Customer service: voice of the organization

Do your front line staff know that, to the public, they are the voice and face of the organization? Do they have the communication skills expertise to showcase your company in the most positive manner?

In an interesting interaction, a visitor to a recreation facility stopped an employee and gently and tactfully made a suggestion. "Have you ever considered having more trash cans [at a certain location in the facility]?" she asked. She explained what she had witnessed with the trash situation. The employee then stated emphatically that more trash cans would not help but that she hoped the [departing] visitor would educate the other visitors near her when they littered. The visitor, sensing the employee was very irritated, then complimented the employee on how nice the facility in general was looking, and the employee smiled slightly.

Afterwards, the visitor realized that, despite the suggestion box near (with no suggestion forms in sight), the employee did not think visitor suggestions were of value to the facility - even when the suggestions could make her job easier. The employee was basically telling the visitor that she didn't want to hear anything but praise.

A better way for the employee to have reacted would have been to write down the idea and say she would take it to her boss, sounding as if she valued the idea. The employee could then have asked which sections of the facility the visitor enjoyed most, or a similar question to keep the visitor focused on the best parts of her visit. This would not have taken long, and would have ended the visitor's stay in a very positive way.

Think about your front line staff. How do you want them to view customer suggestions - as something positive for the organization, or as a nuisance?

If you value customer suggestions, how do you let your staff and/or the customers know this?
Do you act on the suggestions and let the staff and customers know,  reward them or take other actions? Please share your ideas!

Business Speech Improvement offers intensive coaching and also an e-book on communication strategies for leadership development. Poor communication is so expensive; learn practical strategies for improving your skills!

Corporate consistency in customer service

Have you ever called a company twice, spoken to two different employees to get information, and been told the exact opposite by both of them? Obviously two people may use different words to convey the same information, but to a customer, it appears as if the "left doesn't know what the right is doing". The customer can then manipulate others to accept the version he most likes.

As a customer service manager, do you compile a list of the 20 most commonly asked questions, and make sure your reps all answer those questions the same way? This can increase customer satisfaction and reduce possible financial and legal issues later due to answer discrepancies.

World-Class Service!

Sometimes service goes so far beyond the expected that it really makes you take notice. Today, my windshield wiper literally flew off my windshield when I turned the wiper on. Thankfully, it did not hit anyone or anything, although it certainly could have. It was also not raining, merely frosty out, and I was trying to clear the last remnants of frost away. Later in the day, I drove to an O'Reilly's Auto Parts store, and spoke to an associate named Jack. Jack helpfully found me the right wipers and cheerfully put them on. I mentioned that my car had had a spill earlier in the truck, and what could he recommend for that? This is where the service gets unbelievable.
Jack recommended a product, which I bought. But when I explained that the spill was in the trunk, and I could not fully get out the carpet in the trunk to clean it, Jack took 5 minutes and competently helped me to do it! Although I had been driving the vehicle for many years, I had no idea how it was put together. Jack truly went beyond what was expected - and he and, by association, his chain, certainly made an impact.