Tell your customer how it is and be nice!

Question: How do you maintain a high level of customer service and maintain the ability to do everything needed to hit all of the goals/needs a customer demands from you?

Answer: First off – I hope I did not butcher the question. I think this is what you had in mind. Now to the question itself.

Every customer you deal with has different wants. I think before you try to make everyone of them come true and maintain a sparkling personality along the way you need to not just read or be told what a customer needs, but actually speak with your customer about it. Now depending on what type of customer you are talking about there are different ways to do this. If you own a restaurant you may want to use a comment card. If it is service related business, you might want to follow up a transaction a couple days later with a customer service phone call. I know you are thinking, “That is common sense, everyone knows that”. You are right, it is common sense. You should know that, but what most people do not know is what type of questions you should ask or address with your customer.

Restaurants – I love when the chef comes out from the kitchen a few times a night and walks up to your table. First of all he is dressed as a chef. That means the whole white outfit and the fluffy hat. You may not think a chef is all that intimidating, but they are. They are not only all white with a fluffy head, but they have a strange power that is hard to confront. They have the power to spit in your food. Now, back to the chef approaching the table - The chef slowly approaches you to give you enough time to get your story straight, then he asks the most difficult question in the world to give a negative answer to. “How is everything tonight?” – You think for a minute of the horrible parking situation out front, the rude hostess that sat you and the bus boy that took too long to refill your water. You look up at the fluffy chef and say. “Everything was perfect, thank you.” The only time you tell the chef something is wrong is if you are really pissed. Not slightly upset or a little riffed, but 100% pissed. Other than that you do not have the guts. You are still thinking you might order the creme Brule’ so you better play it safe.

Survey Cards – When you get a survey card in the mail or handed to you – Your natural instinct is to do one of a few things. You give them perfect all the way down. That means you either had a great time or you are a complete wimp. You give them all bad scores. That means you really had a bad experience or you are a jerk. Few people ever read each question carefully and answer them honestly. Make the cards easy, but thought provoking ask specific and general questions. Ask about the water service or the parking as well as the general overall quality of the food. Also, give people incentive to be honest. Give free dessert, discount on the bill or validate their parking – Anything to get some honesty out of the customer.

Oral Surveys – Pay a company, use a friend or fake a voice and call your previous and existing customers. Find out what they like or didn’t like. What worked for them and what did not. What they want you change and what they loved about you. Pull it out of them and try your best to read between the lines and get some honesty. Remember – this is not for a million dollar marketing study. This is to find out how to satisfy your customers best you can.

Now remember through all of these ways you are communicating and analyzing your customers experiences, make sure you ask the most important question. What is most important to you as a customer? What do you have to do for them in order to keep them as a client? Now you have that info – You go to step two.

Step two is very complicated for most to do, but the easiest part in my opinion. Step two is honesty. Tell your customer the truth. Tell them that if they want thing done in one hour there will be less efficiency and more errors, but if they give you 3 hours you can guarantee high level of work. It does not matter what you do or who you do it for, everything takes time. You will see the more honest you are with your customer the happier they will be, even if your honesty is telling them bad news. Educate your customer on what is important to them. Make sure they understand the down side of every favor and adjustment a customer may ask of you. Maybe the downside will eliminate their desire to do things differently. Make the businesses you work with pull the trigger on all decisions that will negatively affect other parts or any part of the company. You would be very surprised how many customers will begin to eliminate poor decisions when they are told what the effects of these decisions are.

Bottom line – if you deliver for your customers they will remember you. In the end, people want the job done right.

Recap – Find out what your customer really wants and/or needs. Once you find out give them honesty and tell them the best way you can get them to that point. Be strong, honest and communicate thoroughly and often.

I hope I covered your question appropriately. You have to remember you are an expert at your business make sure your customer knows that. You are the best source of info for your customers. Get them to understand the way you do things and how you feel those ways help the customer in the end.