Learning Superior Customer Service Skills

by: Daniel Sitter

Copyright 2005 Daniel Sitter Is customer service a department in your company? Is customer service simply the title of an order entry department? Is customer service an empty shell, long on rhetoric but short on delivery? Does the term customer service actually mean anything, or is it a leftover expression from an era of days gone by? Superior customer service is indeed alive and well alive and working at many progressive companies, both large and small. Customer service is not simply a term or a department, but rather an attitude and a manner of doing business. It boils down to caring and adhering to the golden rule…"to do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Superior customer care has declined to such an extent that some firms are actually promoting their own efforts at providing customer service as a unique benefit of dealing with their firm. Unfortunately, that is an apt description of the current state of customer service provision from most companies. Most companies do not get it. They are so consumed with the bottom line that they miss one of the most important factors in growing their business: The customer is king. He always has been and always will be. Customers, customer satisfaction and retention should drive all other facets of a company. The relevant cost of acquiring a new customer is high. Marketing, advertising and other functions utilized to attract new customers are expensive and require a period of time to work successfully. Many prospects do not become new customers until perhaps the 7th or 8th exposure to the company's marketing efforts. Customer service then, is the cost of retaining that customer. Customer retention should be a driving force behind the successful operations of every company. It simply makes good business sense to keep that new customer as well as those repeat customers. How often is a new customer "soured" because of a perception of poor attitude or lack of caring on the part of an employee? Depending on the type of business operation, companies must embrace developing superior customer service in a variety of modes. In a small retail or food establishment, where minimum-wage workers are often employed, this is difficult. One area that is destined to improve how customers are treated is for the owner of the company to treat their employees fairly, with respect and with a receptive attitude concerning their ideas. This attitude and practice will spillover and the end customers will often be treated in the same manner. The mid-size and large companies must provide specific training for all employees, especially for those with any direct contact with customers. Employees must be cognoscente of what is expected by their employer, the importance of their dealings with the customers and how the implementation of these policies directly imp