6 Rules to Improving Customer Service

The most common customer service situation many employees face is when a customer or client is seeking help or filing a complaint. So learning how to properly handle these situations is crucial to determining (1) how that customer feels when he/she walks away from you and (2) whether or not that customer is going to come back.

There are endless lists of things different people can do in different situations to provide better customer service, and while they all can work, the six rules below are some of the most effective methods to ensuring the happiness of your customers.

• Develop a mission & value statement - Create mission and value statements of what you want your customer service quality to be and stick to it. If your statement is to provide the best customer service you can to any and everyone, then that is what you should set out to do. When difficult situations arise, go back and read what you wrote about how your company values your customers and make your decisions that support what the mission and values stand for. 
• Go the extra mile for your customers - Take some time and effort to show that you care about your customers and make them feel like you value them individually. Think of this as the person you're trying to impress on the first date: put on your best behavior, be courteous, and be considerate. Now apply that same mentality every time you interact with a customer and always be thinking of new ways to better their experience with you.
• Be available in a timely manner - This point is crucial to helping customers solve problems. Establish ways to work efficiently to address an issue, and make sure the problem gets taken care of as fast as you can. Don't just pass the problem to someone else and forget about it - follow up with that person and communicate your efforts and status with the customer so they know what's going on. 
• Customers are a top priority - If you want to improve your customer service, then be sure to make them the top of your priority list. The speed, attitude, and professionalism of how you address their issues and requests will determine whether or not your customers will come back to you for return business. Also recognize that you will be dealing with different people who have different needs at different times, so be flexible in what you are willing to offer to your clients.
• Be honest and genuine in your service - The worse thing you can do is to appear like you don't care or lie about what you can and cannot do. If your customer really has an issue that needs to be resolved then focus on the customer and genuinely do your best to solve that problem. Most of the time, your customer will see your honesty and appreciate your efforts even if the end result is not what they wanted.
• Get feedback from your customers - Send out surveys and evaluation forms to your customers on a consistent basis to see how their experiences have been with your company. Then based on the responses, really maximize your strengths, compliments, and positives and improve your weaknesses, complaints, and negatives.