Effecient Customer Service With Autoresponder

Ideally, when you perform customer service, it is done on a one-on-one basis with each of your customers. That works quite well in the offline world – but on the Internet, that simply will not do. Your customers are literally all over the world, and there is no way that you can really deal with each one of them personally. That is where an autoresponder comes in.

Customer service with autoresponders is quite simple. When an order is place, an autoresponder can send out the receipt for the sale, the information for accessing the product, and a ‘thank you’ email.

This happens whether you are logged in to your computer or on vacation in an exotic location! But customer service doesn’t always end right there, and if you are away from your computer, you may be letting your customers down!

For instance, an elderly gentleman sees your product advertised and places an order. Everything goes through just fine, and he receives the receipt, the download information, and your ‘thank you’ email.

Your product is an ebook, compiled into a PDF file.

This particular gentleman doesn’t understand what a PDF file is, and he has no idea what you mean by ‘right click to download.’ He needs additional customer service for the product that he has purchased, and there is nobody available to help him – nobody but an autoresponder.

Set up an additional autoresponder that will send out a list of frequently asked questions or problems that deal with customer service or how to access the product. Also set up a support autoresponder. If he sends a message to support, he should get an instant message back letting him know that his message has been received, and how soon it will be addressed. This will give him some measure of comfort, and in most cases, he will wait that specified period of time for assistance.

However, if he doesn’t know how to download the product, and he sends a message to support, and nothing happens, he will most likely become very dissatisfied in a very short period of time. The difference between a patient customer and an irate customer is one simple autoresponder message that can and should be set up in under five minutes.

Really think your ordering process through, and consider the potential problems that may occur for your customers. Get an autoresponder set up to address those problems, and you will find that your customers are more satisfied with your products, and extremely satisfied with your customer service – all because your autoresponders handle their problems right away!

About The Author

Dechen Lau., is an Author, Speaker and Internet Marketing Consultant
http://www.powersuccessresponder.com
http://www.powersuccesshost.com

Customer Service -- Customer Loyalty Wins Sales

Batteries not included. Three of the dumbest words.

Your Company spent millions of dollars to develop this wonderful product. Engineers spent countless hours creating and refining it. You spent additional millions of dollars in advertising to get me to buy it.

I bought it. I took it home and now it won't work because YOU neglected to include the only part that WILL make it work. For a couple of extra bucks, your cost and mine, I'm frustrated and angry with you and your Company.

It's the same with customer service.

No matter what you sell; whether it's goods or services, big ticket or small, sales and customer service are not two separate pieces. Every sale must come with the customer service built in.

Exceptional customer service is NOT an extra cost of doing business. It is an investment in your own future success.

In the early 1950s, my uncle had a very small clothing store in Miami, Florida. In those days, Miami was a major entertainment center, with the biggest names in show business appearing at the major hotels, very similar to Las Vegas today.

One evening, as he was leaving the stage at the end of the early show, a young singer ripped his tuxedo jacket on a nail sticking out of the wall. It was after 8 P.M., all the clothing stores were closed.

The hotel management called the major stores and owners because the singer didn't want to go on stage with a torn jacket or worse, no jacket.

None of the fancy clothing shop owners would leave their homes to accommodate the young man. Finally, in desperation, my uncle got the call. Would he come downtown with a couple of tuxedos?

Within an hour my uncle was at the hotel with 4 tuxedos. He did the fitting and tailoring right on the spot.

The young singer and the big hotel management were ecstatic. The singer tried to shove a few extra hundred dollar bills into my uncle's hand, but he wouldn't take the money, explaining that he was honored to have the opportunity to earn the business.

The singer promised that he would never forget my uncle's kindness and would tell his show biz friends about my uncle. True to his word, the singer continued to tell his friends about my uncle, even as his singing career skyrocketed.

The young singer - Frank Sinatra.

My uncle - went from a tiny clothing store on the edges of oblivion to "Mickey Hayes - Clothier to the Stars"; his walls covered with hundreds of photographs of the biggest names in show business.

On the other side of the coin is INTEL, the major manufacturer of computer chips, and, a great company.

Some years ago, Intel's newest chip had a design flaw that caused a problem in only the tiniest number of calculations, and only in highly complex situations. As this problem began to get reported in the press, owners of computers built with these new chips wanted replacements.

Intel's management stated that these customers were somewhat stupid since only highly complex calculations in specialized situations would experience that problem and then, only on the rarest occasions. They said that they would replace the chip if the customer could substantiate the claim that their chip was flawed.

How stupid. If it only goes bad once in a zillion times, why not give a lifetime guarantee? Most of the customers would never run into that problem. If they had immediately offered the lifetime replacement guarantee, ALL of the customers would have had a very high degree of confidence that they would never need to take Intel up on their offer.

