key. Unless you have a product which no one else has, clients have choices and they buy not only the product or service you have but also their impressions of the company in general. However brief your contact with a customer, your behaviour must reinforce the trust and competence you show in your business. Let’s look at the basic code of conduct for customer care. · Show respect for customers, even if they cannot afford your product or service and only want to look. The manner in which you greet customers, the consideration you show, and the courtesy you practice will show the customer that you are not judgmental about their financial status. · Be responsible to your clients. Once someone comes to do business with you, do not give them a bad time. Do not allow people to suffer when they have to pay to do business with you. · Be tactful and diplomatic when dealing with customers who are upset. This is a skill that service providers must learn. Being calm and professional is the key when you are dealing with a customer who is throwing a tantrum. · Be punctual. It is very rude to keep your clients waiting. Punctuality is a virtue and it shows respect. When you keep time, you value other people’s time. When you are perpetually late, the message you are giving is that you are more important than others. It shows up your ego and arrogance. · Provide the right information to your customers. You are morally obliged to inform them about new products and services, problems that occur with the business, production schedules so that clients have no surprises. Provision of the right information at the right time and place to right person is the only way a company survives in business. · Customers have rights and you must respect them. Your customers may have their own small businesses and you must respect their work culture. If you are not happy with the way they do business with you, tell them politely what you will stand for and see if they agree with the plans you have. If not you are entitled to take your business elsewhere. · Look after your clients, it is important to train your staff to keep an update of all your customers. Information and little details help you nurture your customers and the goodwill created will be invaluable. · Review you client list on a regular basis. Find out if doing business with certain clients is beneficial or are they a drag on your business. Some clients are wonderful and keeping them happy should be your main aim. On the other hand, if a good client has stopped doing business with you, there must be something wrong. Get feedback, ask for comments, fin out the issues that have brought about the decision and see if you can rectify the problem. · *Encourage feedback from all your customers with regard to your products and service. Evaluation is good and feedback is the only way we can improve ourselves. · Mind your manners. Basic courtesies cannot be ignored. Your “please”, “thank you” and “sorry” are words that make or break a relationship and in the business world, they make a lot of difference. · All clients are important. I realize how tempting it is to favour the rich and famous and I know how much they expect that special treatment Favoritism and discrimination are practices often frowned upon by companies that really believe in customer care. This does not mean you cannot have “favored clients” and why not if someone patronizes your shop regularly. Have your favorites but do to discriminate and show favoritism. You hurt other customer’s feelings as they will thin they are not important enough for your consideration. Anyone in business knows that getting the right people to provide the right kind of service is a problem. The attitude must be right, the skills must be learnt and the staff must have the right mix of product knowledge, service skills, the motivation and mental make-up to do that right thing so that the customer is happy with the product and the service provided.