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Jun 20 2013

Do’s and don’ts for delivering excellent customer care

Excellent customer care is at the heart of every successful organisation and is vital for your organisation's good reputation. We have all been on the receiving end of poor customer care, and this leaves us with a negative impression of the organisation in question, and in many cases will result in us not returning to use them again.

Here's a list of our do's and don'ts for delivering excellent customer care:

Do's and don'ts

• Listen to your customers - ask their opinion and act on the response, where appropriate. If you choose not to respond to a suggestion, explain to them the reason why.
• Respond quickly - at the Centre we always try to respond to customers within 24 hours of contact. If you give a specified response time to customer communication, try to stick to this, and if this is not possible, send the customer a holding response until you are able to reply properly.
• Thank them for complaints, as well as compliments. Always acknowledge customer contact.
• Go the extra mile - whether that's ordering a special lunch to fit a dietary requirement, or supplying treats in the loos (as we do at the Centre!). People will remember these special touches.
• Show a personal interest - ask them how their weekend was or whether they have any holiday plans for the summer. People like to talk about themselves!
• Ensure you have a complaints procedure in place and that it is followed by all staff. Complaints should be handled professionally and usually dealt with by the most senior person in the organisation. Think about whether compensation is appropriate - often it is worth offering an unhappy customer something if it means it will strengthen your relationship with them.
• Never blame another staff member for a mistake. Even if it is someone else's fault, do not let the customer know this. You can use "we" which will avoid you having to personally take the blame, but essentially you are representing the organisation and will have to accept the brunt of the customer's disgruntlement.
• Do not moan, argue or get annoyed in front of a customer. Even if a situation frustrates you, try to remain calm in front of the customer. I recently witnessed staff in a shop moaning about the management, loudly and in front of customers, and it left me with a very poor impression of that shop.
• Never ignore a customer who has got in touch with you. Whether or not you agree with what they are saying, or if you feel that their communication does not warrant a response, you should always get back in touch, even if it is just a simple "thank you".
• Always personalise responses. I find it very rude when I have sent someone an email and the response I receive is "Dear customer" or "Dear Sir/Madam". You should always use the customer's name in emails and letters.
• If you are sending a copy and paste email to a customer from a template, ensure that you remove the formatting and you personalise the email (as above), so it's not obvious to them that you have just sent them a standard response email. No-one wants to see their company name in Arial when the rest of the email is in Times New Roman!
• Always be polite and professional yet friendly. How friendly you are will probably be dictated by your organisation's brand. If you are unsure as to what is appropriate, ask your manager.

If you wish to know more about customer care, the Centre runs a one day training course in Customer care and telephone skills.