Customer Service Inspiration
I was perusing some of my favorite online media outlets this week, and was inspired by some of the articles that I read. Here are a few to help fire up your customer service efforts:
Tom Vander Well writes on the Iowa Biz Blog about his experiences with his local State Farm Agent. Tom’s experience yielded some interesting customer service lessons, like anticipating customer needs or the value of going the extra mile, that can be applied to any job. Read more of the article “Like a Good Neighbor.”
On the Business is Personal blog, Mark Riffey discusses the value of listening and personalizing customer experiences in his article “Taking Care.” He asks how you are taking care of your clientele — are you going over the top to provide an exceptional experience? Are you listening to your customers before speaking or acting on customer feedback?
Blogger Phil Gerbyshak, also known as the “Make it Great Guy,” provides a personal example of great customer service from the company “Lush.” In his article, “Great Customer Service Matters to Lush (and so can you),” Gerbyshak relates his experiences in store and online, including personalized responses to his positive feedback to the company. Gerbyshak’s key take-aways for your company include:
- Train your staff
- Empower your staff to make decisions and help customers
- Make it easy to provide feedback
- Respond to feedback promptly and personally
“Praise Pays: 5 Steps to Inspiring Employees,” an article by Mila D’Antonio on the 1to1 Blog reminded me to think about the simple things that I can quickly implement within my organization with little to no cost. From saying “please” and “thank you” to employees to publicly praising people for a job well done to giving employees a voice within the company, you can quickly inspire employees in their day-to-day lives.
On the Call Center Cafe blog, Gail Yahner writes about the importance of “unplugging” and reigning in meetings. Every day, employees are asked to attend numerous meetings while also completing their work and maintaining service levels. Yahner provides simple tips to help you become a Meeting Hero in her post “Call Center Managers: Plugged In or Just Out of Control?”
What has inspired your customer service efforts this week? How are you empowering employees and optimizing your organization’s service delivery?