Good customer service that works

THE National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), in partnership with the Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs and Professionals (Society) of the Philippines Inc. (CYEPSPI), conducted a half-day seminar on Customer Service That Works last Saturday, November 5, 2011. The participants learned the concepts of good customer service.

For every companies, academe, organizations, and even the government agencies, whether a person shines shoes for a living or heads up the biggest companies in the world, and no other than His Excellency President Aquino acknowledges that there is only one boss and this number one priority remains the same.

It is the CUSTOMER! Whether you agree with me or not, the customer is the person who pays everyone’s salary and who decides whether a business is going to succeed or fail. He can do it simply by spending his money somewhere else or just keep it in his bank account.

In reality, everything we do, every idea perceived, every technology developed and invented, and people employed, is geared toward one objective – satisfying the customer. You ask everyone, any owners, managers and employees of a business establishment, President of any banks, ministers, priests or any sidewalk vendors and they will tell you HOW IMPORTANT the customer is to their operations and success. In meeting after the other, heads of industry, the service sector, utilities including government agencies try to convince the people how much they believe in customer service.

There are three key elements of Customer Service. One of which is SERVICE, which is intangible. Something that you can’t touch or hold. Service cannot be produced ahead of time and stored. Another meaning of service is simply based on an exchange of monies for goods or service. Service should provide the customer with more than the product taken on his/her behalf and that is SATISFACTION.

Next elements of Customer Service are the Frontliners. They are either the owner, manager or an employee of business establishments, organization or agencies. In short, they are the service providers who regularly interact with customer/clients and who possess quality skills of customer service.

On the other hand, we also have the customers who are parties who buy and pay fair price for quality services or products, and feel satisfied they have paid for and received what they have paid for in return.

One of the key elements is Good Customer Service, which is the lifeblood of any agencies and organizations. It is the ability to constantly and consistently exceed customers’ expectations, needs and wants. Ensure that your business consistently does the right things.

In providing the good customer service, the fronliners will always make the customers feel heard, understood, liked, respected, feel helped and appreciated. In other words. Customers are treated like king.

While having all these elements of good customer service, customer relationship is established. It is an interactive process between client and the frontliner, for the purpose of determining and satisfying client needs and to generate and sustain goodwill. And ultimately, to promote sales and increase the income of the business by maintaining outstanding relationships and excellent services with customers that can be nurtured to keep the customers for life.

Bottomline: Customer Service means providing a quality product or service that satisfies the needs/wants of a customer and keeps them coming back. GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE means much more – it means continued success, increased profits, higher job satisfaction, improved company or organization morale, better teamwork and market expansion of service or products.