The 3 P’s: The Art of Customer Service
Some people say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We believe the same to be true about art. What is an ‘art’?
What
is it that makes something an ‘art’? The skill or feature required to fulfill the definition of said ‘art’ is within the beholder. For example, the ‘art’ of marriage would take communication skills while the ‘art’ of teaching would require patience. In this instance, we are touching base on the 3 P’s - the most critical components in the art of customer service.
1. Polite
There’s nothing quite like a polite greeting to start an interaction off on the right foot. A friendly tone of voice that greets your customer with the appropriate time of day can open the door for a fantastic experience. Ending the interaction with a ‘thank you’, ‘have a fantastic day’, or a reflection of your experience with the customer such as ‘the pleasure was all mine’, can leave a lasting profound impression. First impressions are important!
2. Prompt
Being timely is not to be taken lightly. Customers’ expectations regarding timeliness have risen during the last decade and continue to increase every day. Being prompt will earn brownie points with your customer. The increase in technology and instantaneous communication methods have led people to desire fast results. The increase in response time for customers with questions, or delays in services or cancelled appointments, means a decrease in first timers and returning customers.
3. Professional
Being professional is almost an art in itself. Employees should be ready to tackle questions or address concerns with the proper skill set and knowledge about services or products at all times. Doing so in an organized and efficient manner shows the professional side of your services and the employees who represent them. Professionalism tells the customer that you value their view of your company, staff and product included.
While nobody is perfect and with the recognition that sometimes no matter what you do, there’s no making the customer happy, you can take some small steps to enhance the current level of customer service your staff are offering to your customers.
Encourage staff to role play with each other. Have staff play out various levels of customer dissatisfaction so they can learn to defuse situations easily.
Practice a preferred company greeting if you have one for all facets such as telephone answering or in-store customer greetings.
Within all interactions and divisions of your company, encourage staff to utilize good eye contact along with professional tone and demeanor.
Not sure where to begin or perhaps you’d like a few tips or an in house speaker on the topic? Contact us today!