Customer Service Blog - Building Superior Customer Service Culture

Guest page - This page is all about YOU - Have your say

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:16:00 +0000

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Building Customer Service Culture- Culture Foundation

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 21:12:00 +0000

Mancepsadminophobia - Fear of Customer Service

Very sad thing is that despite of the fact that negligence of Customer Service is one of the top ten common reasons for business failure, yet talking about it became a Taboo theme.
Everywhere Customer Service is mentioned, panic arises and attention moves to another subject.
With this post we are getting back on track towards Superior Customer Service and Building organizational customer service culture.
Before we start ,I would like to mention an unfortunate case scenario:

Case Scenario -Start up Failure

Starting up a new business is one of the most stressful events in ones life.
Weather you already have a running business and expanding or you're just starting a "brand spanking new" one, getting it right first time before the launch of the Business, is a daunting task ahead.
Just for the sake of this exercise, out many, I will just briefly mention few tasks and probably give you a worst case scenario :

It starts with Developing your business plan and financial plan, deciding on a legal structure,arranging setup finances, Registering your business.
Before you get any further ,you have to obtain all necessary licenses or permits,setting up your website and online shop.
Organizing insurance from personal,business insurance to Public liability and professional indemnity.

Arrange for cash flow shortfall, business credit card,an online banking solution.
Set up your financial record keeping system, invoicing system,cash flow tracking system.

Choose premises, then negotiate a lease or purchase agreement,setup accounts for connection of utilities such as electricity, water, telephone shop fitout and purchase business equipment.
                    You are almost done with setup and you are getting ready for production or service delivery. You manage to get products and services delivery system set and off you go.
                    You need help , you need staff. Sure no problem. You need it asap and you get few close friends,maybe family members and few people from an Employment agency. You want it get going as soon as possible and get that cash flow circulation. Everything goes good so far.
                    As an owner, pretty much last thing on our mind, is the Organizational Customer Service Culture and Superior Customer Service Delivery,right?

                    Suddenly, out of nowhere, few months down the track...complaints keep piling up, service wasn't up to customers expectations, late deliveries, terrible service, faulty product with unsolved complaints, employees don't care and owner is too busy to fix the issues. Drama is developing as there is more problems with the cash flow, quality and value.
Here comes the " Blame game". It wasn't my fault it was his! Bad word about the business spreads fast and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
                     Soon after that ...its all over.

If we survive this stage and manage to fix the issues, get out of mud and continue delivering without any change in Business Culture, what is going to happen?
Problems are still there, lurking and waiting to explode but next time lot stronger.
Are we able to keep covering up and get job done in a superior fashion? I don't think so.

Amongst many ,the most common causes of Business failure in early stages is the:
Lack of cash flow, Inadequate marketing and market research, failure to provide superior service delivery and understand Customers needs and buying habits,poor leadership,failure to employ suitable staff and "letting go" on incompetent staff, failure to invest in Customer Service including Customer Service education,training and building Organizational Customer Service Culture,legal issues and financial issues in a partnership and lack of innovation.

I am not going into Legal causes of Business failure and I am not going to talk about financial reasons for business fiasco.
The most surprising, is that in top ten of all common reasons for any start up to fail is failure to provide superior service delivery, understand Customers needs and buying habits and poor leadership.
I am sorry to say this, but there is no excuse for Failure to invest in building Superior Customer Service and Organizational Customer Service Culture .
Superior Customer Service Delivery.Development of Organizational Customer Service Culture should be included in every Business Plan.
Organizational Customer Service culture is one of the key components of Superior Customer Service:

Organizational Customer Service Culture,Value,Service Delivery,Effective Communication,Innovation,Improvement,Service Recovery

Regardless if your Company is in start-up mode or its running for 10 or 20 years, if you have vision to achieve superior service delivery and not in the process of building Customer Service Culture , you need to act yesterday.

What is Organizational Customer Service Culture?

