A traveler attempting to book a plane ticket by phone became frustrated after choosing from a menu of endless options and then waiting on hold for 20 minutes before being transferred twice, the second time to a dial tone! When she called back, the first live person she connected with got an earful about how poor the customer service was.

The agent responded without hesitation, stating, “Oh, well, we’re not doing that anymore.” “Not doing what?” inquired the caller. “The customer service thing … we tried that before and it wasn’t working for us!” While the airline representative was joking in an effort to make light of a bad situation, his sarcasm is actually a serious assessment of the customer satisfaction attitude we experience all too often.

From clusters of retail clerks engaging in personal conversation while a shopper waits to be acknowledged to grocery stores having only one register open at 5 p.m. on a weekday, customer satisfaction levels decrease as customer frustration grows. It’s become too common for an employee to respond to an inquiry from a customer as if their request is an imposition. As a result, potential customers often feel compelled to apologize for the inconvenience their request has caused or ultimately determine their lack of need for that product or service at that time.

FOCUS ON CARE

When a company focuses on the customers’ needs, it seems refreshing and often is considered exceptional because it’s more the exception than the rule. Here are ways your business can improve customer satisfaction:

Set expectations. It is probably true that common sense isn’t so common anymore. In terms of customer satisfaction, that means client service expectations need to be established and not assumed. As the world becomes increasingly more electronic, it is even more important that a focus on personalization is not deleted from business-customer relationships. Defining appropriate actions and attitudes will ensure that employees know what is and isn’t acceptable to protect the reputation of the company.

Provide training. Establish guidelines that identify appropriate resolutions to common customer issues to assist employees in their initial learning curve as well as their ongoing development. As part of that educational process, share typical scenarios and suitable end results and then practice them in hypothetical settings. These activities will enhance long-term behavioral modification and reduce turnover.

Take action. It has been said that there is no advance without chance and where there’s no guts, there’s no glory. Equally true is that insubordination requires ramification. While it can be difficult to exercise authority for noncompliance to customer satisfaction expectations, the impact of not taking action can be insurmountable. Complacency is contagious, so when an employee’s lackadaisical attitude is overlooked, the interpretation by other staff members is that it is acceptable behavior. This is devastating to any business and incredibly difficult to reverse.

Focusing on exceptional customer satisfaction results in some big benefits:

Upsell opportunities. It is not the dollar amount that can be saved that counts or even the service that can be purchased for the amount spent. Ultimately, it is the buying experience that most impacts the decision to spend more than intended. It is the customer satisfaction factor, more than anything else, that encourages a decision to invest in additional service or upgraded features.

Repeat business. More often than not, customers will frequent a certain company even if a comparable product or service can be purchased for less money elsewhere. Why? Because of the service they receive and their effortless customer experience. This justifies that the value is in the perception, not just in the service or products provided.

Word-of-mouth marketing. The best compliment is a recommendation and the most expensive advertising is a bad customer experience shared with others. For instance, your company provides portable restrooms for an outdoor fair, but the sponsor hears nothing but complaints about their cleanliness and effectiveness. When the sponsor calls to express his dissatisfaction, he’s equally unhappy with the nonchalant response he receives from your staff. You probably won’t get his business for next year’s fair – and the sponsor likely will mention his ordeal to his contacts. How much does that negative customer experience cost you?

THE BOTTOM LINE

No, the customer is not always right, but the customer always does have the right to make the final buying decision. Therefore, the way a prospective client is treated really does matter – with respect to their initial buy, their future purchase considerations and for the story they tell of their experience.