How to Give Your Customers What They Really Want

Posted by in Customer Service


A recent study on what customers really wanted discovered some interesting findings. The result of that research has been used as a guidepost for the customer service industry. So what do people really want when it comes to service? Here are the four key points gleaned from that study. 1. People want prompt, friendly service. 2. They want us to fix their problem. 3. They wants us to be flexible with our policies and if necessary to jiggle the system. 4. If we make a mistake our customer wants us to fix it promptly and then do something a little bit extra. Let?s take a look at how we can truly give our customers what they want by applying these four simple guidelines. #1 People want prompt, friendly, service. What this means is they want a live friendly person to give them attention-immediately. Whether it be on the phone or in person, they want to be served as soon as possible if not sooner. If you or your employees do any of the following possible examples you are violating this principle. - Put your customers on hold (when they call in on the telephone) for an inordinate period of time. - Ignore your customer who is personally waiting in line for service by answering the telephone and provide service to the phone caller and ignore the customer in your presence. - Tell the customer they will just have to wait for the product or the service your company provides because you are too busy or unable (for whatever reason) to give the customer what they want now. Just recently I went to a nationally known paint store to buy some special mix paint. The salesperson (obviously not the owner) in an aloof manner told me the store was closing at 12 noon that day and because of the vast amount of paperwork he had to do before they closed would not have the time to computer match the paint. He coldly said ?If you want the paint you?ll have to come back next Monday.?? Right! As if I was going to rearrange my painting schedule because of his inability to manage his administrative duties. Here was a good example of an employee who had not been instructed on the value of giving people what they want prompt friendly service. ? #2 They want us to fix their problem. Our customers and clients want help. They want us to solve or fix their problem. Whether it be having the right item in stock or getting their cable service repaired or any other of the millions of problems businesses are capable of handling, they want us plain and simply to fix their problem. If we can do this they will gladly pay us to do it. #3 They want us to be flexible with our policies – they want us to jiggle the system. No one likes to be told ?I?m sorry that?s not our policy?, or ?We can?t do that?, or any other lame brained short sighted response that leaves the customer with an answer that does not fit their expectations. An answer that does not give them what they need and want is a great way to drive your customers away?so far away that they never come back. Too often policies are very much one sided. They are designed to protect the company or business and not to fairly represent the customer. When customers get the feeling that your policies are not fair they react by not wanting to do business with you?ever! So, if we can be flexible in our interpretation of our rules and policies and go out of our way to please the customer we will create a desire on their behalf to want to come back and to tell their friends about what a fine store or business you have. Yes, if we can jiggle the system in the customer?s favor?it can prove to be a very good investment. #4 If we make a mistake, fix it promptly and then do something a little bit extra. Tom Peters, the famous speaker on customer service excellence revealed that simply taking care of the customer after we make a mistake is a major key to customer retention. A recent retail survey showed that on average with 1 out of every 4 purchases something goes wrong. Either the product does not work or malfunctions or is the wrong size or something that just isn?t right. OK, so now what? Easy first genuinely apologize then exchange the product, if that is not possible give them a credit or a refund, whatever we do to remedy the situation - do it promptly and courteously. Now if we do something extra for the customer we give ourselves an opportunity to exceed their expectations. By doing this we position our business to be the place they come back to the next time they have a need for what we have. To do something extra does not mean we give away the store but rather it could be something like making a follow up phone call to see that everything worked out or it could be giving them a coupon for 10% off their next purchase. If possible it could also be just not charging them for the purchase of whatever the item happened to be. Doing something a little bit extra is a good example of pro-active marketing to our loyal customers. It can go a long way in spreading the word of your company?s ability to exceed your potential customer?s expectations.
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  • Darla Wilson
    Darla Wilson
    I agree, as a merchant services consultant the merchant wants quality service at a price that is within his/her budget. We go the extra mile, that jiggle. To be sure that our products and services are specifically tailored and cost effective with each and every merchant. A satisfied customer can become a billboard through word of mouth advertisement. It is our mission to make sure the customer is pleased with our service and can depend on our product.
  • Juan Ortega
    Juan Ortega
    Excellent Information!
  • Darnesha
    Darnesha
    In awe of that answer! Really cool!
  • Loree
    Loree
    This has made my day. I wish all postings were this good.
  • Steve B
    Steve B
    Well said! As a consumer, when I spend my money on a product or service I have expectations. If something goes wrong I expect to have it made right without a hassle or excuses. There are many local businesses that I will simply not patronize because of customer service issues. On the other hand, there are several that I always refer my friends to for the same reason. In a congested, highly competitive market, service is the area that is most controllable. Most consumers will overlook price or quality if the service provided exceeds expectations.
  • jeff
    jeff
    The last firm I worked for had a good rep for customer service and I was able to maintain that, after a few early mistakes while learning the ropes. We got emails about how pleased they were every so often. Now and then I would 'jiggle the system' to fix their audio/video equipment. One time a customer sent in a small box with a problem. They were obsolete, so had few parts, but did have one or two new ones left in stock. I gave him one free, as there was some billing hassle with a time delay involved since he was in Canada (more likely sometimes clients would stiff us on net 30 terms outside the US, so we quit that policy). The value was under $1,000, a fraction of monthly sales. He later sent me a note with thanks, offering to give me a tour of the city if I was ever up there. One cannot always bend the rules, though. A word about schematics. Sometimes new customers would ask for them after a purchase or if they had a problem. These were proprietary & only firms that did military contract work were allowed to have them. There were legal repurcussions if anyone could get them, as they would be public property, in legalese 'in the public domain'. I would politely refuse their request, but they did not know what went on behind the scenes. I had no desire to get into a long winded discourse as to why I turned them down, just said they were our property. It went like this. We were in a legal squabble with an ex-employee engineer who said we stole his design, but we had the drawings, etc. to prove he was wrong. Now if schematics are made public, we lose the patent for it & anyone can make it and sell it when it's in the public domain. I made this error once, as did a previous service tech & we heard about it from the senior engineer, but were not disciplined for giving out schematics. We crossed the line in an attempt to be helpful. We were also allowed to give them out for products we no longer made.          

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