Key Issues in Customer Service - Essay Example

? Key Issues in Service Section/# The analysis provided below centers on service, as well as on greeting,offering of service, resolution, and following through. As such, the analysis offers prescriptive ways through which a firm can maximize its customer service potential by employing minor yet business-altering techniques to ensure the customer experience is all that it could be. Apart from a point-by-point analysis, the research intends to warn the practitioner of the many pitfalls of customer service as well as the rewards that exist for its correct implementation. In today’s increasingly competitive business environment, seemingly few techniques help differentiate one firm from another. For years, the study of business has focused on the Four Ps: Price, Place, Promotion, and Product; however, as each and every firm has become acutely aware of the power to differentiate their products based upon this rubric, it has become increasingly difficult to edge out the competition based on these factors. As such, companies and firms all over the world have turned to redefining and perfecting customer service as a way to endear current customers as well as work to win over new ones because of superior attitudes, trends, ethics, and values related to customer service. This brief paper will analyze some of the basic customer service tools that businesses/firms employ to boost their standing with their customers and a few examples of how each of these might be employed in any given company. As is easily noticed by walking into any of a handful of local retail stores in the United States, a greeting by a sales clerk or associate has become a standard practice. These are performed for a couple of reasons, the first and the most important reason being to instantly remind the customer that the second he or she sets foot into the retail outlet he or she is in an establishment that puts a focus on personal interaction and is willing and able to help the customer fulfill his or her needs. Although this is a subliminal understanding, it has a powerful effect on shopping and buying habits, which has been verified through a number of marketing studies which analyzed it. Interestingly, a secondary reason for the smile/acknowledgment that customers receive when entering a store is that it has been determined that shoplifting rates are massively reduced when employees acknowledge individuals whose intent might be less than honorable. Thieves usually want to be unnoticed, faceless, and non-recognizable entities. When they are greeted with a “good day” and a question concerning if they can be assisted in any way, they realize that they must respond to this question and that their face is more likely to be remembered should they decide to proceed with their shoplifting. Therefore, the most common and easiest practice of customer service – the greeting – serves multiple purposes: it increases sales and customer satisfaction, helps the customer verbalize any questions he or she may otherwise have not asked, and discourages would-be shoplifters. Many firms struggle with the way through which to make sure that the customers get what they are seeking. Some firms assume that a carefully displayed and well thought out store design will ensure painless customer navigation without the need to have employees answer any little questions the customers might have. Still others assume that the customers do not prefer to do shopping undisturbed, and hover over the customers, asking continuously if they can assist them in finding something. Unfortunately, neither of these approaches utilizes the right mixture of technique and tact. While the customers may not want to figure it all out for themselves, they are equally disinterested in having an associate breathing down their necks as they are trying to make informed decisions as to which product they should purchase. In many ways, the latter approach often works to drive customers away as they become so frustrated by the hovering tactics of the employees that they will chose to visit another store where they can do shopping unmolested (Devine et al., 2012). In this way, finding the correct balance is an aspect of customer service that each and every business must tackle. However, in order to provide a shopping environment in which the customers feel free to ask for help from an informed and caring staff, it is incumbent upon leadership to promote an environment which rewards customer service and store knowledge in each and every employee. It is simple to promote customer service among employees; however, creating a culture of customer service and working to ensure that that culture is survivable, contagious, and recognizable is another issue entirely. It is, therefore, incumbent on management to work to incentivize customer service and the desire of employees to assist the customers in any way required; it should be done through training programs that will cement the ideas learned. Simply hiring people based on their own personality traits and how they mesh with a given firm’s interpretation of customer service is not enough as each aspect discussed within this brief analysis focuses on the patterns of communication between employees and customers. Encouraging employees to express a genuine interest in the customers and their needs as they relate to the shopping experience is a skill that more often than not must be taught and does not come spontaneously. Next on the list of important operational customer service instruments is the need for sales associates to ensure that the customers have had their needs met upon their final interaction with store personnel. As this is the last opportunity that the employees have to make a lasting impression on