Intel finally did offer lifetime replacement - after worrying, offending and insulting millions of their customers.

We can all learn a valuable lesson from Nordstroms; the department store famous for customer service. Their service to customers is so incredible, that people go out of their way to shop there.

Mr. Nordstrom calls it 'customer heroics'. "We do it because we want more business - NOT simply because we're nice guys."

I've always told my employees - "don't save me 'MY' money. If it helps the customer, SPEND my money. Even if they make a mistake, they won't be criticized if it helped the customer".

Nordstrom, over a period of many years, has developed a corporate culture of service to the customer. Any corporate culture, if it is going to endure successfully, MUST take on a life of its own, apart from the wishes of management. It has to be adopted by every employee, because THEY each think that it's a good idea.

Whether you are a 1 person operation or the largest company, you know what good customer service is. It's the Golden Rule applied to business - "Do unto others".

Listen to your customers' spoken requests - and unspoken. They'll tell you what they want. Add a large portion of your own good common sense. Make a commitment to yourself that you will give your customers, service beyond their highest expectations

If you will do these few simple things, I can guarantee you success beyond YOUR expectations.

About The Author

Gary Wollin is a Warren Buffet style investment advisor with 45+ years of Wall Street experience. He has been regularly featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and many other publications around the world. He writes and speaks on sales, customer loyalty, and the stock market.

For more information, please visit http://www.garywollin.com.

Customer Segmentation Needn't Create Poor Customer Service

A popular way to segment customers is by revenue or profit generated, with "A-list" customers receiving more perks and personal service than "lower" categories. There are right and wrong ways to do this.

Doing it right means cultivating customers so they all feel appreciated, by developing or improving products to meet each customer segments' needs. Result: pleased customers and higher profit.

Doing it wrong creates risk of sub-standard service for "unimportant" customers, making them feel unappreciated and resentful. Result: missed profit opportunities and disgruntled customers.

Brand Image

When deciding how to service each customer segment, remember that every point of contact with a customer reflects on the brand, regardless of customer "importance." Over time, this has an impact on brand image and company reputation.

With the Internet so prevalent today, each individual has more power to voice his/her opinion than in times past, which directly impacts brand image and goodwill associated with the name. Each mistreated customer has the means to tell the world of her/his experience on Web sites that allow reviews (such as bizrate.com and Amazon.com) and online discussion forums.

An Example of Bad Service From the Customer Viewpoint

The way each of my credit card issuers treats me is a prime example. I always pay my bill in full (often early) and belong to the "cash back" rebate programs, so I imagine I'm in a similar customer segment for each and would expect to be treated similarly by these three competitors.

Not the case. Two of the companies make me feel like a valued customer. The third made me feel so unappreciated I closed the account. How the three companies handle "suspicious" activity on my account demonstrates the varying degrees of service:

- Discover card has a fraud specialist (or customer service representative) call me in person to ask that I review recent transactions with her/him.

- Citibank's computer calls me with an alert, asking that I call a number or go online to verify transactions through a computerized process.

- Advanta locks the account and sends a letter informing me they have done so. In my experience, the letter arrived a week after the incident and I was not notified by telephone (I called them when the "offending" vendor notified me of the decline). I asked customer service to allow future charges from that vendor, but they could not do so. Presumably, this meant an account freeze each time my authorized vendor attempted to process a legitimate charge.

All three of my card companies require that I take some sort of action to verify suspicious charges, which is to be expected. The approach, however, leaves a very different impression. Citibank and Discover both apologize for the inconvenience of transaction verifications and -- while I have to go through an extra step with Citibank -- both fall within my subjective definition of quality customer service. Advanta, however, does not apologize for the hardships of declined transactions and a frozen account.

To be fair, I do not know that my negative experience would have been handled differently if I were in a more profitably customer segment. It could have been result of badly trained customer service representatives, or perhaps this is standard procedure on all accounts.

Tips for Segmenting Customers Without Sacrificing Service

Customer segmentation is a good thing. It helps you recognize how customers are different and it should draw your attention to needs of different segments, prompting you to better meet those needs. Some ideas on successful segmentation:

- Segment by need rather than profit or revenue. A low-profit customer today could be high-profit tomorrow if you offer products and services that fill her/his needs.

- Look for ways some customer segments can effectively be more "self-service," which cuts costs for the company while meeting customer service needs.

- Build in ways to create exceptions in automated customer service processes, so as not to alienate those with special situations (in my example, by allowing a way to preauthorize account activity).

- If offering promotions, rewards, or other incentives to some segments but not others, "spell it out" for customer service representatives and structure your Web site and promotional mailings accordingly. By taking steps to assure customers receive consistent information across all channels of communication, you avoid customers being exposed to offers for which they do not qualify.

