Quality and Integrity in Customer Service Must Exist Together
Dennis AuBuchon
June 17, 2010
Customer service is an entity in business that everybody knows exists but the question is what it represents and what should customers expect when they receive customer service. Today customer service is something on which businesses need to focus. Focusing on this aspect may be the one thing that keeps them in business or the one thing that causes their business to fail. Each individual knows what they expect when they contact customer service. What is difficult is the fact that businesses may not always know exactly what each customer expects. Reading the expectations of customers and what they want is difficult at best.
The key to understanding the function of customer service is analyzing the data as to whether there is an increase or decrease in customers returning to their store. The chief factor may be that they were dissatisfied which their customer service experience. Businesses need to look at the customer service operations and ask themselves what they would expect from their customer service department or activity. Once this is accomplished they need to make changes so that what they expect happens. The key thing to remember in business is that quality and integrity principles are something that customers expect more and more in this economic environment. There is much competition and those businesses that provide these principles in their operations will be more successful than their competitors provided that the level goes about what their competitors are offering.
Quality is important in customer service for without it customers may be lost and new customers may not come to pass. Customer service is a critical aspect of running a business. It is the one thing that either makes a good impression or a bad impression on customers. In businesses there are departments or locations that are titled customer service but customer service is more than a department. Customer service involves every employee of a business and their attitude and willingness or unwillingness to satisfy customer needs.
The quality of customer service involves activity before, during and after a sale. When customers are unhappy about a product or service they have purchased it is the customer service they receive that makes all the difference. Many of us have our own concept of what customer service means to us as individuals. The detail of customer service changes based on the detail and complexity of the product or service we are purchasing. Quality in customer service is something we as consumers should demand as we have a right to expect it. As a business person customer service is something that has an impact on either retaining customers or losing them.
The definition of customer service as defined by www.dictionary.com is assistance and other resources that a company provides to the people who buy or use its products or services. This definition says it all. Customer service involves not only people who buy a company´s products or services but also who use them. True customer service will have a positive impact on retaining customers while bad customer service will in all likelihood cause a company to lose customers. While the definition cited in this paragraph identifies the characteristics of customer service I am going to take it one step further.
Customer service also involves helping people find the products or services they want or need. When a customer walks through the doors of a business they should be met with employees who will ask them if they can help them find what they are looking for. Many times I have walked into businesses and this does not happen. This is not good customer service. While some people may not want to be met by someone as you walk in the door of a business it makes good business sense to do so. People can defer the help if they do not want or need it. Other times while looking for a product and you have a question it is hard to find someone to help. This may not always be the case but when a customer has questions there should be people readily available to help them.
Another aspect of customer service is having the people who know the products in the department they are working. This can make the difference between making a sale and leaving without a purchase. Many companies train their employees well in their products so they can answer customer questions. Another part of this aspect is the integrity factor. Those answering questions should be truthful in the statements they make as it will reflect on the company when their employees make false statements. Making false statements is not something companies should not want to take place. The statements may not be recognized to be bad ones until after the sale when customers become dissatisfied with the product or service they have purchased. I have purchased products in the past and have asked questions about different brands and was not given an honest answer. The individual either did not know the right answer or he was trying to sell a specific brand. This has caused me to discontinue being a customer for this company.
Another example of poor customer service is when you ask to speak to a store or department manager about an issue and they do not have the courtesy to respond to you in person. They delegate the action to a subordinate. Some stores have the motto customer service comes first but sometimes this motto is ignored at the highest level in a company or department store. A company must pay attention to their customers and adhere to the concept that customer service comes first. Companies must remember that they would not exist without their customers. If they have poor customer service which involves the quality of it their customers will not stay long and they will communicate their experiences to their family and friends. This is the kind of publicity a company does not wish to have.
There is a different side to customer service that many may not realize. Customer service does not have to be a face to face encounter. Many more avenues are now available to us than before. Customer service in the past was limited to face to face or on the telephone. Today there is the Internet. Both these avenues will be discussed in the next couple of paragraphs including the good and the bad characteristics of each method.
