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If you really want to know how you stand with your customers, ask yourself why YOU would buy anything from YOUR company! Place yourself in the customer’s shoes and find out how you really stack up against the competition!

For years retail outlets have used “secret shoppers” who go around making purchases and reporting back how they were treated, the condition of the stores, the atmosphere, and many other aspect of the customer experience. Why not become your own secret shopper? It isn’t hard to do.

If you run an online business, run a search and pick out 10 competitors. Visit each site and compare their products, their policies, their site design, prices, ad copy, etc. make a trial purchase to see how their sales process flows. Write down what you like and what you dislike about each site. If they offer a customer something you don’t, write that down so you can refer back to it later.

Over the course of this exercise you willalmost definately find several things that you can add, delete, change, or enhance that will make your web based business better and more appealing to your customers. Even if this improves your conversion rate 1%, that can mean big $$$$ for you over time.

When you do this, don’t do it just once and forgt about it. Things change and in business things chage quickly! Do this exercise at least quarterly to keep up with what your competition is doing and to keep you website up to par. Even if it takes you a couple of hours to go through 10 sites from top to bottom, it is time well spent and you will also find out it saves you a LOT of money in site design fees when YOU come up with the ideas instead of someone else!

The Customer Service Training Institute

Today I spent about a half hour reading reviews on a gentleman whose on-line business was less than stellar. In fact, the guy operates a business based on fraud, deciet, and outright thievery. People who buy from him once, would never do it twice. I found the stories and accounts very interesting. But it also made me wonder how many people try the same things on a far smaller scale.

It is easy to take shortcuts, inflate product performance, make false claims, or just make promises that you don’t or can’t keep. Maybe you make outrageous claims but provide a refund number that no one answers or an e-mail no one ever checks. After all, the more you sell, and the fewer refunds you offer, the more money you make, right?

The problem with this way of doing business is that you permanently damage the one thing you have that is your most valable asset. Your reputation!

Your reputation is the most important part of your business because this is what brings new people into your store or to your website. It is what causes people to recommend you to others and helps make you business grow.

Think of how you would react if you bought something from someone and got ripped off. Would you recommend the business to others? Would you buy from them again? It is very likely you would do the opposite and do your best to let others know of your problems.

The same is said for dealing with customers. If you don’t stand behind your products, help your customers before AND after their purchase, and provide world-class assistance when problems arise, you are going to have trouble. If you misrepresent products, inflate their worth, or otherwise decieve your customers to get them to buy, you also risk losing those very same customers in the future.

The temptation to do something for immediate gain is very high, especially in this economy and with all the competition out there. We are almost forced to cut corners in order to make a sale. My advice to everyone is to make sure you do whatever it takes to protect your reputation and your business. Do what is right, not what is the easiest. Take the high road with your business and your customers. In the end, you will come out ahead.

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We talk about Smart Bombs, Atomic Weapons, and all kinds of technical marvels that allow us to inflict great damage to others. All of these things I suppose are necessary to some extenet but we often overlook the most hideous and powerful weapon of them all. Words. just plain words.

It is amazing how someone can say the wrong thing and a chain reaction starts that quickly spirals out of control. A person says something, another person takes offense, and pretty soon a fight breaks out and someone is shot or stabbed and dies. Not because of a technically supperior or powerful weapon, just from a few words. Entires wars have been started or prolonged because the wrong words were spoken or the right words left unsaid. The power of the word is limitless.

The same can be said of words we use in business and with our customers. A wrong word spoken or used can great negative feeling with a customer and that customer may tell one, ten, or a thousand others. Words are powerful and need to be respected for the power they wield.

There is a saying that has been around for a long, long time. That saying is; “Think before you speak.” This is never more important than dealing with other people whether they are customers, co-workers, or others we deal with in life. Before we speak, we should always ask oursleves; “How woudlI react if this were said to me”? I know that I have said things that I meant one way and they were taken an entirely opposite way. This doesn’t mean I am a bad person, or uncaring, it just means that I chose thw rong words to say or said them at the wrong time.