There are ways to segment customers without lowering customer service. By doing so effectively, you nurture business growth and reputation.

About The Author

Bobette Kyle draws upon 15+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, online marketing experience, and marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. Bobette is proprietor at Web Marketing Place LLC and runs http://WebSiteMarketingPlan.com -- http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com -- where you'll find free marketing planning articles and resources. She is also author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business."

Copyright 2006 Bobette Kyle, Web Marketing Place LLC. All rights reserved. Reprints must have URL in "About the Author" box hyperlinked and clickable to correct URL.

Customer Segmentation Needn't Create Poor Customer Service

A popular way to segment customers is by revenue or profit generated, with "A-list" customers receiving more perks and personal service than "lower" categories. There are right and wrong ways to do this.

Doing it right means cultivating customers so they all feel appreciated, by developing or improving products to meet each customer segments' needs. Result: pleased customers and higher profit.

Doing it wrong creates risk of sub-standard service for "unimportant" customers, making them feel unappreciated and resentful. Result: missed profit opportunities and disgruntled customers.

Brand Image

When deciding how to service each customer segment, remember that every point of contact with a customer reflects on the brand, regardless of customer "importance." Over time, this has an impact on brand image and company reputation.

With the Internet so prevalent today, each individual has more power to voice his/her opinion than in times past, which directly impacts brand image and goodwill associated with the name. Each mistreated customer has the means to tell the world of her/his experience on Web sites that allow reviews (such as bizrate.com and Amazon.com) and online discussion forums.

An Example of Bad Service From the Customer Viewpoint

The way each of my credit card issuers treats me is a prime example. I always pay my bill in full (often early) and belong to the "cash back" rebate programs, so I imagine I'm in a similar customer segment for each and would expect to be treated similarly by these three competitors.

Not the case. Two of the companies make me feel like a valued customer. The third made me feel so unappreciated I closed the account. How the three companies handle "suspicious" activity on my account demonstrates the varying degrees of service:

- Discover card has a fraud specialist (or customer service representative) call me in person to ask that I review recent transactions with her/him.

- Citibank's computer calls me with an alert, asking that I call a number or go online to verify transactions through a computerized process.

- Advanta locks the account and sends a letter informing me they have done so. In my experience, the letter arrived a week after the incident and I was not notified by telephone (I called them when the "offending" vendor notified me of the decline). I asked customer service to allow future charges from that vendor, but they could not do so. Presumably, this meant an account freeze each time my authorized vendor attempted to process a legitimate charge.

All three of my card companies require that I take some sort of action to verify suspicious charges, which is to be expected. The approach, however, leaves a very different impression. Citibank and Discover both apologize for the inconvenience of transaction verifications and -- while I have to go through an extra step with Citibank -- both fall within my subjective definition of quality customer service. Advanta, however, does not apologize for the hardships of declined transactions and a frozen account.

To be fair, I do not know that my negative experience would have been handled differently if I were in a more profitably customer segment. It could have been result of badly trained customer service representatives, or perhaps this is standard procedure on all accounts.

Tips for Segmenting Customers Without Sacrificing Service

Customer segmentation is a good thing. It helps you recognize how customers are different and it should draw your attention to needs of different segments, prompting you to better meet those needs. Some ideas on successful segmentation:

- Segment by need rather than profit or revenue. A low-profit customer today could be high-profit tomorrow if you offer products and services that fill her/his needs.

- Look for ways some customer segments can effectively be more "self-service," which cuts costs for the company while meeting customer service needs.

- Build in ways to create exceptions in automated customer service processes, so as not to alienate those with special situations (in my example, by allowing a way to preauthorize account activity).

- If offering promotions, rewards, or other incentives to some segments but not others, "spell it out" for customer service representatives and structure your Web site and promotional mailings accordingly. By taking steps to assure customers receive consistent information across all channels of communication, you avoid customers being exposed to offers for which they do not qualify.

There are ways to segment customers without lowering customer service. By doing so effectively, you nurture business growth and reputation.

About The Author

Bobette Kyle draws upon 15+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, online marketing experience, and marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. You can find more of her free marketing planning articles at: http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com.

The 5 Biggest Customer Service Blunders Of All Time

While howls of protest over poor customer service continue to fill the air, there remain some businesses that manage to consistently deliver superior customer service year in and year out. These are the places where turbo-charged employees pursue customer delight with a passion, places that ignite a flashpoint of contagious enthusiasm in employees and customers alike. Foremost among the lessons to be learned from such flashpoint businesses are the blunders to avoid—those fatal mistakes that trip up just about everybody else.

First Blunder: making customer service a training issue.

