You may think customer service requires a huge capital outlay: expensive training, high-falutin' CRM software, and thousands of dollar in expenditures Nonsense! The most important parts of customer service are free.
Here's my baker's dozen list of customer service components that are free:
1. Smiling.
2. Saying "I'm sorry", "We're sorry," or "I apologize"
3. Saying "thank you for your business."
4. Saying "thank you for bringing this problem to my attention"
5. Thanking customers for allowing you to fix their problems
6. Listening
7. Sharing important information in a timely manner
8. Giving customers choices
9. Addressing customers by name
10. Making small talk that build the relationship
11. Relating to customers on a human level
12. Relishing your interactions with your customers
13. Enjoying your work
The point is, customer service is about many things, most of them tied to attentiveness, friendliness and empathy. We all have the capacity to employ and deploy customer service to salve our customers' wounds. It's as much a mindset as it is phraseology.
The same skills you employed while delivering newspapers, selling lemonade or Girl Scout cookies as a kid, will hold you in good stead as a sales or service professional. The best things in life really are free. Now pass them on!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Saying no to customers
By: Patty | 04-06-2008
How do I say no to a customer without losing them as a customer? We manufacture frozen specialty foods & make over 1200 varieties & we are asked each day to produce something slightly different. We say yes to the requests that are feasable, but, about 10% of the time must say no. Some are understanding but, many of them are not and make us feel that we have let them down. Please advise. Thanks!!
Automated customer service
By: ManuelGarcia | 17-11-2007
Hi, I am looking for reliable articles that will give me some information about automated customer service. Can someone pls provide me with a website? Thanks Manuel
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how can I set different ringtones on different contact list
Customer service
By: rubyc | 21-10-2007
what is customer service
Give an example of when u had to deal with a ...
By: mayreeder | 23-07-2007
give an example of when u had to deal with a customer that was upset
Can you provide an example of when you provied ...
By: aisha80 | 10-07-2007
can you provide an example of when you provied excellent customer?what was the situation?what did you do and what was the outcome?
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