the customers, it should be incumbent on management to ensure that the customers are questioned if they have found everything they were looking for, if their experience has been a pleasant one, or if there is anything that could have been changed to make it a better experience. In this way, the customers will verbalize any of the issues they may have experienced during their time in store. Likewise, before the customer walks out of the door and it is too late to try to negate any of these negative sentiments, the business will be able to identify and try to ameliorate any negative feelings that customers may have attributed to the establishment. Piggy-backing on asking the customer if there are any unresolved needs they might have is what many in the field of customer service refer to as “resolution”. It will doubtless appear disingenuous if the staff member or associate merely asks in a lackluster way if there is anything that the customer did not find, was missing, or was not to his or her liking. In this way, it is incumbent on the associate to follow through and offer some type of a resolution to the customer in the event that something was not to his or her liking – for example, an item the customer was looking for was not stocked – or did not meet his or her expectations in any other way. Furthermore, it is equally important for the staff member or sales associate to work to address the needs that the customer might have had so that the question and response do not appear merely as a tired expression of politeness with no meaning or follow through behind it. When a customer sees that a staff member is willing to devote his or her time to the fulfilling of the customer’s needs, the possibility of winning a repeat customer due to the superior customer service is massively amplified. In this way, something as simple as following through on the question asked of a customer near the end of his or her shopping experience is an extremely important and successful tool in encouraging patronage and increasing profitability with relation to satisfied clientele. This step, perhaps more so than any others, involves being proactive to the needs and requirements of the customers while also being reactive as regards satisfying those needs. Beyond a basic understanding of customer service or attending a required session on customer care, this skill requires that employees be able to empathize with the needs, concerns, and feelings of customers. When a customer realizes that a staff member truly cares for his or her needs, this customer is much more likely to retain a positive impression and have a positive experience of shopping at the particular location. This in turn encourages the customer to come back to become a part of the store’s patronage and to develop a friendship that these types of customer service skills engender. Equally psychological is the need of employees and sales associates to analyze and evaluate given situations to determine what amount of employee input, if any, is necessary. In these types of situations, a rote memorization of the employee handbook with relation to customer service is not what the employee should rely on. This skill cannot be taught; it must be ingrained naturally as a function of the company culture. As such, often in customer service, situations will be encountered that are not specifically referenced in the guidelines and protocols of the job. This will require that the employee be well versed in company culture and etiquette to be able to make informed and insightful maneuvers without a supervisor present. Equally, these “on the fly” decisions must be carefully chosen and thoughtfully engaged so as they do not step on the patronage of the customer or break the bounds of any type of ethics that could cause the customer to lose faith in the firm as a result of the actions of sales personnel. A prime example of such skills would come when a combative customer is becoming increasingly belligerent with a sales team member. Without the proper company culture in place, this type of combative customer might cause the employee to become defensive and to attempt to put the blame of the situation back on the customer (even if this is where the blame truly belongs). However, as the customer is always right, it is the job of the sales associate or staff member to assuage the customer and work to ameliorate his/her complaints in a way that does not exacerbate the situation or ascribe blame to where it rightfully belongs. It should be noted that this does not require that the employee deal dishonestly with the customer; instead, it is a prime example of diplomacy involving a difficult customer in a situation that the store employee cannot afford to alienate a prospective client. In the end, cooler heads and a calm word will often work to diffuse a very bad situation in which other approaches fail. Most importantly, the situations such as the one listed directly above will doubtless try the patience of staff members. Therefore, it is of primal importance that employees do not let their frustration and emotions get the better of them in such situations. Although situations can easily arise that will tempt employees to allow their emotions to show through and their frustration to become evident, it cannot be allowed, as a calm response to even the most petulant of customers is a requirement for achieving a high level of customer service at all times and in all situations. This is not to say that it is a requirement of good customer service that staff members “fake” their helpfulness or concern for the customers. Instead, it is a reminder that no matter how frustrating the given customer might be, or how bad a day the sales associates may experience, they are still representing the firm