Businesses of all kinds invest huge amounts in training programs that do not—and simply cannot—work. The function of such training is to identify the behaviors workers are supposed to engage in, and then coax, bully, or legislate these behaviors into the workplace. At best, this is almost always a recipe for conduct that feels mechanized and insincere; at worst, it intensifies worker resentment and cynicism.

Instead of dictating what workers should be doing to delight customers, the better approach is to give workers opportunities to brainstorm their own ideas for delivering delight. Management’s role then becomes to help employees implement these ideas, and to allow workers to savor the motivational effect of the positive feedback that ensues from delighted customers. This level of employee ownership and involvement is a key cultural characteristic of virtually all flashpoint businesses.

Second Blunder: blaming poor service on employee demotivation.

Businesses looking for ways to motivate their workers are almost always looking in the wrong places. Employee cynicism is the direct product of an organization’s visible preoccupation with self-interest above all else—a purely internal focus. The focus in flashpoint businesses is directed outward, toward the interests of customers and the community at large. This shift in cultural focus changes the way the business operates at all levels.

The reality in most business settings is that employees are demotivated because they can’t deliver delight. The existing policies and procedures make it impossible. Instead of “fixing” their employees, flashpoint business set out to build a culture that unblocks them. Workers are encouraged to identify operational obstacles to customer delight, and participate in finding ways around them.

Third Blunder: using customer feedback to uncover what’s wrong.

Businesses often use surveys and other feedback mechanisms to get to the causes of customer problems and complaints. Employees come to dread these measurement and data-gathering efforts, since they so often lead to what feels like witch-hunts for employee scapegoats, formal exercises in finger-pointing and the assigning of blame. Flashpoint businesses use customer feedback very differently. In these organizations the object is to uncover everything that’s going right. Managers are forever on the lookout for "hero stories" - examples of employees going the extra mile to deliver delight. Such feedback becomes the basis for ongoing recognition and celebration. Employees see themselves as winners on a winning team, because in their workplace there’s always some new "win" being celebrated.

Fourth Blunder: reserving top recognition for splashy recoveries.

It happens all the time: something goes terribly wrong in a customer order or transaction, and a dedicated employee goes to tremendous lengths to make things right. The delighted customer brings this employee’s wonderful recovery to management’s attention, and the employee receives special recognition for his or her efforts. This is a blunder?

It is when such recoveries are the primary—if not the only—catalysts for employee recognition. In such a culture, foul-ups become almost a good thing from the workers’ point of view. By creating opportunities for splashy recoveries, foul-ups represent the only chance employees have to feel appreciated on the job. Attempts to correct operational problems won’t win much support if employees see these problems as their only opportunity to shine.

Flashpoint businesses celebrate splashy recoveries, of course—but they’re also careful to uncover and celebrate employee efforts to delight customers where no mistakes or problems were involved. This makes it easier to get workers participating in efforts to permanently eliminate the sources of problems at the systems level.

Fifth Blunder: competing on price.

It’s one of the most common (and most costly) mistakes in business. Price becomes the deciding factor in purchasing decisions only when everything else is equal—and everything else is almost never equal. Businesses compete on the perception of value, and this includes more than price. It’s shaped by the total customer experience—and aspects such as “helpfulness,” “friendliness,” and “the personal touch” often give the competitive advantage to businesses that actually charge slightly more for their basic goods and services.

Those businesses that deliver a superior total experience from the inside out (that is, as a product of a strongly customer-focused culture) are typically those that enjoy a long-term competitive advantage—along with virtual immunity from the kinds of headaches that plague everybody else.

Customer-focus consultant Paul Levesque’s latest book is Customer Service From The Inside Out Made Easy (Entrepreneur Press, 2006).

About The Author

Copyright Paul Levesque. All Rights Reserved.

Paul Levesque is available for speaking engagements through http://www.keynoteresource.com 1-800-420-4155

Paul Levesque has more than 20 years' experience as an international customer-service consultant. He has helped hundreds of corporate and small business clients become more customer-focused.

The Honeymoon Stage of Trucking Courier Services and What Every Customer Must Know

A lot of in-city trucking couriers will service a new customer to death in the first few months of their business relationship, but once they feel that they are safe and secure with that customer, they begin to take them for granted and start providing shoddy service. Some couriers believe that since there are so few local courier express companies with a fleet large enough to service their clientele that they no longer have to worry about competition or they simply no longer care. If you feel that your delivery service is leaving you with a rotten bill of goods, then you are not alone. Please keep reading to learn how you can keep the honeymoon stage alive or find a way to exit what has truly become a dead marriage.

As a customer you may feel that you were once the prize, but you are now despised. Once the honeymoon period is over, you may realize that your courier company is slow to pick up or slow to deliver your goods. This bad service attitude often happens once the courier realizes that the new customer doesn't need their service as much as they had thought they would, hence they are not making much money from them. On the other hand, a courier company that treats all of their customers alike does not care if a customer spends $20 per period, or $2000; they will treat each customer with the utmost respect and provide the same level of service while remaining friendly, courteous, and thoroughly professional at all times.

