Service is the Key

It comes down to one thing. Customer service.

 

Products may seem similar, but the way a client feels is the top priority in the end. Businesses need to treat customers as friends. This simple thing sets one business apart from another.

A store or restaurant that offers a friendly hello when a customer comes in the door has started a relationship that could mean that customer comes back again and again.

We need to care about those we serve.  We need to offer them the best in quality merchandise or services and present it with a kind and courteous style.

We need to treat others as we would like to be treated.  Pretty basic, but difficult in this day of over stretched budgets and workloads.  All else does not matter if we cannot be kind and helpful.

 

Strive for excellence in service and the rest will work out.

 

 

 

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No Script Required – Listening Skills

An essential tool for success is the ability to listen and understand.

With co-workers and associates we can save a lot of time by getting things right the first time. Listening to understand and be understood is a valuable time saver. Having keen listening skills helps in so many ways.

In sales, listening to the customer provides us with keys to what they are looking for in a product and service and this helps us to adapt our presentation or to bring out the services that our company offers to help fit their needs.  When we act as a consultant, ask questions and listen, we can give superior service and get the sale.

Shakespeare said, “all the world is a stage and we are merely players”.  On stage the actors have the benefit of a script and simply follow their lines. In real life we have no script.  We are all improvisational players as we move through our daily lives. There are a few scripted moments… “How are you?” and we respond with the usual.  Or maybe we can be creative and say something besides.. “fine.”

We can learn many helpful tools for business success from improvisation comedy teams such as Second City in Chicago. Night after night these performers are thrown into situations that they would never expect to be in and they play off what they are given. Someone in the audience may be asked to give a location for the next skit. Amazing places can be tossed out and the actors must be ready to jump forward with whatever is given. Someone may say, you are astronauts on Mars or pastry chefs on a cruise ship or 4^th graders in gym class.

The key to the actor’s success is that they jump into it with courage and confidence and then let the story unwind. They react to each other and the situation. No script is available and none is required – just like life.

So he key to their success is listening to the other actors on stage. If one says, “I think I grabbed the wrong space suit.” The story will move forward in a comical way if another actor builds on that line and adds, “yeah, I must have yours as it is giving me an sub – atomic wedgie!”  Consider if the second actor did not focus, listen and respond to what the first said, he might say, “yes and doesn’t the earth look pretty from here.” He just took the scene in another direction and the audience would be confused and less amused.

In real life we need to make a conscious choice to really listen and respond to associates and clients. We must focus attention fully on others and not on what we want to say next.

This focus will lead to better understanding and less misunderstanding. Most importantly, people will feel that we genuinely care.  One of the best ways that we can show that we genuinely care is by giving our undivided attention to others by listening when they speak.

It is easier said than done, but this is a skill that can be developed by practice. Try it each time you are with someone today. Practice makes better.

Excellence in Service

In today’s competitive economy some times the only difference between products is the customer service. Two stores may sell the exact same thing, but the customer’s perceptiopn of how they were treated will make a huge difference in their loyalty to that store.  In other services, from lawyers and real estate, to auto repair or tire sales the products or services may be similar or seem similar to the customer so there needs to be that extra thing that makes you stand out.

Excellence in service can be the thing that brings the customer into your business again and again.  Car shops can encourage their staff to give a friendly smile or even take some extra time to explain the problem with the vehicle.

Here is a short Customer Service Checklist.

Answer the Phone. It is surprising how many people deliberately do not pick up the phone at their business and let it roll over to a taped message and then use that message to screen the caller for some general purpose.

Return calls in a timely manner. This is a powerful way to demonstrate your efficiency and the concern you have for the customer. If you take too long to get back it reflects on your desire to serve and help a customer.

Smile – This is a simple but very effective customer service tool. It is also just a way to extent kindness and friendship.

Explain things patiently and kindly.  Make things clear. Whether you are explaining benefits or features of your product, it is easy to sometimes slip into jargon or temenology that is not clear to others. Avoid this and ask questions to make sure it is clear to the client.

Don’t sell – help them to buy.  Be a consultant in your selling approach.

We want out customers to become raving fans who will tell others aobut the great service and quality of our product or service.

How do we benefit from customers who are raving fans.  Word of mouth is a very powerful way to generate more business. Positive word of mouth is a hard thing to generate, but it begins by exceeding the customer’s expectations and showering them with excellent service.

Encourage and motivate your staff to go for the gold with the motivational speech on Service and Teamwork.  Salute the excellent service your staff gives with the motivational presentation at InspireBiz.com -or  Inspire.Aces-Show.biz.