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Whatever Happened To Customer Service?
Do you remember the last time you went into a shop and the person 'serving' raced over to you, greeted you with a lovely smile, heaps of enthusiasm and said, "Welcome to our store, what can I help you with today?" And then listened attentively to what you had to say? Doesn't happen very often does it? In fact, while I was writing this, I couldn't recall when I had experienced it. I'm sure I must have yet it would have been so long ago, I can't remember. Let me tell you what happened this week? I belong to a well-known trade exchange which I have found very useful for my business. I wanted to purchase a suitcase from a particular store which usually takes trade dollars. From time-time the store will limit the use of trade dollars if they have reached their maximum for the month. Anyhow I quickly discovered this wasn't going to be my lucky day. I walked in and the assistant who was sitting down behind the counter (and remained there), didn't smile. She barely acknowledged me with what looked like a scowl. I had interrupted her reading time. (She was so busy, there was no-one in the store). I then politely (yes I can be polite sometimes) asked her if they were accepting trade dollars as I wanted to purchase a suitcase. She turned around to the owner who was sitting behind her doing some bookwork and repeated my question. The owner stayed seated, didn't look up and told her assistant "No". The assistant then relayed to me that "we are not accepting trade dollars at the moment, but we have good deals for cash". She remained seated all that time. I didn't answer and walked straight out the front door with my cash sitting in my purse. No matter how good their "cash" deals were going to be, if I was going to spend my hard-earned money anywhere, it definitely would not be with them! The 'Colour- blind to service' Copy Centre I had spent thousands of dollars with a printing company over a couple of years. A couple of times I was told by one of the staff, when they've been snowed under "Mary's too busy to speak with you at the moment, I'll have to get her to call you back when she's got more time". Needless to say I didn't remain with them. The 'Can't do that' Café We went to a local café which we hadn't been to for a while and I was told by the waiter that "no, we can't do that". I wanted a particular type of sandwich which wasn't on the set menu. I informed the abrasive young waiter that "yes, you can". That got him scared and the order I wanted turned up within 5 minutes. Are Customers Important to Business? Of course they are. No customers, no business. Yet why are businesses deliberately driving customers away? It's ridiculous isn't it? About The Author Lorraine specialises in working with businesspeople showing them how to dramatically boost their productivity, reduce the stress and the mess in their lives and have more time for enjoying their life. www.office-organiser.com.au, lorraine@office-organiser.com.au
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Passing the After-Sales Test Some time ago a major UK food retailer decided to branch out into non-foods. Well, they all do it now, but in those days it was unheard of. Alongside the fruit and vegetables, meat and tinned foods they sold refrigerators that they had purchased at very low cost from an eastern European company (these were the days when East and West Europe rarely traded with each other).These fridges were very cheap ? and they worked! The retailer passed on much of this low cost to grateful customers who purchased them in great numbers.What the retailer didn't consider was that fridges ? unlike tins of beans ? occasionally need spare parts. They sometimes breakdown or are damaged. What the retailer forgot was AFTER SALES.It was entirely understandable the customers would make the assumption that the retailer would have this in hand. Trouble is, they didn't. The parts - and the engineers who knew who to fit them - were in Poland. So, to many customers, what seemed like a bargain turned out to be a problem. This retailer is now very successfully selling non-food goods alongside food products and I am sure they did the decent thing by refunding their disgruntled fridge customers of many years ago.Not all companies are so good with their customers. Some will sell products as a one-off transaction and will not be interested in what happens from the moment the product has been sold. "We don't do repairs and we don't sell spare parts. Contact the manufacturer." This is not a lot of good if you live in the U.S. and the manufacturer is in Shanghai, for example.Of course, some products and are not designed to be repaired or refurbished. The manufacturers simply expect them to be thrown away at the end of their life, even if that life is relatively short. An example is the microwave oven. Who fixes yours? Nobody, I suspect. They are usually repairable, but rarely is one ever repaired. No, they just end up in landfill alongside many other goods that are also thrown away rather than "made good". No wonder many countries around the world are introducing legislation to limit the extent to which such goods can be tossed away so casually.So, next time you are considering a purchase, especially the purchase of an expensive product or a mechanical product, consider the following tests:1. Is it built to last?2. Does it come with a guarantee?3. Is there evidence of the product's durability?4. Is it designed to be repaired?5. Are spare parts available?Remember also, that repair is better for the environment than replacement. Of course, old products do need to be replaced eventually, but why replace prematurely just because you have purchased a product that failed the tests above?One group of products that pass these tests with flying colors is Insect-o-Cutor Fly Killers. Have a look at www.flykiller.net and you will see them there.Let's put them to the above tests:1. Insectocutor Fly Killers are made of steel. Their solid construction is one of their best selling points.2. They come with a 5-year guarantee3. Go to any restaurant or commercial kitchen and you will see Insectocutor fly killers that have been there for 20 years ? and still going strong!4. Insectocutor fly killers are constructed in a logical way making repairs straightforward. Insectocutor also provides support for repairs.5. Insect-o-Cutor sells a range of spare parts for all of their fly killers ? even for models that are no longer in production. And their best UK distributor, Arkay Hygiene ? at www.eeeee.co.uk - is always happy to provide these spares as well as replacement u.v. lamps and glueboardsAfter sales is just as much about the customer as it is about the product. Making a sale is not the end, it is just the beginning. 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As the person who was going to check me in approached, he smiled (which shocked me) and said, "Hello Mr. Galler," which shocked me further as I don't have a clue how he knew my name ? obviously there was some way of identifying my car, and therefore me, at a distance. "How was your trip; was everything OK with your car?" he inquired in a friendly, personal tone. "Everything was fine I replied" "Great ? I hope we'll see you back soon. There is some bottled water in the cooler over there for you" he said as he directed me towards the shuttle bus to the terminal. If Everyone Thinks They Give Good Service, Why Do We As Customers Think Its Poor! First of all let's look at what customer service is all about. Customer Service: Everyone is Fighting Their Own Personal Battles Relationships... Money... Health..The Past...Failure..Mental and Spiritual Battles..Time Constraints...Professional pressures.. From Disgruntled to Champion - How to Turn an Unhappy Client Into Your Best Customer It's a salesperson's worst nightmare- the phone call that comes in from a disgruntled customer. Not only does it create extra work for you, but it cuts into your valuable selling time. But believe it or not, this is actually a tremendous sales opportunity and a chance for you to become a hero. Here's how to make this situation work for you: Make Sure You Get The Customer Perspective Businesses that fail, often forget to seek out the customer perspective. I have talked to some folks at businesses that were less than succesful, and when asked if they actively seek out customer comments, the answer invariably is no. Why don't they do that? Why not get the customer perspective? Saying Thank You to Your Clients "Thanking your customers" - Why you should do it and how... Difficult Customers - Theres No Such Thing A couple of years ago I had a call from a Customer ServiceManager working in the paper industry. He wanted me to run aseminar for his team, on "How to Deal with DifficultCustomers". Say It With Humor When you own a business, you may find yourself in situations that may be a little tricky to handle. Dealing with customers who steal is one of them. Dont Be Afraid To Give Problem Customers The Boot Q: In a recent column you made the point that the customer is always right, which I agree with. However, in the same column you also said that it is sometimes necessary give problem customers the boot. If the customer is always right, at what point do you think they become so problematic that you should stop doing business with them? -- Gary M. Listening to Customers - 5 Tips In a strange juxtapositioning of articles, this month's UK 'Management Today' has three pieces, relating to the importance of listening to customers. What Do They Want Anyway? 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