Unfortunately, plenty of drivers (and courier express services) will often be aloof to customers when they do not feel that they are making much money from them. Conversely, a reputable courier company will impart their exemplary customer service standards to their drivers so that they will, in turn, consistently treat the customer well by demonstrating that they are happy to be there and are sincerely thankful for the opportunity to service them regardless of the amount of business that is being generated.

One thing of special note in this particular discussion is this: couriers that provide broader services than simple parcel delivery do not really make money on the parcel delivery side of the business due to equipment costs, commercial insurance, registration, monthly payments for vehicles and equipment, maintenance, fuel, taxes, etc. The most profitable part of their business comes from the calls that include heavy freight, those that fill their decks, and on rush services. You know that you are dealing with a dependable courier company when they are just as willing to move the small stuff as they are the large freight orders.

So, now that you know about the problems faced by customers who use in-city trucking courier services, how can you ensure that you won't become just another pretty face? Truthfully, there is no guarantee that your new service provider won't drop the ball but there are some steps you can take to remedy a deteriorating situation including:

1. Contact your current courier service and let them know that you are dissatisfied with their service. Keep track of problems including if a driver has been rude or if the company has been displaying a pattern of showing up late or holding back on deliveries.

2. Start shopping for a new courier service. This is easier said than done, but if you convey to a new company that you expect nothing less than exemplary service from them and that you plan on holding them accountable to their promises, then you are less likely to be disappointed later on. If they don’t agree to your terms in advance, then simply move on to the next courier.

3. Expect to pay a decent rate for good service. Sometimes the customer is partially at fault when dealing with a new courier service as they'll demand discounts or demand a rate that matches the unreasonably low rate of a competitor. As the saying goes, "you get what you pay for" only invites shoddy service later on as the courier company looks for different ways to trim their costs, perhaps at your expense. Of course, this is not an ethical practice on the part of the trucking courier service, but it is not entirely unexpected either as someone within the company may have felt pressured to give to you their lowest rate without being able to back it up with an adequate level of service. Either way you lose, so if someone offers you a rate that is well below the industry average, you can expect service problems to crop up later on.

Finally, if your repeated request for an improvement in service falls on deaf ears, then you have little recourse but to shop elsewhere for a new trucking courier service. Changing couriers is by no means a small ordeal for a larger company as there is a lot of work involved with changing couriers, including familiarizing the company with your products and special requirements, getting to know the new company’s drivers and company staff, and contacting all of your vendors to call the new courier for their deliveries instead of the former courier. In the end, once the switch has been made to a new courier service, only regular communication can ensure that the relationship stays fresh and that no one takes the other for granted. Much like a successful marriage is dependent on open and honest communication; a customer-courier service provider relationship will only thrive if both parties are interested in seeing that it succeeds.

About The Author

Copyright 2006 -- Deborah Petersen

Deborah Petersen is a Partner for Fast Lane Transport Ltd. & Hotshot, a freight trucking company whose specialty is providing Edmonton Courier Service and Hotshot (Hot Shot) Trucking for clients from their Edmonton base, serving western Canada.

http://www.fastlanetransport.ca/

7 Golden Rules of Online Customer Service

How do you treat the people with whom you do business? Many times what we forget in this online world where so much of our customer service is automated is that, in the end, we're still doing business with other people. Do your customer service procedures create raving fans or send people away into the Internet black hole, never to be heard from again, except when you're bashed on some blog or disparaged in a discussion forum post?

What's the real price you pay as an online business owner for your customer service? Usually, the "real price" boils down to one thing -- word-of-mouth-marketing. If your customer likes the way you handle a situation, he will probably tell tell 3-5 others. However, if he feels he was treated poorly or unfairly, he'll tell 50 of his closest friends about the bad experience. Sad to say, we human beings love to complain much more than to praise. Why burn bridges with your customer when you don't have to?

Online business owners often create customer service rules that are based on fear -- fear of being taken advantage of, fear of someone getting the best of you, fear of someone not paying you for your time What happens if the entire basis of your customer service standards is fear? Well, then fear-based outcomes is what you'll get, because you tend to get what you choose to focus on. So, if you perceive that everyone in the world is out to get you and take advantage of you, then you're right.

Is there a good middle ground to choose that protects both your interests and gives your customer a great experience? There is, and you'll find it in my simple, 10-second philosophy of customer service. Ready? Here it goes.....treat your customer how you want to be treated. That's it -- nothing high tech here.