and, therefore, have to provide a high level of service without letting personal emotions or feelings get the better of them or get in the way of how well they perform that service. Likewise, maintaining a cheerful demeanor even with customers that can be trying to say the least is of utmost importance as far as superior customer service is concerned. Lastly, clear and effective verbal communication is as essential as any of the previous items listed. Customers are acutely aware of when they are given the runaround. Therefore, it is of vital importance for employees to be able to effectively handle the needs of the customer with as little hand-off as possible. Anyone familiar with poor customer service can recall a host of situations in which one store employee passed the customer off to another, who, in turn, tried to pass the customer off to a third employee. This is an example of poor customer service – not only is the customer’s question not answered but also the customer feels as if he or she is a weight and a burden to the staff members, as the customer sees that these staff members have very little interest in paying attention to his or her needs. Therefore, the best practice in such situations would be to ensure that the employee who begins working with the customer stays with him or her until the question/questions are resolved. In this way, the customer can continue to have an informed individual with him or her at all times, who is acutely aware of the customer’s original questions and needs. Although it goes without saying, it is increasingly vital for employees to exhibit advanced computer and technological skills with relation to customer service. As far as technical side of things is concerned, nothing can be quite so alarming or frustrating as having a sales associate’s technological inabilities severely hamper or outright halt the flow of customer service to others in line. This lack of technological knowledge also serves to raise poignant questions in the mind of the clientele as they begin to question if technology is just one manifestation of a host of drawbacks that a sales associate might have. Although this may seem harsh, it is the reality of the workplace and it must be understood by all involved that unless a sales associate can put a positive, informed, and capable face on the company and brand image, he or she has no reason to be in a position in which marketing is such a powerful component of the job. Such employees may be better suited in other aspects of the firm in lieu of more technologically capable individuals who could represent the firm in both customer service and skills representation. It is essential to note that without exception, every single element of customer service that was discussed in this brief analysis has centered on communication between employees and customers. Although it is seemingly obvious, one cannot emphasize enough that this is the root of customer service. The store can only evolve to a given point; afterwards, it is the job of the staff to make the experience of customers a pleasurable one. Likewise, the store offerings can only evolve to a certain point of variability; afterwards, it is the job of the sales staff to provide the needed support in order to take the shopping experience to the next level. In short, communication serves as the very backbone of a successful and superior customer service experience. Furthermore, the abilities to empathize, listen attentively, minimize conflict, offer services when needed, greet the customers and confirm that they have found everything they wished during their shopping experience is integral to providing the customers with the experience that is likely to prompt them to return to the same establishment in the future and patronize it. It is equally important to note that although many of these skills can be taught, written about in employee manuals, and adopted in a deep and ingrained company culture, not all people can posses them; therefore, hiring the correct individuals to represent the firm is necessary. Although the purpose of this piece is not to enter into the age-old argument of nurture versus nature, it should be noted that firms should hire only those individuals that possess at least a modicum of relevant character traits. In this way, the potential of the firm to attract and retain a high number of repeat customers is greatly augmented. In this way, the ideas espoused by the company culture should be carefully measured against new hires and it should be determined to what extent these new hires share the same, or equally congruous, values that the company holds in such high regard. In this way, quality customer service will not be a result of bending of a given set of employees to the will of the company, but will be a second nature. Likewise, employees will be more likely to exhibit their own personalities rather than a set of learned customer service skills. In the end, customer service is a multi-faceted and nebulous concept that is about one ideal only – that of making the customer’s experience in the presence of the sale associate enjoyable, simple, pain-free, and satisfying. In this way, the customer feels encouraged to patronize the establishment in the future and the store will gain the dual benefit of not only his/her business but the business that is likely to be generated by word of mouth from the satisfied customer. In such a way, the power that superior customer service holds over the future profits and projected longevity of the firm is perhaps at times even more important than the Four P’s of Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. References DeVine, J., Lal, S., & Zea, M. (2012). The human factor in service design. Mckinsey Quarterly, 1, 118-123. Read More