I call it the "wave and roll."
You walk up to an intersection. You look both ways before you cross when you make eye contact with an oncoming vehicle. You meet the gaze of the driver. Politely and legally, he invites you to cross first. As you enter the crosswalk, you notice that he continues rolling toward the intersection with no reduction in speed.
How safe do you feel?
Your clients-remember those who you are supposed to protect-have a similar experience when you send them incongruous messages. Step into their shoes for a minute. Do you remember the last time you were frustrated with the service you received? Did they promise the moon and then delivery nothing but dust?
Recently, I ordered a new pair of prescription eyeglasses. The optician told me, "We will do anything to earn your business." At this point you might be saying to me, let the buyer beware. And if you did, you would have a good point. I was told the glasses would be ready in a week. They were not. I was told another week, but still no glasses.
"We will do anything to earn your business," was replaced with, "It is not our fault." Since they used outside vendors to perform the work, my optician asserted he had no control over the lab they outsourced the job to.
Rather than addressing the problem-and the broken promise-the optician offered me a new target for my ill will and disappointment, the lab.
Plausible deniability may work in presidential politics, but regardless of who was at "fault," I was out a pair of glasses and the words on the computer screen were getting mighty blurry. A client was unprotected. Coincidently, an acquaintance in another industry had recently shared his reason for outsourcing what was once an internal function. "So that my customers will not get mad at me." A sentiment apparently shared by my optician.
Shouldn't the emphasis be on keeping the client from getting mad as opposed to getting mad at you?
Eventually, I got my glasses. But, my optician lost a repeat customer. And now I am sharing their poor example of customer service with you to illustrate how you can better keep your clients happy, well served, and protected.
To ensure you do not send mixed signals, I will leave you with three considerations.
First, align yourself with your clients. Regard them as partners.
Your job is to meet your clients' needs, to protect them. If not, then what purpose does your business serve? Look for opportunities to advocate for your clients interests, especially those for which they contracted you.
Recall that my optician claimed they had no control; that the delay in getting my glasses was not their fault. Specialization-as in one business sells the glasses, another makes them-fosters interdependence. I imagine most of you rely on outsourcing relationships to serve your clients. Outsourcing does not abdicate you of your responsibility to your clients, certainly not in their eyes.
My optician may have had a lack of control, but in a business relationship no one is without influence. How likely do you think it is that some accommodation could have been made between parties to diminish the client's pain?
This is where you look for opportunities to demonstrate your care for the customer. Get creative! Find solutions and make them happen! Let the client know what you are doing on their behalf. Even if you are unsuccessful, or just moderately successful, your efforts will make a difference. It might not win the client over, but it will definitely improve your odds.
Second, welcome all feedback, especially complaints.
A complaining client is a wonderful thing to behold. Complaining to you means the client still maintains a vested interest in seeing the relationship improve. A complaint represents an opportunity to repair the service.
How do you react to complaints? What goes on emotionally for you when a customer complains? Do you empathize with their pain, marshaling your own resourcefulness to resolve the problem? Or, do you feel embarrassed or threatened, exposed or unsafe? If you regard complaints as threats, you position yourself against your client, rather than with them. Advocating for your client requires you to be open and vulnerable with them. There's no room for self-protection if you want to keep your clients happy.
Third and finally, align your policies and processes to support your clients.
Question the purpose and impact of the rules you work by. Do they support customers or do they provide for your convenience, profit, or protection. Convenience, profit, and protection are important. But if those purposes are cross with your clients needs, reevaluation is in order.
Align with your customers. Do what you say, say what you do. Be grateful and thankful for client complaints. Make sure your policies support your clients. When a service breakdown does occur, you will feel less like you are about to be hit by a car.
And more importantly, so will your client.
