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Why are customer service standards so important? Learn the answer in this short customer service tip video. The answer may surprise you! As my gift to you for watching, click here to receive your FREE copy of my 21-point customer service leadership tips checklist (5 sections broken down into 21 points).
Real World Story: Have you ever done business with the same organization—whether a restaurant, a retail store, a home service repair outfit, or a doctor’s office—and experienced a wide range of inconsistent service? Every time you called or visited, you wished and hoped you would get “one of the good ones”? Well, you are not alone, my friend. And the good news for organizations that suffer from this lack of what I call a “foundation of consistency” is that it can be fixed, simply by having customer service standards.
Strategies that Turn it Around:
- Create standards. For example, your first standard might be that customers are always to be greeted immediately and with friendliness. You’ll then develop policies to ensure that happens consistently. “Welcome to XYZ, my name is Sunny, I will be with you shortly once I have finished helping this customer.” Or, “Thank you for calling XYZ, my name is Sunny in the customer service department, how may I assist you?”
- Train staff on standards. Once you have identified your standards and have backed them up with written policies and procedures, the next step is to train your staff so they know what is expected of them—each and every one of them, every time they have contact with a customer. Consistency across the board is what we’re going for.
- Hold staff accountable for inconsistency. For many of your service staff, standards will become second nature to them. And those who can’t perform consistently should be held accountable because it takes just one person to tarnish the hard work of the entire organization. And most customers will never forget a bad experience, and they will stick out sorely and reflect poorly in your surveys, feedback, and/or ratings—worse yet, in your repeat customer numbers.
Remember: A “foundation of consistency” will help ensure that every member of your team delivers the best customer service with every customer, every time. If you haven’t already created them, then now may be the time to set your standards.
What do you do to ensure that your customer service is consistent with every customer every single time they have contact with you?