Customer Service Tips

TIP 1: Talk about “servicing the customer” is cheap these days - Everyone knows it's one of the keys to success, but yet why do so many customers still complain about it?

Be sure you care enough... Why not test yourself with a customer satisfaction survey? Or dare to ask customers about any complaints, or how they'd like you to serve them better. Treat all your potential customers as if they're gold, because they are that precious, and without them, you have no business. Treat them, NOT as you would like to be treated yourself, but EVEN BETTER than that! It will pay you back big returns. Businesses' reputations are oftentimes based on how customers perceive being treated... Never forget this. Always give your customer more than they expected to get, and never pretentiously, ALWAYS sincerely. If you can show yourself and your business to be different than anyone else in this one respect alone, you will have gained a repeat customer.

TIP 2: People prefer to deal with professionals, not “humm-ers and haw-ers”. Be sure the first people they talk to or meet within your business are those that make a great first impression. Make sure they are knowledgeable and can communicate personably and effectively. Be down-to-earth and as friendly as ever.

Always present yourself, your art and your business, in a professional and credible manner. Shoppers and browsers don't like to talk to ‘stuffed suits’. Nor do the like some ‘robot’ Sales Rep chasing after them with the same sales pitch that they're touting to everyone coming into the store...

Be real. Be sincere. Listen very carefully, and then respond accordingly, not by practised rote, but by genuinely caring. Customers know. If you know your art like the back of your hand, and your staff shares the same vision and can tout it with the same passion as you do, you'll do just fine. But if you know you need some better ‘frontlines’ people or a few changes in sales and service approaches, do it now. Don't wait till you lose customers over it. Address it now and your customer base will grow.

TIP 3: All the world fell in love when voicemail came into being - remember how we all thought it was such a wonderful idea? Ask any customer “that can't get through anymore” if he still thinks it's the best thing for business... DO NOT let voicemail become the curse (voicejail) that it all too often is in our too-busy-to-care world. It can be a great tool, but is often misused...

Always return phone calls and e-mails as promptly as possible. Your customers want to know you care enough to get back to them sooner than later. Giving excuses, even legitimate well-intentioned ones, is just not good enough. We've all heard too many nowadays. When customers talk to real people, they feel looked after. They're apt to do more business with you, than having to talk to machines and pressing multiple buttons just to leave a message that they'd rather not.

If you want their business bad enough, always, no matter how busy or stressed a day you may be having, treat your customers courteously and respectfully. It makes a dramatic difference to have a genuinely happy and helpful ‘real’ person to talk to. AND... if they have to leave a message, get back to them, surprisingly fast!