Customer Service: Carved in Stone

Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on August 14, 2009 under Connecting Moments, Customer Moments, First Impressions, making a difference | Be the First to Comment

You’ve seen them, haven’t you?  The signs that shout out all of the rules before you even say hello?

Once you enter, you might find more signs:

• No refunds
• No credit cards
• No personal checks
• No substitutions or exchanges
• No, No NO!

You wonder if they will say no to cash. Signs like that set a tone of negativity.

Well, I saw another sign the other day while taking a walk on the  grounds of the Chautauqua Institute that I fell in love with:

 

That should be the mantra for excellent customer service – nothing is carved in stone.  Except that we are here to MEET YOUR NEEDS.

Whatever that means.  You’ve heard the story of a customer returning a car tire to Nordstroms and receiving a full refund without comment and Nordstroms doesn’t even sell tires.  It may be a myth, but the point of the story is that we should be there to take care of our customer needs without setting a bunch of “no” rules in the way of building that relationship.

Have you ever dated?  Are you dating now?  Imagine going on a date and before you even sit down for dinner, your date says:

• No conversation about sports, politics or religion
• Don’t order meat, it offends me
• No wine with dinner – it’s a false stimulent andI intend to keep my faculties about me
• No hand holding or eye gazing across the table, it’s sappy
• Don’t dominate the  conversation, you aren’t the only person here
• And under no circumstances will I come back to see your etchings

What is the tone of the “relationship”?  Is it any different with our customer. 

For exceptional customer  service we should start with “how can I help” and not say another word until we’ve listened carefully and then customized our responses based on their needs.

Nothing carved in stone.

No negative caveats.

Just a desire to uncover and fulfill the needs of those who  come to purchase our products or services.

What customer rules do you have carved in stone?  Are they really necessary?