Published December 26, 2014
There have been a few times in the last day where I’m reminded of the value of customer service. There is an art to success. It is not merely the words spoken. Instead, it has to do with whether the person seems to truly care about their customers and explores for areas of common interest.
For example, I helped my aunt buy a new car today. She had several specific requirements in addition to a specific car (Mazda 3) such as no interest for 3-5 years, no extras, a low price (which she determined could be found on truecar.com – not that she has ever used a computer…..), color didn’t matter (but it couldn’t be red or blue) and, most importantly, she didn’t want the transaction to take “too long”. The salesman actually did a fabulous job of keeping her engaged in interesting conversation about where she used to live (since they had that in common) while we waited for quite a long while for the person with the final paperwork. I have no doubt that she would have walked out if he hadn’t been as good at customer service! (which would have meant we’d have to start again tomorrow…)
One tip to implement this week:
The nice thing about customer service is that it doesn’t require money or complex requirements; it’s all about attitude. Instead of thinking about what might have gone wrong so far today, look for the positive. Instead of thinking about “your” day, think about your customer’s or colleague’s day. How can you improve upon it? What could you ask them that would let them know you have been paying attention? How can you engage them in conversation? Then, give it a try. I guarantee that even on your first try you’ll likely be successful. People appreciate genuine effort. And who isn’t interested in someone who is interested in them?