Posts Tagged ‘exceeding customer expectations’

Good customer service – it’s all about attention to detail

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Good customer service – it’s all about attention to detail.

Something we noticed recently. I was travelling with a friend who is a retailer through a large urban area recently in the car. I was driving, he was in the passenger seat, and I stopped at some traffic lights. On the left was a large Indian restaurant with a plate glass window. My friend turns to me and says “why would you do that?” “Why would you do what I replied?”

He pointed to the window of the restaurant and commented that it was filthy. “Why would you do that?” he persisted. His point was that there was no excuse for having such a dirty front window to the restaurant. “All they need to do ….” he reasoned was “pay someone (the 17 yr old junior) to turn up for work 5 minutes earlier in the morning, and give him a bucket of warm soapy water to wash the window. “Because if that is how they keep the front window, which you can see, what does that say about the state of the kitchen which you can’t see?” Attention to detail is key to great customer service

And it’s a good point isn’t it? Good attention to detail is about making sure all the little things are right in how you deal with your customer or client. They know that if you spend amounts of time and energy getting the little things right, chances are you’re on top of the big things too.

It stands to reason doesn’t it? So check that the customer is seeing your products and services in the way you want them to. Like the client’s reception I sat in recently in Birmingham. You sit in a souless, small area on low plastic easy chairs and you can’t help notice the very dead palm plant across from you! What impression does that give potential customers?!

Customer Service masterclass training – Leicester / Northampton – 24th – 25th August 2010

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Customer Service masterclass training - Leicestershire / Northamptonshire – 24th - 25th August 2010. 2 day course ideal for anyone who talks to customers on the telephone in a customer service role : customer service, contact centre, call centre, internal sales etc.

Customer Service 2 day training - Autumn 2009

Customer Service 2 day training - February 2010

Customer service course will cover key communications skills for offering exceptional customer service. Includes questioning skills, listening skills, mixed messages (why the message you send is not the message they receive) plus we’ll show you how the first 6 words you say to someone over the phone can tell the other person 40 plus things about you.

If you want more customers, and to develop more loyalty from the people you currently sell to, we’ll show you how. Get more customers, more often, who will stay for longer and spend more. Follow the link to find out about the dates of all forthcoming open courses. http://www.tomarket.co.uk/courses.php

2 day customer service course ideal for anyone in Birmingham, Cambridge, Leicester, Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Stamford, Grantham, Wellingborough, Loughborough, Coalville, Oadby, Oakham, Uppingham, Rutland, Derby, Coventry, Nottingham, Hinckley, Lutterworth and all parts of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. 24th – 25th August 2010.

Telemarketing, telesales and customer service team development – car companies

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

We offer training –  Telemarketing, telesales and customer service team development in car companies.  We’ve worked with many over the years ; 

  • dealers
  • finance divisions
  • vehicle leasing
  • car dealerships
  • after sales including service and parts

The recent troubles and global overcapacity of the motor industry have been well documented, but the clouds are beginning to lift for many. Customers are still a precious resource and many companies are saying to us that they want their customers to enjoy visiting the dealership and dealing with the service coordinator or the parts manager.

Car companies are gearing up with quality training to increase conversion

Car companies are gearing up with quality training to increase conversion rates

Many dealerships now look really funky with their glass sides, polished floors and coffee machines on tap. But it is the human element that has the most impact. Studies show that customers across all industries attach 80% of their customer service experience to the human interaction they have.  It’s not about the coffee, it’s about Sarah or Tom and whether they smile or not !

Car dealerships, car finance, leasing, car sales, vehicle after sales can all benefit from some tailored onsite training, as the market begins to come to life. Contact us on 01858 461148 if you’d like to discuss developing your own team.

Exceptional customer service is about effort – it really is that easy

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Exceptional customer service and it’s really not that exceptional is it, is about effort. The businesses who do will prosper and those who don’t won’t ! It really is as simple as that.

Last week I went to a local town and was searching for a particular ordnance survey map. I visited 3 shops who sell maps. The first didn’t have the one I wanted on display. So I moved on. Shop number 2 had a small display and a lady stood behind the counter. “Do you have any others apart from these, as the one I want isn’t here ?” I asked. “No only those” she replied. “OK, when will you next have more stock in ?” I persisted. “We have a delivery every couple of months or so.” ‘Wow’ I thought, not exactly racing out of the shop then are they ?  