If you don’t believe me, pick up any newspaper on any given day and you will find examples of stupid things said by people in various walks of life. The sports pages are full of them and so are politicians. Still don’t believe? Go ahead and pick up that newspaper. Go ahead, I’ll wait………………….

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People with cataracts have a tough time seeing things clearly. Everything starts to appear cloudy and seeing mormally or clearly becomes an impossibility. Sadly, many people and companies look at their business through “Customer Service Cataracts” and this causes them to see things poorly.

It never ceases to suprise me how certain people and businesses look at their customers. They look at everything from their point of view and how things function for the business and not the customer. This is a recipe for disaster.

A certain process, procedure, or rule migh work really well for the company but be a cause of concern, or even a deal breaker, for the customer. Certain processes may fulfill all the requirements for the business but at the same time effect the customer in a very negative way. This will cause you to lose business and customers as a result.

It is important to take the time and make the effort to look at everything from two perspecitves. One perspective is from the company point of view and the other perspective is from the customer point of view. Very often looking at things from both sides will identify subtle changes that can be made so that the end result is something that is agreeable for everyone. It is sometimes very effective to have two people sit down and “play” the part of the customer and the company. This way dialogue can take place to identify potential problem areas.

It is a foolish attitude to think that the only thing that matters is the company. this attitude is danagerous because it creates an atmosphere where the customer is a second class citizen and customers will pick up on this.

Believe me, they will!

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If you are involved in any business that deals directly with customers, then you know sometimes being right is not right! In some cases, being right, and proving this to your customer, may not be the best thing for you or your business. While you might be right in your thinking and your stance, the end result might be losing a customer and their future business.

Granted, there are circumstances where you must “tow the line” and stand behind your warranty, procedures, and policies. But such cases often are not as cut and dried as one might think! Suppose you have a customer who demands a refund on a $500 product because it “was not what he thought it would be” even though you and your sales team told him it was not the proper product. In this case, you would be well within your rights to refuse the refund and send the customer on their way. After all, why should you accept a product back, possibly not in saleable condition, because of their refusal to accept your advice?

Befroe we rush to judgelemtn here, let’s look at it another way. How much product does this customer purchase from you every year? Is it $5 or $50,000 or even $500,000??? What are you risking by turning the customer away? Is it a good idea to risk $500,000 worth of business to save that $500? Probably not!!

We must consider every level of the situation before making decisions. Rigid and inflexible policies do not often function well in the customer service environment or make the best business decisions possible for the business.

We must ask ourselves a few questions before making our decisions. Some of these questions might be:

• Who is “at fault” or responsible for the problem?
• What amount of future business is at stake?
• What is the history of the customer or company involved?
• Are they chronic complainers?
• What will the legal implications be?
• In your opinion, what is the right thing to do in this situation?

Customer Service is all about making everyone happy with the outcome of a situation or purchase. It is about creating win-win situations not proving any one party right or wrong. It is about protecting the interests of both the customer AND the company so that both can still be available in the future.

So the next time someone comes to you asking for help, don’t try to be right or try to prove them wrong. Just try to do what is right for all parties involved.

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Do you ever stop and wonder why you go back to places over and over again? Why you go back to the same restaurant time and time again even though there is nothing different or spectacular about the food? Why you go to the same supermarket even though you can buy the same items for the same prices elsewhere in town?

The fact is, you go back to someplace over and over because there is something that you like about it. Something about that place makes you feel good or relaxed. In other words, you enjoy something about the experience. Something about that place registers as a positve in your mind.

The key word in that last sentence is “positive”. In sales, we know to focus on what the positive aspects of a product are. We don’t spend time telling you what the product can’t do, we tell you everything it CAN do. We want to create a POSITIVE impression not a negative one. That is basic Sales 101 and we all know it!

Since we all know the importance of being and acting positive, why is it that some people dealing with customers do not act the part? Why do some people helping customers look like they just got through with a bad root canal? (Is there such a thing as a good root canal? Have to think about that one….)

