Tweet

10 Customer Service Quality Statements To Measure Up Against

Written by: Martin Haworth

Article Overview: Customer service is a fundamental quality that every business must have. The higher the standard, the higher the return on the investments you make. But just how do you measure your performance, in an easy-to-use way? It's really quite simple...

10 Customer Service Quality Statements To Measure Up Against

It might sound quick and simple, to say how well your business does in satisfying it's customers. Hearing such as:-

"We're increasing our turnover by 14% year to date"

"Our customer complaints are now less than 4% or our transactions"

...might sound like music to your ears, but that's just the time you need to be very careful.

A regular measurement of where you are as your organisation, not depending on some of the easy-to-fake figures, might just make the difference in how well you are doing now, and into the future.

Try these quality statements and set up a mechanism whereby you review them monthly - yes, that's right, monthly.

This needs to be thorough and objective. And maybe even the scores made by a cross- section of your people in all areas of your business - then you get objectivity and a true picture of how you are scoring.

It is a great activity to score each of these out of 10, make a tracker month by month and each time you review, ask yourself the question:-


"What would we need to do to move our score up by 3 points"

Do it point by point and then, after you have that 3-point question, work out a monthly action plan, so that step-by-step, you gradually improve. (Note:- If you are too near a score out of 10 to have three points to go - upgrade your statement!).

Then and only then will your improvement be sustainable and you can reset the questions over time to a higher standard. Then you truly will be The Best in class!

The Quality Statements:-


1. We use a variety of staff to monitor customer service on a regular and consistent basis

2. We know and can clearly state our customer groups

3. We listen to customers about our products and proactively seek to redress issues

4. We notice and congratulate our people and teams when they perform well

5. Senior management are fully and visibly engaged in customer activities

6. Our people enjoy the challenge of changes

7. Our organisation and our people have aligned values

8. Our customers find working with us easy and pleasurable

9. We know how our people feel about working here and always respond to make it better

10. We have teams and individuals who can respond quickly to changes circumstances, whatever they are.

Keep a track of these - visually represent it somewhere very publicly for your people. Involve many of your them in monitoring, finding solutions and taking accountability for change, where needed and your business, your people and you will thrive.

One final point. Starting is good, being able to demonstrate your success in 12 months is another thing - as is still doing this review at that time.

Related Articles
  CUSTOMER SERVICE TIP
  Tips for Improving Customer Service
  Answering Service Customer Service Agents
  5 Ways to Test Your Customer Service Level
  Entrepreneurs, the Economy and Internet Marketing Strategy

Article Tags: customer service quality, fundamental quality, quality statements



Related Forum Posts
Re: Service Or Product? - I agree with starting a Service-based Business in the economy. Here is what I think is critical: 1. Researching that your Service business has a market. 2. Marketing the Service with as much leverage as possible. 3. Product-izing the Service (aka Package Expert Knowledge). This will only help elevate you as "the" expert in your niche and make you accessible to people in different price points.
Marketers, Learn What You Can, Cannot Control Online - I am a Customer Service Representative in my company so naturally every once and a while I get angry customers fed up with my companies policies. Oh! I remember one day on my way home from school I was walking by a gas station and there was a man with a huge cardboard sign outside a small car mechanic business telling people not to go there because they are crooks. I am pretty sure they lost tons of business. I know my mama kept away from there after I told her about it. I found it pretty funny. I wonder if the guy got arrested or fined though....
Wearing different hats in Business - I have a business that produces beautiful custom rugs for home and business environments. Different hats that I'm wearing... Rug Fabrication - 10 [i:21cr28m8](partially outsourced to an outfit here in the US)[/i:21cr28m8] Customer Service / Sales - 8-10 Bookkeeping - 1 Marketing - 6 Website development - 5 [i:21cr28m8](mainly outsourced)[/i:21cr28m8] SEO, SEM - 6-8 Accounting - [i:21cr28m8](outsourced)[/i:21cr28m8]
Re: Two Useful Books To Help You Focus On The CLIENT - Hi David, To add to your thread, I'd like to recommend Jonathan Tisch's "Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience". Tisch's book includes content on "Welcoming Customers", "The New Art of Customization", "The Challenges of Customer Diversity" and "Offering Something Extra to Your Customers" to name a few.
Do you believe in "Mantra" or "Mission Statem - In the Strategic Management course I'm currently taking, my group and I were supposed to come up with an improved mission statement for the organization we're analyzing or explain why the existing one doesn't need to be revised. However, business expert and author, Guy Kawasaki says "Forget mission statements; they're long, boring, and irrelevant. No one can ever remember them-much less implement them. Instead, take your meaning and make a mantra out of it. This will set your entire team on the right course" ("The Art of the Start" 3). Which do you use for your own businesses: Mantra, Mission Statements or neither? Thanks


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

A New Year in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The Digital Diet by Daniel Sieberg

Are You Remarkable Enough?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.