Excellent Customer Service

We’ve all experienced it one time or another. Whether on the phone or in person – we’ve all most surely encountered customer service agents who are not effective at their jobs.  It can be something as simple as their not understanding their own product well enough to walk or talk you through a problem.  Or it could be that they are completely ineffective at diffusing a situation and offering an acceptable solution.  Whether offering a product or service, companies and industries that provide excellent customer service have a clear competitive advantage over those who do not.

I was in line at a large mass merchandise store the other day waiting to return a small appliance.  During my wait I had the opportunity to watch two customer service representatives dealing with their respective customers.  One was attentive, friendly, smiling – engaging the customer and expressing dismay that an item hadn’t worked to the customers’ expectations.  The other customer service agent was robotically processing returns, with a growl to “sign here” and a yank of the merchandise from the customers’ hands she dismissively sent the customer on their way.  After watching this for a few moments, I found myself saying a small prayer that I’d get the friendlier of the two.  I didn’t have my receipt and was hoping that a store credit could be issued.  Luckily enough, my wish was granted and my return was handled efficiently, quickly and without hassle. 

While I walked away a pleased customer; I found myself pondering what might have happened had I ended up in the wrong line.  Shopping at large stores raises my blood pressure anyway; to have to deal with a rude and unpleasant employee at the return counter would have made my experience that much worse and might have cemented my decision to stay away from these types of stores at all cost.  However, I was so happy with my return process that I ended up shopping in the store and picking up even more items that day.

There is a skill, an art, to communicating with customers effectively.  To handling their problems with grace so that they are left feeling heard and valued.  Happy customers often equate into repeat customers.  Small and large companies alike should make sure that employees at every level are trained on how to effectively deal with customers.  One mishap and social media sites might be flooded with a “can you believe it?” post.  Customers are more discerning today – they have more and more choices of where to spend their dollars.  Why not train your team to provide the best possible customer service experience so that customers choose to spend their dollars with YOUR company?

Ed4Career offers a complete catalog of customer service courses.  Sharpen your customer service skills and offer your team the training they need to deliver top-notch customer service consistently.  Check our courses out today at https://Ed4Career.com/course-list/customer-service.