Tutorial for Providing
Good Customer Service
5 Ways to Be Effective
A great deal has been written over the years about providing good customer service by companies such as Apple, Amazon, UPS, Southwest Airlines, and others who “get it”. Every year, MSN Money Hall of Fame ranks the top-rated customer satisfaction companies.
In 2011, MSN Money asked IBOPE Zogby International to conduct an online national survey in which 3,022 randomly chosen respondents rated customer service at 150 companies from 15 industries. Once again, Apple, Amazon, UPS and Southwest Airlines were among the Top 10.
So, what do a computer manufacturer, an online retailer, a shipping company and an airline have in common? Each of these companies appears to train their employees on variations of these five guaranteed simple solutions for providing good customer service that are amazingly effective:
1. Empathy - Empathy is the ability to connect with another individual emotionally; to feel what they’re feeling. This is most effectively accomplished with responses of empathetic phrases such as:
“I’d feel that way, too, if it happened to me.”
“I don’t blame you for feeling that way. I’d be as upset as you are in your position.”
“I can see how frustrated you are and I don’t blame you.”
2. Compassion - Compassion is the act of caring about the well-being of another. It is as simple as the guiding principle and timeless wisdom of the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you would have them treat you.
3. Listening – Providing good customer service means that your sole focus is o what your customer is saying. You have to set aside what you’re doing, put down the memo you were reading, disengage from your laptop, abandon your daydream, and focus on the person seeking your help.
4. Gratitude – A feeling of thankful appreciation. It is important to thank your customer every chance you get for their business and their loyalty. This includes thanking them for bringing the problem to your attention.
5. Respect - Treating someone with respect is a matter of your behavior and, frankly, is a reflection of how you feel about yourself. It’s easy to be arrogant and judgmental; it’s more difficult and infinitely more meaningful to maintain your dignity in the face of adversity.
While these simple keys to good customer service may have been forgotten by some, the industry leaders still “get it.” Dr. Maya Angelou said, "People will forget what you say, they will forget what you do, but they never will forget how you make them feel."
This guest post on providing good customer service is provided by the team at Transit Systems, one of the nation’s leading residential and commercial freight companies. TSI specializes in all your furniture and cheap shipping needs. For more information about TSI, visit their website or follow TSI on Twitter @TransitSystems.
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