Five Ways to Improve Your Customer Service Culture
Posted by Meredith Estep on Tue, Nov 02, 2010 @ 12:42 PM
A customer service culture immerses your entire company into the sole purpose of meeting and exceeding customer expectations. This thought process must permeate every department and staff member to the core in order for it to be successful.
Once you effectively create your customer service culture and get everyone in your business onboard with your corporate mission – it is now time to strengthen that culture! This article will provide five ways to improve your customer service culture and delight your clients beyond their wildest dreams.
Start at the Beginning
Employees should get a strong dose of your customer service culture from their first day of work. Your orientation program for new hires should incorporate customer service as a top priority, whether the employee works on the front line or in the back office. Planting the customer service seed from day one is the best way to help that service culture grow and flourish from the bottom up, as well as the top down.
Consider the Rules
Rigid rules typically do not make for a positive customer service culture. Telling employees to put customers first and then instituting rules and policies that get in the way of customer satisfaction is simply counterproductive.
Of course, some rules must be implemented and cannot be broken. However, this is probably not true for the majority of policies your company institutes. Show your employees how to bend the rules for the best interest of the customers and the business.
Make Your Expectations Clear
Simply touting your love for your customers will not be enough to feed your customer service culture. Employees need to know the brass tacks involved with serving their customers well. Set clear, measurable expectations in customer service for all of your employees and evaluate their performance based on those expectations.
Make Service Visible
Post signs, hold team events or bring up service standards at staff meetings. Make customer service expectations visible to employees so they never forget why they show up to work every day. Management should get out of their offices and interact with customers whenever possible to demonstrate what top-rate service looks like. When your employees eat, breathe and sleep customer service, it will become a natural part of your corporate culture.
Offer Rewards
Studies show that positive reinforcement is much more effective than negative consequences, so reward your employees for stellar service whenever you can. When an employee's performance exceeds expectations, recognize them at staff meetings, give them the top parking spot for a month, or put a plaque on the wall in their honor. Cash awards are excellent motivators, but if your company is financially strapped, providing an extra day off or a written kudos can also work wonders.
A customer service culture is an important component in happy, satisfied customers. Take your culture to the next level and prepare to see your customers delighted with your efforts.
- Meredith Estep