Serving customers isn’t always easy, especially in difficult situations. Nevertheless, it’s always possible to serve customers well. Here are a few tips to help you today.
1. Smile at all times
- Greet customers with a warm smile, whether in person, on the phone, by e-mail or even by text message.
- Use professional and respectful language.
- Respond promptly to customer requests to show that you value their time either, if possible, within the same day and even within an hour if possible.
2. Master communication
- Ask customers questions and listen carefully to their answers.
- Make sure you understand their expectations by repeating what you’ve identified as expectations and thus validating your understanding.
- Communicate clearly and concisely, and avoid technical jargon when you don’t have to. Don’t forget to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and adapt to them, not the other way around.
- Keep customers informed as soon as possible. People hate unexpected surprises, especially negative ones.
3. Avoid unattainable promises
- People like to be reassured, but if the promise isn’t delivered, the disappointment will be even greater.
- Promise less and deliver more. It’s better to lower expectations and deliver beyond promises than the other way around.
4. Get organized and take notes
- Memory is a faculty that forgets, so we need to help it.
- Keep a notebook in paper or virtual format so you don’t forget anything. À
Write down the day’s date to remind yourself and know the deadline - Review your notes from the previous day every morning.
- Use a calendar to plan appointments and tasks.
- File and archive documents so you can find them quickly if you need to.
Prioritize tasks according to importance and urgency.
5. Be responsive and available
- Respond promptly to phone calls, e-mails, text messages and appointment requests.
- Ideally, identify a maximum time frame within which you must respond to your customers to ensure efficient service.
- If you can’t answer immediately, make sure you respond to the communication within a reasonable time.
- Be flexible with schedules to accommodate customer needs whenever possible.
6. Cultivate patience and problem-solving skills
- Handle customer complaints or concerns calmly and professionally.
- Look for solutions to problems, rather than simply pointing out obstacles. Even if you don’t have a solution, stay positive – customers appreciate it and keep their spirits up too.
- When you can’t solve a problem right away, be sure to follow up and keep the customer informed of progress.
Things to remember
Customers appreciate it when you make every effort to meet their needs. In most cases, customers understand that not everything depends on you. One thing’s for sure: if you keep calm and smile, customers appreciate it and do the same.
A smile may not change the world, but it sure helps!
