Customer Service: Carved in Stone
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?