Many companies now have toll free numbers to contact them with questions. This information can be found on many products that we now buy. When I make a telephone call to a company I expect to talk to an individual not a recording with press this button for this or press this button for that. People like to talk to individuals not recordings. This reflects poorly on the company as in many cases it turns people off and companies may end up losing sales. It is true that having individual answering telephone calls may be somewhat costly but companies should think of it as providing quality service to their customers. Having good quality customer service is having individuals answer the telephone or at least have the option to talk to someone about your problem or question. There are examples where the choices put you in contact with specific departments and this is great.
Many stores also now have web sites and options to contact them. These options are great to get in contact with the main site for a company. It gets information directly to personnel without going through a local store. The key for this option is to voice your opinion about the service you received or the lack of it. The response you receive should address your issue and what action, if any, will be taken. A proper response from company officials would include such items but if the response tends to ignore your complaints then it would be considered bad customer service. Sometimes customers have issues with products that they cannot get an appropriate response from local stores. When a customer receives a product that they have ordered which is damaged an appropriate response from a store should not be to refund part of the purchase price. Customers should demand the quality product for which they paid. It is also inappropriate to offer another higher priced product to replace the damaged one and expect the customer to pay the difference. Both of these actions are inappropriate and are prime examples of poor customer service.
The above examples that have been identified in this article represent what customer service is all about. Customers who order or purchase products or services have a right to expect a quality product or service. The true test of the customer service a company has is in the service after the sale. When customers are not satisfied with a product or service they should voice their opinions loudly and those in management at the corporate or local level should be willing to listen. Quality is important in all business aspects but the quality received by companies through their customer service efforts speaks volumes about how important they feel their customers are to their business.
In the end the principles of quality is important in everything a company does. The aspect of quality customer service is something that companies must have in place and it is something customers have a right to expect. Customer service is something that exists in every company and organization. The quality of what these companies and organizations furnish will determine how successful they are and whether they will continue to exist. Quality is important more so today than ever before with problems with products across wide spectrums. Companies must put their customers first. Statements made about the importance of customer service must be matched with action.
The key to understanding the function of customer service is analyzing the data as to whether there is an increase or decrease in customers returning to their store. The chief factor may be that they were dissatisfied which their customer service experience. Businesses need to look at the customer service operations and ask themselves what they would expect from their customer service department or activity. Once this is accomplished they need to make changes so that what they expect happens. The key thing to remember in business is that quality and integrity principles are something that customers expect more and more in this economic environment. There is much competition and those businesses that provide these principles in their operations will be more successful than their competitors provided that the level goes about what their competitors are offering.
Quality is important in customer service for without it customers may be lost and new customers may not come to pass. Customer service is a critical aspect of running a business. It is the one thing that either makes a good impression or a bad impression on customers. In businesses there are departments or locations that are titled customer service but customer service is more than a department. Customer service involves every employee of a business and their attitude and willingness or unwillingness to satisfy customer needs.
The quality of customer service involves activity before, during and after a sale. When customers are unhappy about a product or service they have purchased it is the customer service they receive that makes all the difference. Many of us have our own concept of what customer service means to us as individuals. The detail of customer service changes based on the detail and complexity of the product or service we are purchasing. Quality in customer service is something we as consumers should demand as we have a right to expect it. As a business person customer service is something that has an impact on either retaining customers or losing them.
The definition of customer service as defined by www.dictionary.com is assistance and other resources that a company provides to the people who buy or use its products or services. This definition says it all. Customer service involves not only people who buy a company´s products or services but also who use them. True customer service will have a positive impact on retaining customers while bad customer service will in all likelihood cause a company to lose customers. While the definition cited in this paragraph identifies the characteristics of customer service I am going to take it one step further.
