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The
word 'service' means at least seven things to businesses who want
to keep their customers happy. But that's just the beginning, the
bottom line to building loyalty.
Research shows that larger organisations are more likely to lose sight
of their customers because their staff don't care about them. Small
businesses may not have the same buying power, resources and clout
as their bigger brothers, but they should use their size to their
advantage. It's a lot easier for a smaller organisation to maintain
close contact with its customers. According to author and professional
speaker, Catherine DeVrye, a business that is perceived as giving
better service can get away with charging around 10% more than their
competitors. They are also likely to grow two times faster than their
competitors. "This is not just soft, touchy feely stuff," says DeVrye.
"Customer service clearly affects the bottom line." DeVrye uses the
following mnemonic to outline her strategies for success in providing
good service.
S Self Esteem
E Exceed Expectations
R Recover
V Vision I Improve
C Care
E Empowerment
S - Self Esteem
Happy employees yield happier customers. Take the Sydney Olympics.
We had 47,000 volunteers on deck, smiling enthusiastically while putting
up with pretty ordinary working conditions (not to mention the lousy
pay!). "Why can't we keep that momentum going?" asks DeVrye. Australians
traditionally confuse service with subservience, and DeVrye recommends
we look at the Macquarie Dictionary's definition of service, which
is 'being useful'. Our Olympic volunteers felt useful. They had an
identity, emphasised by their uniform. But one of the most important
reasons for their continuing enthusiasm was that they were thanked
and appreciated. "Thank You are two of the most under utilised words
in our language," says DeVrye. "It's very important that people feel
good about themselves before they can provide excellent customer service."
The best way for a business manager to do this is to involve staff
as much as possible. "This is a real challenge for any owner/operator,"
says DeVrye. "It's your baby, your business. But making people feel
appreciated comes with solutions, not problems, for your business.
Obviously money (pay) is a factor in helping staff feel appreciated
but it's more important to recognise them in other ways." DeVrye tells
of a whitegoods manufacturer that gave vouchers in appreciation for
staff achievements. Around 80% of the staff didn't spend their vouchers
but kept them as a symbol of recognition. "We all want to feel useful
and make a difference. Since we spend so much time at work, it seems
only sensible that employees approach their everyday tasks feeling
that they are being useful to those they serve." Service leadership
starts at the top. Hands-on experience at the front line is invaluable
experience for management. Treat employees as you want them to treat
customers. Hire positive people and dismiss those who harbour negative
attitudes.
E - Exceed Expectations
Set realistic expectations that you can manage. "If a business says
it's open 24 hours, then I expect to be able to speak to someone at
3am if I have a problem," says DeVrye. So, don't make claims you can't
deliver.
DeVrye sets her voice mail message every evening for the following
day. She announces her whereabouts for that day to give callers an
indication of when she will be unavailable, and able to return calls.
She feels that her clients have confidence in this system because
they are provided with a realistic approximation of when to expect
her returned call. When creating expectations, make sure you are adding
value not unnecessary cost. By diverting her office phone to her mobile
phone, DeVrye adds cost and certainly adds no value if she knows she'll
be in a conference for most of the day and has her mobile switched
off.
R - Recover
You never get a second chance to make a good impression. Most customers
(96%) don't complain. They just take their business elsewhere. Those
4% who do complain are your opportunity to recover from the mistake
and retain the customer by solving their problem. "If you make a mistake,
own up," says DeVrye. "Don't try to cover it up. Complaints are good
news because they provide your best opportunity to turn the customer's
thinking around."
V - Vision
Businesses need to have a vision for the future. Consider what each
customer is worth to your business over their lifetime. What if they
tell six other people about your business?
I - Improve
Continually improve or you'll give the competition a chance to catch
up. "Success today doesn't mean that you'll always be successful,"
warns DeVrye. "The postal service thought it had its market to itself
until couriers came along." We've always done it that way are the
six most expensive words in business, says DeVrye. She tells of an
airline that 'always' used lettuce to garnish its inflight catering
trays. This long time practise was questioned by a new employee who
worked in the garbage department and who had noticed the wastage generated
by most passengers not eating their garnish. By cutting out the garnish,
the airline saved itself $1.5 million a year. What is the equivalent
to the lettuce in your business? If it's not adding value to the customer,
why do it?
C - Care
Australians are demanding higher quality customer service. As we have
heard many times, it costs five times as much to win a new customer
as to keep an existing one. Make it easy for customers to do business
with you.
These are their
minimum expectations:
- Can they get
through on your telephones?
- Are they always
greeted courteously?
- Can they find
a parking spot?
- Are your accounts
easy to understand?
- Do you deliver?
- Are you open
at times convenient to them?
Treat customers as you like to be treated. "In these days of mobile
phones, there's no excuse for keeping people waiting," says DeVrye.
"If you say you'll be there at 9am, the customer expects you there
or at least a phone call to say you're running late. It might be better
to ask if it's OK to meet them between 9 and 9.30am. That way you
have some leeway and the customer is happy if you arrive during the
time specified."
E - Empowerment
"Seventy per cent of complaining customers will buy from you again
if you resolve the problem in their favour. Ninety five per cent will
buy again if you resolve the problem on the spot." - Michael Le Boeuf.
According to DeVrye, empowerment is all about teaching employees to
make decisions that relate directly to the customer.
Who is in the best position to decide whether to provide free drinks
and snacks to passengers on a delayed flight? The flight attendant,
of course!
Why should they have to go through several levels of management to
get permission for this kind of decision? But that is the sort of
barrier employees come up against every day. Perhaps if employers
could allow their staff to be more responsible and to make decisions
for themselves, then we'd have more businesses offering excellent
customer service.
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Catherine DeVrye's book Good Service is Good Business is available
through the DSB Bookshop.
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