The fact is, people respond to positive and friendly people a LOT better than they do the angry or depressed ones. Happy people bond better and get more favorable responses as well. They make more sales and they create a far better Customer Service experience for everyone they are involved with.

The funny thing is that it is actually easier to do your job when you’re happy and positive. It really takes more effort to be “nasty, curt, or abrupt with people! You really use a lot more muscles to frwon than you do to smile! Yet, some of us do a pretty good job of it. So the next time you put on your uniform or head out to the sales floor, be positive. It will take you a long way.

About a mile between the S’s.. (SmileS)

David V. Greis
The Customer Service Training Institute

It never ceases to amaze me that two exact same problems with two different people will result in two completely different responses. I have encountered, within hours I might add, two customers with exactly the same issue. One was very calm and just asked for a replacement while they other yelled and screamed and threatened so loudly you would swear the world had just ended.

Same problem, yet two totally different responses. Why?

People are all different. Just like snowflakes, there are no two people exactly the same. We are all a product of our experiences to date. If we are raised in a nururing environment where those around us are calm and reasonable, changes are greater that we will grow up calm and reasonable ourselves unless something happens to change that in our minds. If we are raised in an environment where everyone yells and screams to get what they want, chances are we will do that also.

People have all kinds of “emotional baggage”. That term refers to experiences a person has had which contributes to how they react in a certain situation. for example, if I try to resolve a problem 10 times with little or no success, the person handling the eleventh attempt is going to get the brunt of my frustration due to the ten failed attempts. The person I am talking to now might not have anything to do with what went on prior, but I probably will hold him accountable to some extent.

This is a difficult sistuation but one that is not impossible to resolve. The first thing we need to do is calm the customer down by explaining that we are there to help them resolve their issue. If we can get them to believe and understand that, we are more than halfway home. Try and understand WHY the person reacted like they did. When you do this, you are far morelikely to address the entire issue and not just the most obvious parts.

We must always keep in mind that the customer might not always be right, but they are still our customer and we need customers for our businesses to survive.

The Customer Service Training Institute

It never ceases to amaze me that some people think the changes they want or need will just “come to them” if they wait long enough. I have run into people who truly believe that things will get better if they just wait long enough. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. Personally, I believe that positive changes occur because of a mixture of effort and luck.

Yes, it’s true that somethings things just happen on their own without any action on our part. But if you look back far enough, you will probably see something you did to cause that “luck”. That “phone call out of the blue” for example offering you a job came from somewhere. Perhaps it’s something you did for someone a while back that was remembered. Maybe it was a friend or associate you helped back a few years when they needed something you could do.

People as a rule don’t look for totally unknown people when they need something. Human Resource people or managers don’t open the phone book at random and offer a great job to the fifteenth person in the second column. It may happen in the movies but not in real life. Granted, maybe somewhere, sometime, someone did this for some reason but when it comes to the millions of people who experience success, it is a distinct minority.

Positive changes occur because we do, or have done, something to “help things along” a little bit. Maybe it was learning a new skill or showcasing your present skills to people or a company. Perhaps you did some volunteering or even wrote a book or article that was published somewhere. Whatever you did, you did something.

Every time we take a positive action, no matter how big or small, other factors come about from those actions. The same goes for negative actions, too. If we do something wrong, the effects may follow us through the rest of our lives.

So, what does this have to do with Customer Service?

Learning skills is important but making the effort to apply and practice them is jsut as important if not more so. Your customers are more than just customers. They are ambassadors and they talk to others. You have a direct effect on what they say to others. You have a direct effect on how they feel about your business.

So, the next time you go home and say “You know, I got a call from out of the blue yesterday with the biggest order we ever got…….”, take a few minutes to realize that the call might have been unexpected but you laid the groundwork for it at some point…………….

The Customer Service Training Institute

Today’s post is not meant to be a “plug” for anyone but if it get’s the company more business, that will be a plus!