To help you evaluate your online customer service for my Golden Rule philosophy, here are 7 standards you should consider:

1. Don't hide behind the legalese. Don't expect your customer to page through a multi-page, small print document and read and understand all of your stipulations, especially if they're written in legalese rather than simpler English. If you put unfavorable or difficult terms in your Terms of Service agreement and your customer signs it, sure, you have legal protection to back up whatever terms they stipulated to with their signature. But, will the wrangling over those terms be worth it in the end? If you have terms that your customer might not find favorable at a later date, be sure and point those out to him in the beginning. Don't expect him to figure it out on his own, and don't hide behind the cowardly excuse, "Well, you should have read the Terms of Service thoroughly There's nothing I can do."

2. Walk a mile in your customer's shoes. Would you want to be treated the way you're treating them? If what you're doing to your customers makes you queasy and uneasy, that's your instinct telling you that what you're doing isn't just and proper. Moreover, how would you feel if you were treated in this fashion?

3. Make it simple to do business with you. Don't make your customer have to hire an attorney to understand your contract or to do business with you. I'm not advocating that you completely ignore legal help and advice. However, an attorney's job is to protect you from ALL liability, even those things that have a very small likelihood of actually occurring. Consequently, this usually translates into a very long document that's very difficult to read and comprehend. Work with your attorney to transform any contracts or Terms of Service agreements that you have into ones that are easily read and understood by the average person.

4. Don't do customer support via email. When you're first starting out, using email to answer service problems is ok, but as it becomes more and more difficult to send and receive legitimate business email, you'll find that you start to lose inquiries as your business grows larger and as your number of inquiries increase. At that point, think about installing a virtual support desk. This is a website that contains common FAQs and answers, as well as offers your customers the ability to open a ticket to report a problem. All correspondence occurs within the site, so you lessen the possibility of lost email. One of the more popular programs is Kayako, www.kayako.com.

5. Make it easy to contact you. Nothing is more irritating than wanting to speak to a real, live person for help and all you find is a contact form or an email address. Don't leave your customers out in the cold. Offer several options for contacting you, whether that's by email, phone, instant messaging system, live chat on your website, or a help desk/trouble ticket system.

6. Make it easy to stop doing business with you. I learned a valuable lesson from the Director of Admissions when I worked as a student affairs administrator at a small college and was trying to change a student's mind about dropping out of school. He told me, "Once they're already decided to leave, their minds are made up and there's no turning back. Just let them go." This applies to your customers as well. There may be a small percentage that you can salvage as a customer in this process, but the overwhelming majority have already made their final decision. Don't make them jump through hoops to cancel their business with you -- make it as easy and painless as possible. However, do follow up with a phone call or email or survey to determine the reason for their departure, but don't force them to go through this process to exit. Remember the AOL service cancellation call that was recorded and posted online that became a huge embarrassment for AOL? Don't let your canc!
ellation policy become the next big Internet joke.

7. If in doubt, ask your customer what to do. If you and your customer can't come to a resolution that feels equitable to both parties, ask your customer what he believes is the fair thing to do. I believe that generally people are good and fair and that most will treat you humanely if they've been humanely treated by you. The final decision may not be everything that you want, but it's probably not everything that your customer wants, either. You can use this strategy to end on a positive note, and while the customer may not return to you, he probably also won't tell everyone he meets that you're an ogre, either.

Figure out how you can implement this Golden Rule philosophy in your online business. You'll find it to be a business asset that's priceless.

Copyright (c) 2007 Donna Gunter

About The Author

Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com . Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com .

The 5 Biggest Customer Service Blunders Of All Time

While howls of protest over poor customer service continue to fill the air, there remain some businesses that manage to consistently deliver superior customer service year in and year out. These are the places where turbo-charged employees pursue customer delight with a passion, places that ignite a flashpoint of contagious enthusiasm in employees and customers alike. Foremost among the lessons to be learned from such flashpoint businesses are the blunders to avoid—those fatal mistakes that trip up just about everybody else.

First Blunder: making customer service a training issue.

Businesses of all kinds invest huge amounts in training programs that do not—and simply cannot—work. The function of such training is to identify the behaviors workers are supposed to engage in, and then coax, bully, or legislate these behaviors into the workplace. At best, this is almost always a recipe for conduct that feels mechanized and insincere; at worst, it intensifies worker resentment and cynicism.

Instead of dictating what workers should be doing to delight customers, the better approach is to give workers opportunities to brainstorm their own ideas for delivering delight. Management’s role then becomes to help employees implement these ideas, and to allow workers to savor the motivational effect of the positive feedback that ensues from delighted customers. This level of employee ownership and involvement is a key cultural characteristic of virtually all flashpoint businesses.

Second Blunder: blaming poor service on employee demotivation.

