Once again, after a recent experience in the silver tube (aka: airplane) I’m reminded that a major success ingredient for any organization is the attitude of the people employed within it. The attitude helps drive and determine what type of customer service is delivered. Airlines are easy to pick on, as it seems that on any given day or flight, you could have a good experience on the first part of your trip, and on the next flight, even with the same airline, be trapped in the clutches of a flight crew that seems bound and determined to make the experience as miserable as possible at 37,000 feet.
I open up with this recent incident for one central reason: I’m reminded that customer service, especially in this changed economy, is of major importance and something that far too many organizations continue to overlook or frankly ignore. If a company focuses continually on exceptional customer service the rewards are many. Get it wrong, and the penalty is negative word-of-mouth, no referrals, and less repeat business.
In this message I thought it would be helpful to put together a quick and helpful checklist titled, Seven Smart Tips to Improve the Customer Experience. This simple checklist can serve as a powerful reminder of what you or your organization is doing well or conversely, it may act as a wake-up call to inspire you or those you work with to make some positive new changes.
#1. Hire friendly people that enjoy what they do
#2. Make it easy for people to do business with you
#3. Be grateful each day for new and repeat customers who choose to do business with you
#4. Send thank you notes – they are still a HUGELY effective way to connect with others
#5. Mystery shop your competition for ideas that both work well and things that don’t
#6. Encourage and reward feedback –good and bad- from your customers (see point #3 again)
#7. Always be on the lookout for ways to save people time by offering more products and services versus them looking around or shopping with others
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