Just to get it more interesting, lets break it down into Customer Service and Culture.

We already know what is Customer Service,right?

Non-bias,Consistent and cost effective Provision and delivery (of higher value than expected) to every person in need of your products or Services in timely manner ensuring quality, accuracy and impeccable after sales support.

So what is Culture?

I used traditional interpretation of Culture.

It is a learned pattern of behavior which brings us together and ways in which we live our life.

The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.

Connections: the arts, the humanities, intellectual achievement; literature, music, painting, philosophy, the performing arts.
Connecting human to culture: intellectual/artistic awareness, education, cultivation, enlightenment, good taste, taste, refinement, polish, sophistication.
Culture and civilization: society, way of life, lifestyle; customs, traditions, heritage, habits, ways, mores, values.
Culture and cultivation, farming; agriculture, husbandry, agronomy.

Lets join them together:

The Organizational habit in Provision and delivery of Consistent and cost effective products or Services, in Traditional timely manner ensuring quality, accuracy , added higher value than expected and impeccable after sales support.

Organizational Customer Service Culture starts with:

Foundation - A refined collective understanding and appreciation of Customer Service attitude and behaviors.

Building Blocks - Aligned Company and individual habits and Company vision in delivering Customer Service.

Support fame - Organizational Customer Service Education and training.

Customer Service Culture Foundation

Before we start building a frame and putting blocks together, as for every building and every structure, we must build the ground and foundation. Once you have the foundation right, structural building blocks fit in place just where they belong.

There is 11 main key elements of Customer Service Culture foundation, which supports the development of organizational habits and tradition.

Aligned Company and personal Values and behaviors : Live,Love, Breathe Customer Service - Respect,Growth,Efficiency,Trust,Mutual Interest,Working together

High level of Passion and love about product or services that you are delivering - Believe in your product and encourage employee involvement in product and services development as much as possible.From CEO to front line employees high level of product and services knowledge is a must : Know your products and services inside out.

High level of tolerance - Everybody makes mistakes. Learning from your mistakes is high value asset. Make mistake,correct it and learn from it.

High level of collaboration - Internal Customer Service. Encourage and Involve all company areas in Business development.Acknowledge and take serious consideration of all suggestions.

Leadership instead of Management - Leading instead of Managing:Lead,motivate,encourage,empower! Lead by example and work with your staff. Encourage leadership involvement in working with front line personnel on regular basis. Avoid Micromanagement and totalitarian management system.

Commitment to Customers and Customer Service delivery - Customer is a King! Policy that should be transparent from top to bottom of the ladder.

Clear Company objectives ,strategies and goals :Company objectives, should be employee objectives too. Company development depends on staff involvement.You can fulfill your vision and company mission only if each and every staff member has a direct input in Company`s vision.

Invest in your staff -Look after and Invest in your staff development and career advancement. Treat them as part of your family - you will have the same treatment.Trust them and they will trust you.Protect them and they will act in your best interest.

Make promise- Keep promise : Customer Service is built on trust between your Company and your Customers. If you make promises- make sure you deliver.
Maintaining superior Company Image, reputation and Integrity - Company image is of paramount importance which goes hand in hand with Company reputation and integrity. Image ,reputation and integrity is the deciding factor in gaining trust from your Customers.
Open door policy for ideas: Encouraging and acknowledging your employees to submit their ideas, issues and business weaknesses is your asset - not burden

I will go over 11 key foundation elements in more details in my next post " Building the Foundation".

I will leave you with following thought:

Don't think because you hold 70% of the market share that Customers don't have other Choices. They will find better choice,better deal and tell everybody about it.

Bear in mind that they will tell everybody about good and bad but only bad will be remembered. Bad feedback spreads twice as fast from good feedback.- Dave

It seems to me that I have just discovered new Business Phobia.

I will call it:
Mancepsophobia
Fear of Customers- Latin word Mancep which means Buyer,Customer Shopper.
Mancepsadminophobia -
Fear of Customer Service - Latin word administratio which means service, assistance, administration, direction, management, government

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post. I would love to hear from you.

