At a recent workshop I delivered and facilitated, we had a brainstroming session to answer some key questions about what constitutes excellent customer service. Here are the results of the brainstorming from the attendees.
How can we make it easier for our customers to do business with us?
- Online message board to better communicate calls that are received
- Questions and answers online – online help
- Instant chat lines set up to answer customers concerns
- Increase one stop shopping – get call answered
- Technical staff should get out and meet customers
- Have a profile and complete record of each customer.
- Checklist for people who are at help desk for answers to frequently asked questions and for what questions to ask the customers
- Customer rep for each floor
- Focus groups/Brainstorming sessions with customers
- Very clear instructions for customers. (i.e. little card for instructions)
- Effective service level agreements
- Call back after assistance to see if problem was solved
- Pleasing personality – work on SOFTEN and phone personality
- Have 800 telephone numbers
- Support off hours and weekends 24/7
- Onsite support for each floor and field office
- Develop a pamphlet and online directions on how things work – step by step
- Be accessible to customers
How do we meet and exceed expectations?
- Good timely response
- Have meeting with staff to outline and discuss what excellent customer service means. (Can’t just say quality, but explain what exactly quality means)
- Go beyond solving to explaining and educating the customer
- Acknowledge customers – give full attention and listen
- Contact after the problem has been solved – follow up
- Customer advisory board
- Anticipate problems and solve them before the customer complains
- Underpromise and overdeliver
- Do what you say you are going to do
- Do it when you say you are going to do it
- Do it right the first time
- Keep it simple
- Train and educate customer base on what we can and can’t do
- Think outside of the box
- Customer surveys/focus groups
- Reward exceptional performance for meeting and exceeding expectations
- Determine customer expectations
- Set guidelines for being more reliable, responsive and credible
How do we overcome an attitude of indifference on our part towards the customer?
- Listen to them
- Follow up
- Empower customers – Give them the tools to do things themselves
- Get more customer involvement
- More educational opportunities for the staff
- Incentives
- Prompt assistance
- Ask the right questions to find real problems and concerns
- Customer focus groups
- If cannot resolve customers problem direct it to the right place
- One stop shop – one person should know answers or manage the response to make sure customer gets an answer and is not “tossed around”
- Be sincere and genuine – not just insincere “smiles”
- Be respectful
- Don’t add burden to customers frustration
- Don’t take it personally
- Incentives for the staff
- Customer relations training for everyone at all levels
- Make everyone feel like part of the organization – connecting to the core mission
- Don’t think of customers as being a nuisance. If you do you will inadvertently treat them that way
How do we make the workplace a more positive place to work?
- Improve managers knowledge about the real work environment
- Empowerment for employees to make decisions
- Rewards and strokes – appreciation
- Teambuilding sessions with the whole team
- Open communication
- Clear guidelines
- Say “NO” less often
- More recognition for both internal and external customers
- More open door policy
- Showing the flag – get in front of the customer more often – visit
- Less duplication of effort
- Help manage customer expectations – educate the customer
- More training