“And can you order the ones you want ?” I followed up with. “No, not really we just get issued with this small range.” At no point did she suggest that she could order it, not did she suggest another solution. I was unimpressed.

Shop 3 also didn’t have the map, and so I returned to shop 1 and asked the busy manager if she had any more stock. She said that she didn’t but she would be seeing the rep on Wednesday. She said that she was willing to call him, if I was prepared to wait 5 minutes. I did and she went off to make the call.

The outcome ? Well she is getting one dropped off on Wednesday afternoon, so guess which shop will be getting my map business. It may only be an £8 purchase, but it’s still all about effort. Make sure that you go the extra mile, and are willing to help people. Not only will your actions solve more customer problems, and help you maximise any opportunity, but also you’ll impress them !

And in these times where there is less money going round the economy, there is more need to make sure you get more than your usual share.

This is one of many important topics we cover on our 2 day customer service masterclass courses. The venue for the next course is likely to be the East Midlands and so is ideal for any customer service, contact centre, call centre personnel in Kettering, Wellingborough, Northampton, Peterborough, Corby, Market Harborough, Lutterworth, Leicester, Loughborough and Northamptonshire. http://www.tomarket.co.uk/courses.php gives you dates of this and other courses.

No actually I don’t want anyone to do my packing thank you ! Customer service tip

Friday, July 24th, 2009

For goodness sake ! No really ! I nearly swore then !

For heaven’s sake when you’re designing your customer service process, or when you’re offering customer service yourself, for goodness sake use a bit of common sense. Of course we’re all brought up with the mantra of exceeding customer expectations, or delivering exceptional customer service and all the best practice in customer service training, but be a human too !

I walked into Sainsburys and bought just one item, a one pint of milk. So I don’t know what that weighs, around 1 1/2 lbs I guess. Because I only had one item I went to the one item till. The guy’s opening gambit line to me was “Would you like help with your packing ?” Really he did. He didn’t smile as he said it, he really meant it.

Use a bit of common sense when dealing with your customers in business, and treat them as individuals and prove that you are one too ! Think outside the square and be prepared to go beyond the process and the system. People will thank you for it and remember your great service.

Telesales training for plastic packaging companies

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Recently To Market was commissioned to run in-house training for a plastic packaging company. We’ve worked with them over many years and the customer service course went well.

We’ve carried out both customer service and telesales training for companies who specialise in the manufacture of plastic packaging.

This training can be based around whatever your business challenges are, but we’ve worked on new sales development, identifying needs, lead qualification, overcoming objections, advice on getting past gatekeepers plus questioning skills. That’s on the telesales, telemarketing and internal sales courses.

On customer service training we work on handling conflict, dealing with complaints, complaint handling in other words, exceptional customer service training and how to delight the customer.

Packaging is one of the industrial market sectors we specialise in so if that’s your bag so to speak give us a call on 01858 461148 or e-mail us info@tomarket.co.uk

 

I’ve noticed – retailers giving added value – top sales tip

Monday, February 9th, 2009

While walking around the shops last weekend, I noticed something about the way they offered their services to me that was impressive. We can all apply these principles.

In one shop I have a loyalty card which they stamp when you use it. It is fairly straightforward it rewards you with 10% discount and you pay a fixed amount for the card. It then expires after 12 months.

However over the 12 month period the hand written expiry date has sort of worn off. It has a busy life in the wallet of a male, and I’m sure the inadvertent capsizing of a canoe in a French river last summer which soaked everything in my pockets was the final straw.

Anyway the shop (unable to clearly see the expiry date) made a quick decision to put 2 months extra on it. This worked well ! I, the customer came away feeling like I’d got a special deal (because I had) and yet it cost them little.

Furthermore I was impressed at this keeness to go the extra mile and to offer some added value to my customer service experience and would it make me more likely to shop there again – you bet !

So the retailer has built a little more loyalty to it’s brand. Job done !

In another store in the same day, it seems they were offering a free gift if you spent over £30. I went to the till twice and made a number of small purchases. The manageress served me the second time and although I hadn’t spent the ‘qualifying amount’ she gave me the free gift anyway. Again it made me feel special. I got a deal that supposedly wasn’t available to everyone. That shopkeeper was offering added value in customer service.

Quite simply make your customer feel special, and offering them added value or going the extra mile will often be enough to turn them into a loyal customer. Offer exceptional customer service and it’s the little things that add up.