Businesses looking for ways to motivate their workers are almost always looking in the wrong places. Employee cynicism is the direct product of an organization’s visible preoccupation with self-interest above all else—a purely internal focus. The focus in flashpoint businesses is directed outward, toward the interests of customers and the community at large. This shift in cultural focus changes the way the business operates at all levels.

The reality in most business settings is that employees are demotivated because they can’t deliver delight. The existing policies and procedures make it impossible. Instead of “fixing” their employees, flashpoint business set out to build a culture that unblocks them. Workers are encouraged to identify operational obstacles to customer delight, and participate in finding ways around them.

Third Blunder: using customer feedback to uncover what’s wrong.

Businesses often use surveys and other feedback mechanisms to get to the causes of customer problems and complaints. Employees come to dread these measurement and data-gathering efforts, since they so often lead to what feels like witch-hunts for employee scapegoats, formal exercises in finger-pointing and the assigning of blame. Flashpoint businesses use customer feedback very differently. In these organizations the object is to uncover everything that’s going right. Managers are forever on the lookout for "hero stories" - examples of employees going the extra mile to deliver delight. Such feedback becomes the basis for ongoing recognition and celebration. Employees see themselves as winners on a winning team, because in their workplace there’s always some new "win" being celebrated.

Fourth Blunder: reserving top recognition for splashy recoveries.

It happens all the time: something goes terribly wrong in a customer order or transaction, and a dedicated employee goes to tremendous lengths to make things right. The delighted customer brings this employee’s wonderful recovery to management’s attention, and the employee receives special recognition for his or her efforts. This is a blunder?

It is when such recoveries are the primary—if not the only—catalysts for employee recognition. In such a culture, foul-ups become almost a good thing from the workers’ point of view. By creating opportunities for splashy recoveries, foul-ups represent the only chance employees have to feel appreciated on the job. Attempts to correct operational problems won’t win much support if employees see these problems as their only opportunity to shine.

Flashpoint businesses celebrate splashy recoveries, of course—but they’re also careful to uncover and celebrate employee efforts to delight customers where no mistakes or problems were involved. This makes it easier to get workers participating in efforts to permanently eliminate the sources of problems at the systems level.

Fifth Blunder: competing on price.

It’s one of the most common (and most costly) mistakes in business. Price becomes the deciding factor in purchasing decisions only when everything else is equal—and everything else is almost never equal. Businesses compete on the perception of value, and this includes more than price. It’s shaped by the total customer experience—and aspects such as “helpfulness,” “friendliness,” and “the personal touch” often give the competitive advantage to businesses that actually charge slightly more for their basic goods and services.

Those businesses that deliver a superior total experience from the inside out (that is, as a product of a strongly customer-focused culture) are typically those that enjoy a long-term competitive advantage—along with virtual immunity from the kinds of headaches that plague everybody else.

Customer-focus consultant Paul Levesque’s latest book is Customer Service From The Inside Out Made Easy (Entrepreneur Press, 2006).

Copyright Paul Levesque

About The Author

Paul Levesque studies businesses where motivated workers drive up customer satisfaction & positive feedback from customers drives up motivation.

Book keynote speaker Paul Levesque to speak at your meeting http://www.keynoteresource.com/PaulLevesque.html

When Customer Service Fails

Customer service is everything in your business—or at least it should be. Do you realize that word of mouth spreads faster than any form of advertising? That people trust the opinions of friends, family and co-workers over any positive publicity stunt? And that without good customer service, you could lose business? It’s true.

And here’s a prime example. A month ago, an online photography site had a 40% off sale on canvas prints. One of my colleagues, excited about the sale, notified everyone in our 200+ online business group about the sale. Everyone ordered a minimum of 2 canvases—some ordered three! Then we waited.

Three weeks passed and no product arrived. Anxious to see where her product was, my colleague went online to check on the status of her order only to discover that it had been REFUNDED! She received no email, no phone call, and no explanation. Just the simple words, “refunding” next to her order.

She emailed the company but received no response. So she phoned the company who told her that her prints were not sized properly and rather than contact her to correct the issue, they simply chose to refund the order. She immediately told our group about the issue and advised each one of us to check on our orders.

Surprisingly nearly everyone had the same thing happen—each with difference reasons, the head was cropped, the file size was incorrect, the borders around the photo were not allowed, etc. One gal managed to get the customer service rep to tell her that they had a back log of orders and could not fill them all and that accounting was having a difficult time keeping up but everyone should be refunded shortly.

So I decide to check my account. Sure enough, it was being refunded. I check my bank account and there’s no refund. In fact, an entire month after the order was placed, and three weeks after the order is supposedly being refunded I receive a charge in my bank account for $76!

Furious, I email customer service. I explain that I had already emailed them regarding the refund status on my order and how unprofessional it was to cancel orders without any explanation or attempt to remedy the situation and how no one has contacted me. I also explained that I wanted to see the refund in my account immediately and that I would never do business with this company again. Still no response. Looks like a phone call is now in order.