Please feel free to leave a comment,feedback or a question.

Until next post,

Yours truly

Dave
www.customerserviceinfinity.com
Customer Service Consulting© All rights reserved

What is Customer Service Infinity - Customer Service Quotes

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 09:02:00 +0000

What is Customer Service Infinity?

www.customerserviceinfinity.com

With this post we are taking a short detour from our Blog topics. However,I am getting lot of questions on Why Customer Service infinity and what Infinity has to do with Customer Service.
The English word infinity derives from Latin word infinitas, which can be translated as "unboundedness" and the Greek word apeiros, meaning "endless"refers to something without any limit.
Endlessness, infinitude, boundlessness, limitlessness; vastness, immensity, abundance, profusion, host, multitude, mass, wealth.The state or quality of being infinite.

Why Customer Service Infinity?

To get the direct connection with Infinity, Lets recall our definition of Customer Service:

Non-bias,Consistent and cost effective Provision and delivery (of higher value than expected) to every person in need of your products or Services in timely manner ensuring quality, accuracy and impeccable after sales support.
Customer Service is an endless cycle that follows us everywhere. From our Social life to business,
we are pretty much each others customers.Every person in need of your products or Services is defined as your Customer.

Customer Service Cycle is limitless, endless opportunities for improvement,open for boundless innovations,abundance of opportunities for creativity and it is part of every business and every industry.Hence the reason why Infinity and connection with Customer Service.

Customer Service Quotes

Customers know that they have been back stabbed when they feel the deep pain of betrayal. Their motto is : "Don't get mad, get even"
Customer Service-is the art of trust. Developing Trusted relationship with your Customers requires Organizational Positive ATTITUDE from the Top.
The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it's very difficult to build and very easy to destroy
Organizational Customer Service Culture is built by Education and not by one off training.
Customer Service Culture is the habit of being able to exceed Customer expectations with the best value and knowing how,when and why.
It is not the employer who pays your wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays your wages
A business exists to create a customer. A Customer exist to keep business creative.
The Customer is boss. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else
A customer:the most important-We are dependent on him, not an interruption but purpose of it,not an outsider in business.but part of it.
Customer Service The golden rule for every business person is this: ''Put yourself in your customer's Shoes and see it from their eyes".
The customer perceives service in his or her own terms.You need to know about customer feedback that says things should be better.
Customer-based feedback must be translated into what the company must do internally not just to meet but exceed customers
“To open a shop is easy, to keep it open is an art - However, A man without a smiling face must not open a shop"
“If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” but in Customer Service, If is worth doing …it's worth overdoing!
You can not just train your staff how to deal with your Customers. You must Educate them how to Live,love and breathe Customer Service
Customer Service Key to Satisfied Customer - Keep your promises! How to keep your Promises = Under promise but always over deliver=Excellence.
“Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.”
Returning Customer TRUST you because you Listen to them and keep delivering more than they expect from you. FIRST and EVERY time !
Front line employees are Gold mine and a key to success of any Business-reward their efforts-they are the driving force of your Business.
Work hard for your Customers,change attitude,raise your standards .Don't compete with others - Compete with what you're capable of.Ante up your Service delivery!
Key to success of every champion is Ritual of raising standards and self expectations - Customer Service Culture has the same principles.
Who has the Advantage in Business? Youth? Speed? Talent? Intelligence? No! its People who been there before.They know the road ahead.
You business is controlled by decisions.Gain courage,make a decision and invest in your business.Start building Customer Service Culture
Organizational Customer Service attitude and Building Customer Service Culture starts with management. make a decision - build a culture.
Culture starts from the top.The biggest stranglehold of Customer Service Culture is coming from the Business management Resistance to change
Golden Rules of Customer Service: Don`t let me wait! I should Ask only once! Fix it now-right here and then! Don't make me run around! Don`t say "I understand" if you don`t.
Customer Service Culture starts with a refined collective understanding and appreciation of Customer Service attitude and behavior.
You can buy any and every marketing and advertising Campaign - what you can`t buy is FREE Word of Mouth advertising - You must earn it !
Music for Customers ears: "I will get that sorted out for you NOW","We don't have it,but I will get it for you","Here is a little gift for you".
Dont think because you hold 70%of market share that Customer don't have other Choice. They will find better choice and tell everybody about it.
Sustained successful business Say`s Customer Service matters-provide service that adds more value than expected and more than anyone else can offer.

