The Lost Art of Customer Service

Tweet

I am hearing more and more these days the question: "What is wrong with my business?" "Why is my business floundering?" There is one and only one answer to that question. Customer Service. Without customers then business begins to decline. Without customers there is no money coming in the door. It doesn't matter if you run a bar or a bank. People want customer service. Not just customer service, people want exceptional customer service. I ran a bar in New Orleans Louisiana for a year after Hurricane Katrina hit the City That Time Forgot, and the one thing that kept customers coming into my bar was the customer service that they received there. When a customer returned more than once, I made a note of their favorite drink and when I saw them coming I would grab the necessary ingredients and have them at hand when they sat down. When you get to know your customers wants and needs then you make the first step to providing them with exceptional customer service. One of the things that I expected my bartenders to do, and something that I taught them to do was to "WOW" our customers. If you know what makes a person "tick" then they will be more open to talk to you. Whether you are behind a bar or on the telephone, people want you to ask: "How are you today?", wait for an answer and then give them a solution. In the bar, I could tell when my customers were having a bad day, just by the way they looked when they walked in the door. Sometimes it isn't that easy. Reading people is an art form that has been lost in the commercialization of today's businesses. I, personally, would rather pay more for the same product that I could get cheaper someplace else, as long as I get exceptional customer service. The trend in today's market is to rush them in and rush them out. For those business owners out there that are reading this, remember rule number 1 of business: "The customer is always right" and rule number 2: "If the customer is wrong, refer to rule 1" Some people just don't get it. By refering back to Rule 1, you will more than make up for any loss that is incurred by retaining that customer as a client than you would ever lose by outright telling them they are wrong.