Are you doing a good job?

How do you know you are doing a good job at customer service? More to the point how do you know you are not doing a good job at customer service. It may be easier then you think to tell. Your customers tell you over and over again if you are giving them good service or not.

The question is how do the tell you? Some make it easy and give you a direct compliment. My goal every day is to get at least one direct compliment even if it is something as simple as thank you for the quick response.

The other great way to tell is if you the customer comes back. If you are not providing good customer service your customers will not come back. If you are providing great service, not only will your customers come back, but they will come back every time they need anything.

Sit back and asses your customer service based on these two indicators. Set goals with each and find ways to make sure that the goals are met.

Customer Service vs. Sales

Good sales and customer service are really the same thing. When you attempt to make a sale you are offering a customer something they want or need. In customer service you are addressing a customer’s want or need. If you can serve your customer your customer will buy that service.

Unfortunately many companies look at this in a different way. They want their sales people to sell you on something instead of offering you a solution. Then many times it is taken a step further by asking customer service specialists to sell you something.

From my experience if you give service first the customer will give you the sale. If your customer likes you and trusts you they will tell you what you can offer them. If you know what to offer the sale is made for you.

Here are some things that you can do to let the customer
bring the sales to you.

1. Think service first. Let your customers tell you what
   they need.


2. Personalize. If a customer gives you pieces of personal information commit them to memory and bring them up later. This will help build trust.


3. Know your products. If you don’t know your products
   you can’t tell a customer how a product will fit their needs.

One thing I recommend is to keep a record. Use Excel or Access to keep track of every contact with a customer. You can make notes of personal information, and track purchases to anticipate future needs.

Buy Microsoft Office software here.