Thank you for reading

Yours truly

Dave

www.customerserviceinfinity.com

Customer Service Company image - making and keeping promises

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:59:00 +0000

Superior Customer Service Delivery - Making and keeping promises

I hope you have enjoyed reading my first post about Customer Service.Let`s move to the next part of building Customer Service Culture and Superior Customer Service Delivery.

Please join me in my mission Ante Up- Global Superior Customer Service © and building Organizational Customer Service Culture. Please feel free to post comments,suggestions and ask question.I would love to hear from you and your opinion on today`s Global Customer Service.

My name is Dave from Infinity Customer Service Consulting © and topic for this post is

Company image and making and keeping promises.

Company image

Company image and product or services brand,is very important part of Customer Service delivery.
We defined Service delivery as an Action that creates a value to your Customers and went deeper towards delivering Higher Value than expected which in perception to your Customers is an Excellent Service Delivery.

To get your self in the position to be trusted Service or product supplier, its about ensuring your Customers that your Service delivery is impeccable and next time when they are doing business with you, it will be even better.
Not the same and not "it might" be better...Customer must know that Service you provide to them will be better.
Customer service is all about building a solid rapport with your existing and potential Customers.

It involves offering the customer help and support to satisfy their needs and wants but your goal is to exceed their expectations. You must work on building a trust relationship with your Customers.

Customer Service is the art of trust. Customers trust their providers and they keep coming back because they know that the relationship is based on a perception of previous experiences and knowledge that you are able to deliver what they need. Your returning Customers know when they come back to do business with you - they will receive superior class service.

Why Customers keep coming back?

It`s because of your Company image and reliable brand and promise that you will deliver.
It`s because of Value that your have promised that is hard to compare with other offers.
It`s because you value your Customers,you treat them with respect and as part of your family. You have fast service and you have promised they don't have to wait too long and they don't have to ask twice.
It`s because of your promise,when things go wrong ,that you will fix the issue and you do that fast and reliable.FIRST and EVERY time!
It`s because They TRUST you! It`s because you Listen to them and keep delivering more than they expect from you. FIRST and EVERY time !
It`s because you CARE and give free SMILE!
It`s because you have promised that they will not have to run around to get things done and make things work!
It`s because you make promises and you work hard to keep those promises and you have them printed everywhere!

How to we make Business promises and How do we keep them?

Before we make a definition on how to keep our promises and equally important how do we make them, lets get few most important factors in the spotlight first.

First of all,

It`s a must - strong Organisational Customer Service Culture.

Channeling from top to bottom and vice versa, so that every person in your Company has the same view and attitude about Customer Service and its components.
Why Vice versa?
This question is 4 hours answer, but to sum it up… Because management must and I underline that MUST, have constant touch base with their own front line employees and receiving consistent influx of ideas and suggestions from your front line staff.
Executive staff must engage with their employees and work with them on regular basis on the front line. Open door policy is a must in Customer Service environment.
Front Line staff is a Gold Mine of your business which must be utilized to improve your service delivery.Front line employees are key to success of any Business and you have to work with them closely and reward their efforts because they have a front line seats and they are the driving force of your Business.

Strong evaluation of your organizational abilities.

Find your strength and weaknesses - Focus on weaknesses and work on your strengths. Remember , Your business is good as your weakest link. You can not afford to have a weak link in your business neither weak link in your front line staff.

