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Customers Appreciate Service With a Smile
Satisfaction and loyalty still matter as businesses toy with shortcuts
Exceptional customer service is the backbone of any successful business, which goes far beyond putting just another pretty face outward to clientele.
Basic customer service starts with comprehensive employee training, equipping staff with the skills and knowledge to handle diverse customer needs. From there, customer experience hinges on seamless collaboration of every team member, from front-line representatives to back-office staff.
When all team members understand their role in creating positive interactions, customer satisfaction and loyalty soar.
Lisa Radin has seen the full range from good to bad in customer service from her days as a management consultant. So, too, has technology pundit Marsha Collier along with Greg Ortbach, who is passionate about customer experience, technology, marketing and business.
Businesses Grow From Thoughtful Seeds
They looked at how a team-wide commitment to excellence can transform customer service into a powerful business advantage.
Not surprisingly, inadequate employee training leads to poor customer service outcomes.
“Inadequate anything leads to inadequate everything,” Radin said. “By the way, the definition of inadequate is loss of quality.”
Garbage in, garbage out will reflect poorly on the business, killing whatever good reputation it might have had.
“This is so true,” Ortbach said. “Why should customers commit to you if you’re not committed to your employees and customer service?
“Poor training leaves employees unprepared, leading to miscommunication and frustration,” he said. “Training builds skills and confidence to deliver great service.”
Conversely, lack of training makes poor people skills worse.
“It’s like observing how people react to wait staff in a restaurant,” Collier said. “You can pick out the humans.”