A few years back, I changed the hosting provider for our site, The Customer Service Training Institute because of problems I was having with my old hosting company. I moved my files over to a company called Knownhost because they came highly recommended. For the past few years, I had no problems.

Well, thankfully, business has increased over the years to the point where I needed to upgrade to my own server. Since Knownhost offers this service, I went with them. I did experience a few problems though with the process. (Those of you who tried to get to the site or e-mail me yesterday know that first-hand!) It turned out that some of the problems had to do with me and some with their tech staff. This is where a company can either lose a customer or gain one for life!

Knownhost stepped right up and were patient with me regarding my issues and helped me learn how to resolve them. For their errors, they stepped up and admitted them immediately and went right to work correcting them even though it meant searching for back-up files and archieved materials to piece everything back together. Not only did they resolve everything, they did it in an extremely short period of time! Much shorter than others had done in the past!

In siuations like these, how a person or company responds makes all the difference in the world. In the real world, “stuff happens”. Mistakes are made, things are lost, and problems arise. it is how we deal with these situations that tells the custom what kind of organization we are.

The most important consideration for us should be “How will the customer feel at the end of this situation?” We want a positive feeling in our customers’ mind when everything is resolved. anything less will result in us possibly losing a customer.

In my case, I came away extremely impressed for several reasons. First, they did not point me to an “FAQ” page and tell me to figure it out. They explained to me step by step and actually did a couple of things I should have done on my own to make it easier for me. That was a plus. Second, they admitted right away that they had made an error. No excuses, they admitted everything up front. Then, they went the extra mile to recover lost files instead of telling me that I had to upload and reconfigure everything.

The end result is that I, as the customer, came away with an extremely positive impression of my hosting company. I truly feel that if I have problems in the future, I will get a timely and accurate response. I also came away with the feeling that the support people at the company really care about their customers. this was evident from the way the worked with me. The bottom line, I will continue with them and will certainly not hesitate to recommend them to others.

Problems like these should be turned into opportunities to show our customers just how good we are. Though it may require a little more effort, and some of the problems might not be our fault, it is an opportunity for us to show our customers why they should not even bother to look anywhere else for the products and services we offer.

Like I said, this is not a plug for Knowhost, but if anyone out there needs a hosting company for their business, you know where I would go. In a heartbeat…………………

The Customer Service Training Institute

The last thing I needed this month was to have my clothes dryer break down. It was so expensive to repair, I decided to buy a new one. I should mention at this point that when I need to buy something, I don’t make a production about it. I look, I investigate, and I buy. I don’t go to 47 different places to save 82 cents. I buy from places I trust. That philosophy has rarely let me down.

Today I went to three places. The first one had four salesmen standing around and not a customer in sight. I aksed for some help and I was shown the dryers and told to come get them when I knew what I wanted. Since I wanted help and didn’t get it, I took a short look and left. No one said anything when I went to leave!

The second place was kind of the same. “Here is what we have” then “this one doesn’t come with a power cord, that’s an additional charge”, and so on. I don’t like being “nickeled and dimed” so I left for the third place.

The third place I visited had a nice salesman who answered my four questions, gave me a fair price, and I bought the dryer. Short and sweet, the way I like it! The entire process took about 15-20 minutes! Like I said, short and sweet.

The purpose for telling this absolutely enthralling story is that the first place could have made a very easy sale had they shown even the slightest interest in me as a customer. I was prediposed to buying and needed to buy right now. It was a perfect situation for any salesman. The same went for the second place. I wanted to buy but they lower prices by charging you for things everyone else includes. That does not sit well with most people.

The salesman who got the sale was a commissioned salesman and he had to do very little to earn his commission. As I said, it took all of 15 minutes start to finish! Why? Because he took the time to help me where others did not. The salemen at the other establishments did not do their employers justice with their approach to me. Granted, it is a balancing act between being too helpful and annoying someone but just giving a little attention goes a long way!

Maybe I should contact them and offer my services to provide a little customer service training for their employees. Had they had this, they would be less one dryer right now!

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