REPUBLISHING PERMISSION: You are welcome to download or reprint this article so long as you include my byline and copyright at the end of each piece with a live weblink. Please forward publication specifics to http://www.JeffSimon-Consulting.com/ The attribution should read:
"By Jeff Simon of Jeff Simon Consulting, The Client Retention Specialists. Are you having trouble keeping your best clients? Please visit Jeff's website at http://www.JeffSimon-Consulting.com/ for additional articles and resources for keeping your best clients."
If you're a regular reader of my column you know... Read More
The best way to explain this concept is to tell... Read More
Those of us in home based and small businesses are... Read More
Traditional marketing strategies encourage business owners to continually grow their... Read More
Whether in a restaurant, a retail establishment, or the local... Read More
- Excerpt from Richard Saporito's latest e-book "How to Improve... Read More
Why do some businesses offer points, stamps or every tenth... Read More
You've heard it all before when it comes to stats... Read More
At 8.30 am a wealthy client (on his way to... Read More
One of the most important questions people ask when they... Read More
Who was it that said - "The customer is always... Read More
I returned a rental car at an airport yesterday. As... Read More
Like any business, carpet and upholstery cleaning requires excellent customer... Read More
When people ask, "What is CRM?" the literal answer is,... Read More
Walmart was the first business to require all its employees... Read More
Recognize metaphors from every angle and round up more insight... Read More
One of my classes in management focused on the repeat... Read More
Every customer you have is a word-of-mouth advertiser for you.... Read More
Do you need greeters or should you avoid them? That... Read More
Our challenge as the business owner/sales person answering the telephone,... Read More
When you make a mistake with a customer, should you... Read More
Listening is the #1 communication skill for leadership, selling, customer... Read More
What have you done for your existing customers lately? Probably... Read More
Have you seen that thing on TV where the gal... Read More
Different people call their Customers by different names. If they... Read More
As an entrepreneur, I'm always intrigued by small businesses, home-based... Read More
This may seem a strange topic to introduce. Yet, it... Read More
What customers really want can be divided into two areas.Firstly... Read More
Have you ever been in a department store and known... Read More
It's possible that in the course of your business dealings,... Read More
Are your company's call center services all that they could... Read More
The following are common mistakes that Sales Managers and Owners... Read More
Is customer service a lost art? Before you answer that... Read More
It should be a straightforward business scenario: making sure that... Read More
If you are up to your ears in a stressful... Read More
In today's highly competitive economy, it is difficult to maintain... Read More
1. Hire people who have a service attitude. Some people... Read More
Have you ever walked into a store and things looked... Read More
Every business loses customers, but not many do much about... Read More
If you want to learn how to get your clients... Read More
Big companies and corporations have lost the human touch. The... Read More
A growing number of individuals are finding themselves called to... Read More
Sure, all clients are different. They have different kinds of... Read More
7:00 a.m., the silence in the house is broken by... Read More
I will not make sales. I will make Customers.I will... Read More
Have you ever called a company and been greeted with... Read More
If you've called for customer service recently you're familiar with... Read More
It's just a simple thing ? I bought a new... Read More
What do your customers experience when they interact with your... Read More
Remember trading stamps? If you're over 40, chances are you... Read More
"Hi this is Randy. Leave me a message after the... Read More
Q: One of the big chain bookstores recently opened up... Read More
I'd like to start this article with a test ?What... Read More
If there was a restaurant in your town that was... Read More
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone... Read More
Do you need greeters or should you avoid them? That... Read More
Customer retention is vital to a business. If you cannot... Read More
Businesses that fail, often forget to seek out the customer... Read More
What happened to the old saying, the customer is always... Read More
Outsourcing seems to be the new-new thing and approximately 50%... Read More
My regular readers will know that one of the things... Read More
Jay instructed a customer of his to offer a rare... Read More
Is your restaurant, bar or hotel clean? I mean really... Read More
When was the last time you received a handwritten note... Read More
There are two kinds of customer service we all experience... Read More
Ever notice how customer service varies from store to store?... Read More
Customer Service |