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Customer Service isn't Dying: Business Life Support & Life-Saving Tips (1)
| Guest post by: Geoff Davidson |
Article Overview: Not all business policies are good for the customer, or the business.
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Free Download - Fear Factors in Small Business: Sales & Marketing By Geoff Davidson |
Customer Service isn't Dying: Business Life Support & Life-Saving Tips (1)
“There’s no (good)
reason for it, it’s just our Policy.”
Don’t laugh, if you take a look through your company policy and practices
rules, you’re likely to find a few of these that have been put in place because
of some event or procedural problems of the past. It’s easier to change rules
than it is to change procedures and processes, so policies like these pop up
too frequently trying to avoid those problems.
I was recently flying on a US airline and needed to make
some changes to my flights. There were some very good alternative connections, but the
best option wasn’t available to me because that particular change involved using one
of their Shuttle services, and that was against their Shuttle Policy. I offered
to pay any difference in fees, but they said it wasn’t about the money, it was
about the Policy. The space was available, it wasn’t going to cost the airline
anything, and it would have made my life so much easier, but they wouldn’t do
it because of some ‘Shuttle Policy’ that was more important than taking care of
their customers.
As a lot of people would have liked to do, I just canceled
the remaining flights, banked the remaining fare for future flights, and booked
what I needed with one of that airline’s competitors. I was able to travel when
it was most convenient for me and actually saved a few dollars. I’ll use the
banked fare up on simple round trip, and then I won’t use this airline again
unless there are no other flights available. Neither will many of my friends
and colleagues, and even though that represents only a few thousand dollars a
year of lost profits for this airline, it is revenue that they didn’t have to
lose, and could have kept without any cost and with little or no trouble.
What is the customer service lesson here?
Ok, all my clients and colleagues heard me say this part again and again, "the customer ISN’T
always right, but the customer is ALWAYS the CUSTOMER", so here are some
empowering POLICY suggestions to make your business run smoother and keep your
customers coming back…
If the POLICY isn’t about the customer, and it isn’t best
for the bottom line, CHANGE the policy, and until that happens, empower your
people to apply good judgment:
·
If it doesn’t cost anything and it better serves
your customer, you should do it.
·
If it doesn’t cost too much more, but it better
serves your customer, you should offer it for an additional cost.
If it doesn’t cost too much, better serves your
customer, and it’s the RIGHT THINGTO DO, you should do it, even when the
customer isn’t willing or able to pay the difference.
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About the Author: Geoff Davidson RSS for Geoff's articles - Visit Geoff's website Click here to visit Geoff's website   Fear Factors in Small Business Sales Marketing Customer Service isnt Dying Business Life Support LifeSaving Tips 1 |
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.
Re: 10 ideas to make you money in 2010
- I think Education would be hard to break into.
Baby Boomers, Life Support and Trading Down, however, seem like good markets.
As for Green technology goes, I don't think the business has to be entirely based on Green ideologies, but rather a business that embrace Green philosophies and use that as a marketing tool.
Business Tips
- How about:
Tips for managers to handle employees more effectively?
Tips on how to deal with difficult customers?
Tips on how to deal more effectively with suppliers?
The only three I have in mind right now, but will try to come up with something else.
Chris
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....
Re: Keep going!
- Keep going work for me, but I found it a big stretch from puking, fainting and Dying
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