Employ Customer Service educational routines and strategies

and ensure that every person in your Company receives Strong Customer Service Education. Not just a one off training session.
Appoint staff to make daily emails, place several message boards in your work environment, install LED displays as an Educational tool and a reminder that regardless what and how" Customer is King.The Customer is boss. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.A business exists to create a customer.A Customer exist to keep business creative.

Great product and services knowledge

Your staff must have great product and services knowledge. From porter to the CEO. Regardless of the position where they work, Company employees must know ,what they making, how they making it, how it works and what they deliver to they Customers pretty much inside out.

NON bias and NON preferred treatment to any of your Customers - Equal across the board.

Equal Focus on your Online and offline business and Service Delivery. As we mentioned ,an action that creates value to your Customers -retail and online in equal fashion.

Involve your Customers in Business planning

ASK and more important LISTEN to your customers what they expect and want from your brand, your service or your product. Not once, not twice - Regularly! Find out their expectations and their perception of your Service delivery and adjust accordingly. That is your Best source of information. Live up to their expectations and deliver more than they expect.

Customer Service Recovery

Customer Service Recovery Officer is a must in a Customer Service environment pretty much to be there to in case if something goes unplanned.

Now we have several components to work with lets put them together:

To be able to make promises ,you must know your Company abilities,brand and what you can deliver.

Make sure that you are realistic and able to deliver before you commit to it.Do not promise beyond and above if you can not fulfil your promisse.

Put your promises in writing to your Customers and what you promise deliver regardless.If you fail-use recovery system to gain your trust back.

Work with your Front line staff and provide full support to their input and ideas - Remember: they are Gold Mine of your Business.

Have your service or product under constant review and criticism by your Customers. However, every Criticism must be taken as Constructive and more importantly listen to your Customers and what you hear is what you need to focus on.

Many Companies Under promise with the intention to over deliver to achieve Superior Customer Service effect.

Nothing wrong with that ,but have in mind ,that you are not the only supplier or service provider. If you under promise make sure you have created a distinctive value to your Customers and over deliver each and every time.

Other factors to consider when building Customer Service Culture , making and keeping Business promises:

Pay your Customer Service staff well ,invest in their education and reduce staff turnover - Image matters

Customer Service Culture = Positive attitude+ Organisational Live,love and breathe Customer Service

Careless employees,specialize in saying the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong person. Have Customer Service Code of Conduct in place.

You can not just train your staff how to deal with your Customers. You must Educate them how to Live,love and breathe Customer Service

“If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” but in Customer Service, If is worth doing …it's worth overdoing!

Customer-based feedback must be translated into what the company must do internally not just to meet but exceed customers expectations

CS is built on power of trust.The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it's very difficult to build and very easy to destroy

The golden rule for every business person is this: ''Put yourself in your customer's Shoes and see it from their eyes".

It is not the employer who pays your wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays your wages

Focus on employee goals and their careers within the company and reduce turnover.Help them build their career within your company and you will have loyal and trustworthy executive staff.

I hope you have enjoyed my second post.
Please join me in my mission to empower Companies to build Superior Customer Service and Organisational Customer Service Culture

Thank you for reading.

Until next time
Dave
www.customerserviceinfinity.com

Customer Service Education - What is Customer Service

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 09:21:00 +0000

Infinity Customer Service Consulting - Customer Service Training Manual

For my first Blog and Training material I have decided to start with " Back to Basics" on Customer Service delivery.
My name is Dave. I have 20 years of experience working in Customer Service Industry and also being a Customer to many businesses,I have seen many examples of Good ,bad and ugly of Customer Service.It`s absolutely amazing to cross between one end of extreme to another,just from going from one shop to another being next door to each other.How is this possible?
I was puzzled and so curious and keen to find out:
Why is it that some businesses just barely deliver what’s expected, some exceed and some achieve excellent Service delivery.
What is it that drives them?
What is it that makes them better than others?
What is that makes them want it more that the others?