Customer service also involves helping people find the products or services they want or need. When a customer walks through the doors of a business they should be met with employees who will ask them if they can help them find what they are looking for. Many times I have walked into businesses and this does not happen. This is not good customer service. While some people may not want to be met by someone as you walk in the door of a business it makes good business sense to do so. People can defer the help if they do not want or need it. Other times while looking for a product and you have a question it is hard to find someone to help. This may not always be the case but when a customer has questions there should be people readily available to help them.
Another aspect of customer service is having the people who know the products in the department they are working. This can make the difference between making a sale and leaving without a purchase. Many companies train their employees well in their products so they can answer customer questions. Another part of this aspect is the integrity factor. Those answering questions should be truthful in the statements they make as it will reflect on the company when their employees make false statements. Making false statements is not something companies should not want to take place. The statements may not be recognized to be bad ones until after the sale when customers become dissatisfied with the product or service they have purchased. I have purchased products in the past and have asked questions about different brands and was not given an honest answer. The individual either did not know the right answer or he was trying to sell a specific brand. This has caused me to discontinue being a customer for this company.
Another example of poor customer service is when you ask to speak to a store or department manager about an issue and they do not have the courtesy to respond to you in person. They delegate the action to a subordinate. Some stores have the motto customer service comes first but sometimes this motto is ignored at the highest level in a company or department store. A company must pay attention to their customers and adhere to the concept that customer service comes first. Companies must remember that they would not exist without their customers. If they have poor customer service which involves the quality of it their customers will not stay long and they will communicate their experiences to their family and friends. This is the kind of publicity a company does not wish to have.
There is a different side to customer service that many may not realize. Customer service does not have to be a face to face encounter. Many more avenues are now available to us than before. Customer service in the past was limited to face to face or on the telephone. Today there is the Internet. Both these avenues will be discussed in the next couple of paragraphs including the good and the bad characteristics of each method.
Many companies now have toll free numbers to contact them with questions. This information can be found on many products that we now buy. When I make a telephone call to a company I expect to talk to an individual not a recording with press this button for this or press this button for that. People like to talk to individuals not recordings. This reflects poorly on the company as in many cases it turns people off and companies may end up losing sales. It is true that having individual answering telephone calls may be somewhat costly but companies should think of it as providing quality service to their customers. Having good quality customer service is having individuals answer the telephone or at least have the option to talk to someone about your problem or question. There are examples where the choices put you in contact with specific departments and this is great.
Many stores also now have web sites and options to contact them. These options are great to get in contact with the main site for a company. It gets information directly to personnel without going through a local store. The key for this option is to voice your opinion about the service you received or the lack of it. The response you receive should address your issue and what action, if any, will be taken. A proper response from company officials would include such items but if the response tends to ignore your complaints then it would be considered bad customer service. Sometimes customers have issues with products that they cannot get an appropriate response from local stores. When a customer receives a product that they have ordered which is damaged an appropriate response from a store should not be to refund part of the purchase price. Customers should demand the quality product for which they paid. It is also inappropriate to offer another higher priced product to replace the damaged one and expect the customer to pay the difference. Both of these actions are inappropriate and are prime examples of poor customer service.
The above examples that have been identified in this article represent what customer service is all about. Customers who order or purchase products or services have a right to expect a quality product or service. The true test of the customer service a company has is in the service after the sale. When customers are not satisfied with a product or service they should voice their opinions loudly and those in management at the corporate or local level should be willing to listen. Quality is important in all business aspects but the quality received by companies through their customer service efforts speaks volumes about how important they feel their customers are to their business.
In the end the principles of quality is important in everything a company does. The aspect of quality customer service is something that companies must have in place and it is something customers have a right to expect. Customer service is something that exists in every company and organization. The quality of what these companies and organizations furnish will determine how successful they are and whether they will continue to exist. Quality is important more so today than ever before with problems with products across wide spectrums. Companies must put their customers first. Statements made about the importance of customer service must be matched with action.
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