After speaking to a few members of our group, members who have ordered from the company in the past, all have said the quality of their 4x6 prints were good and they never had a problem—that is, until they decided to order a canvas print.

It’s highly likely that the company wasn’t prepared for an influx of orders—which if fine if you handle the situation properly, explain why a delay in shipment will be in effect, request corrections be made to files that were not suitable for canvas prints, and provide a coupon code for a future order as an “apology for the inconvenience”. But that’s not what happened. And because of the way they handled things, they essentially told their customer base that their business didn’t matter—that their customers didn’t matter.

If you want to keep your customers happy, communicate with them. Explain what the problem is—on your end or theirs—and work together to find a viable solution. Don’t just ignore your customers—that’s a surefire way to lose customers and gain bad publicity.

About The Author

Alyice Edrich is the editor of The Dabbling Mum®, a free parenting publication, and the author of several work from home e-books designed to help parents earn extra cash while spending more time with their children. To learn more, visit her at http://thedabblingmum.com/ebookstore

Is Good Customer Service Going to the Dogs?

I had an experience the other day that has made me think about how too many customer service experiences unfold in the business world today, and about the difference that really good service can make.

I have two dogs. Earlier this week, it was time for them to get their summer haircuts so that they will be able to comfortably cope with the Houston heat.

The newest addition to the house is Jason, a miniature schnauzer who had been the prized pet of an old lady who had to give him up for adoption when she moved to a nursing home. She had chosen to keep him fully furred, not trimmed in the traditional schnauzer cut, so that he had a really nice wire haired coat to go with his bushy eyebrows and stubby tail. The other dog is Lucky, a schnauzer-poodle mix-poodle ears and body, schnauzer muzzle and curly tail-he gets the traditional cut.

So, I took the two little guys to the groomers the other morning. I was the first client of the day, and the salon was nice and quiet. I explained what I wanted to the person who would be doing the job-traditional schnauzer cut on Lucky, but not on Jason. Just a trim for him. This is important, I told her, because I don’t want his coat shaved off-once that wire hair is gone it never grows back. Did she understand, I asked?

Yes, she answered. But did I want Jason’s skirt trimmed?

Skirt? I stared blankly and finally figured out that she was talking about the feathery bits on his chest and belly. Yes, fine, I said. Trim that area but just don’t shave him. She nodded.

I went back a few hours later to pick up the boys. At that point the salon was buzzing with dogs, clients, and groomers. The fur was literally flying. First came Lucky, looking very dapper and neat. A few seconds later, out came Jason, and my mouth dropped open.

He had been completely shaved!!! The groomer had given him a standard schnauzer cut-and that lovely wire coat was gone forever.

I couldn’t believe it. I was angry and sad at the same time. What had happened? How could the conversation we had had in the morning have been so completely lost?

After discussing the situation with the salon owner, she reluctantly refunded my money, which was very small consolation for the snafu. It should be no surprise that I will not be going back to that salon when the boys’ fur has grown out.

This whole thing left me thinking about how this kind of customer service happens in other businesses. There were several points about the experience that translate:

1. Are we really listening to our customers? Do we ask the questions we need to ask to make sure that we understand what they want from us? Do we make accurate notes so that we retain instructions and deliver what was asked for? I got plenty of nods from the groomer during our talk, but my instructions obviously got lost somewhere between her ears and her shears.

2. Are we communicating clearly back to them, or do we use industry jargon that they may or may not understand? When the groomer asked me about trimming Jason’s skirt, I had to stop and think. It was MY responsibility to figure out what she was talking about. Not a great way to do business.

3. Finally, and very very important, when mistakes do get made on our side of the transaction, how do we make amends? Even the worst error doesn’t have to mean the loss of the customer. Respond to the mistake with restitution that matches its seriousness. In my case, given the extent of the mistake with Jason, and the permanence of the result, the salon owner fell far short in restitution and in terms of keeping my business. I had to struggle to simply get a refund, which was insufficient compared to the permanent impact this error has. I won’t be back to that salon.

These three points--listening to the customer, communicating back in ways that they will easily understand, and making appropriate amends when mistakes get made on our end-are the core of excellent service and the key to keeping loyal and happy customers.

(As a post script, I should note that Jason still looks darn cute, even without his fur. And I’m sure he doesn’t care one way or the other about all that wire hair!)

About The Author

Trish Lambert (http://www.trishlambert.com), principal of 4-R Marketing LLC, is an experienced marketing consultant and creator of the 4-R Marketing Model™ for service businesses. Very much a "non-conformist" in the marketing world, Trish produces measurable results with marketing that drives revenues for her customers.