What is Customer Service for them?

How do you achieve Customer Service Excellence and is there anything beyond?

Before we answer these questions lets discuss some basic terms.Lets start with simple exercise.
Before you continue reading ,what does Customer Service Delivery mean to you?
Take a peace of paper and write down the definitions of or just think about it for few minutes:
Customer - Define a word Customer in your own words.Who is your Customer and how do you perceive the meaning of a Customer
Service - in your own words, what does it mean to you?
Delivery - What is meant by delivery and what does it mean to you?
We also mentioned Excellence - well if we have mentioned it why not to find out what does it mean to you?
There is a huge number of Customer Service definitions and views, but what is in fact Customer Service and how to achieve the Customer Service Excellence?
Can we move it into Superior Customer Service?
Is there anything higher than achieving a Superior Service delivery?
Trust me - Yes it is! ( i will cover this very soon)
I hope you have thought about Customer -Service -delivery and Excellence definitions as many people surprisingly don't even consider thinking about let alone writing about it.
There is a huge number of Customer Service definitions and views, but what is in fact Customer Service and how is CS perceived by others:

Customer service is an organization's ability to supply their customers' wants and needs.

This definition is not complete but I agree

Customer service is the ability of an organization to constantly and consistently exceed the customer's expectations.

Right. This is bit better but that’s where the story ends. At the point of sale.

Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.

Very close to the previous definition

Customer service is what the customer perceives and remembers of the service they received.

This defines focus on the perception which is true but this does not define CS in full.

Customer service is the practice of providing customers with a positive, helpful experience.

Again. Experience with no interest on anything further e.g expectations,value,etc.

Customer service is the sum total of what an organization does to meet customer expectations and produce customer satisfaction.

Very close, however there is number of elements missing

Customer service is providing your service with a solution or a satisfactory answer that will ensure their satisfaction while protecting your personal ethics and value.

-Totally agree - still missing few elements

OK, I think we have seen enough...lets do some work... and see it through my eyes.
Due to a complexity and the nature of the industry,There is no simple explanation and definition of Customer Service or Customer Service Delivery and I will explain why.
To be able to define Customer Service and Customer Service Delivery, you have to break it apart.
Lets simplify the term Customer Service into Customer and Service and add few more missing factors.
Customer: Who is your Customer and what does it mean to you?
Every person who requires your Services is your Customer.
In terms of your prospect: Every person that contributes to your wages or Salary by purchasing your product or Services is your Customer.
In Analytical Terms: Every person that contributes to the growth of your company is your Customer.
Service: What is Service?

Cost effective delivery of your products or services to your Internal or external Customers.
In value terms: An action that creates value to your Customers.
Combined ,that would look something like this:

Providing and delivering,cost effective value to every person who requires your products or Services.
MISSING FACTORS

Delivery:

Consistent forwarding and handling of your services or products in cost effective and timely manner ensuring quality, accuracy and after sales support.

Excellence:

Excellence is delivering the service that exceeds Customer expectations.
Delivering of your products or services, to your Customers with higher value than expected. Consistent, Cost effective and non-bias.

I have to stress one thing out and that is:
An action that creates value to your Customers.

Combined with missing factors ,that would look something like this:

Non-bias,Consistent and cost effective Provision and delivery (of higher value than expected) to every person in need of your products or Services in timely manner ensuring quality, accuracy and impeccable after sales support.

Looking back at the various definitions can you see the difference and notice the missing factors?
I would like to ask for your feedback and comments in regards to this topic and see it through your eyes.
Do you have different view?
If you have any questions,please feel free to post.
I will continue on our journey through the basics of Customer Service and major factors in establishing grounds for Customer Service excellence and Superior Customer Service delivery.

I hope you have enjoyed the post and looking forward to your comments and questions.

Until next time
Dave
Customer Service Consulting Infinity
www.customerserviceinfinity.com