We have been hearing this phrase time and again. What do you think about it?
I once headed a CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM and trully I must say it was a mind buggling thing, why? because it is really hard to predict what customers really want sometimes. Do you see a problem in my statement, well, this is just my opening remarks, please read thru my article so you may clearly understand what I meant about it.
I faced different customers day-in and out during that time. I said that customers are really hard to predict, because there are times they just don't know what they trully want. I am saying this in general, but my observation was, customers demand too much because they think they are always right. Well, this time, I will say that it was I who went wrong, and I have a reason why I said this.
I reviewed every customer situation we have encountered, as the Team Leader of the group, it was my responsibility to understand what the customers were saying, its not what they were complaining about. The customers were just merely sharing with us what their expectations was and we hardly understood that and took it as a COMPLAINT, well, yes maybe that was how it sounded. But then again, I told myself, there will be no FIRE if there was NO SMOKE at all.
I did some strategic moves with my team and we all evaluated the type of customers we have all encountered every month. The reason I thought of doing this was to make sure that we provide management something that they can also assess in order to understand our customers more, in that sense we were the VOICE of the customers.
I did not took it NEGATIVELY, but in fact I took it a challenge. I challenged myself not to get frustrated, not be depressed and most of all NOT TO BE AFFECTED by the situation, rather I took things into my hands and thought of it thru and thru.
When I started to listen to my team and with their observations regarding our customers, it was then that I realized it was US who lacked the ability to understand them, so I did a lot of research particularly that pertained to CUSTOMERS BEHAVIOUR.
Customers want to be treated SPECIAL, yes, I believe they deserve that.
Customers want to be heard, thats TRUE as well.
Customers want SOLUTION to a Problem, again this is TRUE
Customers wants to be SATISFIED, accepted.
Now, the question is, how do we handle these? As we deal with CUSTOMERS, we must understand that being CUSTOMER ORIENTED is a KEY in uderstanding them. If you are working in an environment where you deal with CUSTOMERS on a daily basis, then YOU must be COMPETENT enough to handle them. When I realized that me and my team were not COMPETENT enough, we developed our skills and competency in handling our customers, making sure we deeply understand what they want and how we can resolve it.
Once you have the right skills and competencies, and equip yourself well, you can now evaluate and process what your customers are trying to tell you.
Here are some of my personal tips I would love to share with you.
1. When you expalin COMPANY POLICIES to your customers, make them understand the reason why it was written in the first place. Don't argue with them because you will not reach into a peaceful solution. be creative and as much as possible if there will be deviations from the policies, YOU must inform your SUPERIOR immediately and do not decide for yourslef alone.
2. Listen properly and be attentive to details. This is one reason why customers tend to be mad due to the fact that employees do not LISTEN to them clearly, to avoid this from happening, while attending to a CUSTOMER, clear your thoughts, have a pen to write down information and repeat what the CUSTOMER has mentioned in a polite manner to make sure that you gor it right. DON'T PRETEND YOU UNDERSTOOD what they said.
3. Give a solution. A solution that will be a WIN-WIN situation both for your customer and your company.
4. If POLICIES are not helping to resolve issues, discuss this with your SUPERIOR and find ways on how it can be improved. Remeber, POLICIES were carefully done to protect the companies business, so better make sure that this will be properly discussed to avoid damages.
5. Never frown in front of your customer and NEVER make excuses.
These are just some tips, to help you competently, you may also read books that will guide you and help you improve your CUSTOMER SKILLS.
Remember, YOU yourself is a CUSTOMER, you also want to be treated well, so YOU should also understand your customer better.
Here is a video link to have a better understanding on aving good customer service skills.
Let me wrap up my article, now I can answer the question IS CUSTOMER ALWAYS RIGHT? For me, its not that they are ALWAYS RIGHT, but its their RIGHT to be given CARE AND GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Thank you and I hope you have enjoyed reading my article and learned from it.
For any questions, you may email me at eventasticconsultancy@gmail.com.
Tiny Garner has a solid 20 year work experience having handled key positions and with vast experience in EVENT MANAGEMENT, CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SALES AND MARKETING MANAGEMENT. She has recently started her own business called EVENTASTIC CONSULTANCY AND MARKETING SERVICES to assist companies with their event and marketing needs. To get in touch with Tiny Garner, you may contact her at 09159088295 or you may click the links below.
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