customer service Archives - Page 2 of 3

Which is Worth More: Client Satisfaction or Client Loyalty?

June 25, 2019

Which is Worth More: Client Satisfaction or Client Loyalty? A happy, loyal client might find a lower price elsewhere, but they are more likely to stay with you than a client who is merely satisfied. A loyal client will drive the extra miles when a competitor opens closer to home. They’ll be willing to work virtually or some other way. A loyal client knows that when you make a mistake, it’s not typical. Loyal clients are more likely to tell you when they’re unhappy and allow you the chance to make things right. If your goal is to satisfy clients,
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There Are Two Types of Clients

June 4, 2019

Every business has two types of clients: Internal and external. External clients are the ones who purchase our products and services. As business owners, we place a huge emphasis on providing excellent customer service to keep those clients happy and to keep them coming back. We can’t forget, though, the importance of providing excellent service to our internal clients as well. Who are our internal clients? These are the individuals who play an important role in keeping your business running smoothly. If you are an accountant, your internal clients are those who you need to do your job. Consider the
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Ongoing Training Is A Must

May 28, 2019

Ongoing Training Is A Must. You can’t just provide first-day training to team members and leave it at that. To successfully deliver excellent customer service, you must be consistent and persistent and provide ongoing training. This doesn’t require huge time commitments. After all, education experts say short and frequent messages have more lasting results and are more effective that longer and less frequent training lessons. Short inspirational messages, weekly tips, short educational videos and employee newsletters are all ways you can provide ongoing training in small doses. For more information, please go to www.getoffthewheel.com
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Get Ahead with These Not-So-Secret Secrets

April 23, 2019

Get Ahead with These Not-So-Secret Secrets What does it take to get ahead? Investor’s Business Daily identified these ten traits of those who seem to have the knack for turning dreams into reality: A positive attitude. Where your mind goes, you go. If you think you’ll fail, chances are good that you will. If you believe you’ll succeed, you’re halfway home. A definitive goal. “I want to be a success” is a wish, not a goal. “I want to become a junior partner within two years”—that’s a goal. Write down exactly what you want to achieve—and an action plan
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10 Questions to Help You Elicit the Best from Your Workforce

April 9, 2019

10 Questions to Help You Elicit the Best from Your Workforce Your success as a leader—and your organization’s success, as well—depend on your ability to get the best from your employees. You can’t expect it to come automatically, though. You have to search carefully for each person’s exceptional talents. For every person you lead, see how thoroughly you can answer the questions below: How well do you really know the employee? What can you quickly recall of the employee’s family, personal goals, hobbies, or other outside interests? What do you know specifically about his or her career goals, both short
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Seize Opportunities to Review and Retrain

April 2, 2019

Seize Opportunities to Review and Retrain Why ask why? How do you respond when a team member makes a mistake? Do you know what will happen if your immediate response is to scold an employee or punish them in some way? Next time they make a mistake instead of coming clean they might just opt to cover it up. Don’t beat up your team members when they make an error. Instead, use the situation as an opportunity to review and even retrain. Take time to examine the system you have in place. There just might be room for improvement. There
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Encourage Peer Recognition

March 25, 2019

Encourage Peer Recognition Peer recognition brings team members together and reinforces the principles of great customer service. Have you considered awarding “Atta Boys” and “Atta Girls” to team members based on nominations from their colleagues? Zappos has several ways of honoring standout performers who best epitomize the company’s culture and spirit of customer service. Their peer rewards programs give team members the opportunity to recognize and encourage one another. An example is the “Zollars” program where team members can award one another “Zappos dollars” by filling out a form describing why their colleague is deserving of recognition. Zollars can be
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Ask “What Can I Do To Make You Happy?”

March 18, 2019

Ask “What Can I Do To Make You Happy?” Customer service is really put to the test when something goes wrong. What makes an exceptional business better than the rest is the ability to recover from these setbacks. In the past I made an online purchase and received a package with missing parts. I immediately emailed the company’s customer service department. I got an email response from a customer service representative within the hour. “Please just let us know what you would like us to do and we will happily be of service,” the representative wrote. In other words: “What
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Give Team Members Something to Remember

March 12, 2019

“Three to Remember” I’m a strong believer in the KISS Rule: Keep It Simple Silly. It is easier for our team members to remember our priorities for Out-Of-This-World Customer Service if we keep our expectations simple and clear. I developed our “Three to Remember” to reinforce the most important principles for serving our clients. We share these often with our team members. Team members learn our “Three to Remember” their first day on the job and will see the “Three to Remember” time and time again in internal emails, company newsletters and repeated in our team meetings. Our “Three to
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Five Simple Words

February 26, 2019

Five Simple Words It’s a phrase that everyone from newspaper reporters to mental health counselors and even law enforcement use to encourage people to talk: “Tell me more about that.” Using this simple statement — “Tell me more about that” — gets the person you are talking with to say more and really gets a conversation rolling. It’s a short, five-word phrase that encourages clients to elaborate, explain and clarify what they are telling you. Practice using this statement with friends, family, colleagues, or when you meet someone new. “I’m not sure what that is exactly. Tell me
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