Introduction
“Above all, we wish to avoid having a dissatisfied customer. We consider our customers a part of our organization, and we want them to feel free to make any criticism they see fit in regard to our merchandise or service. Sell practical, tested merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings – they will always come back.” (Bean, n.p.)
Customer service is basically an organization’s requirement to offer services which fulfill their customer’s needs and wants. Both the business managers and the customer’s have great interest talking about this issue. But the concept mentioned above can be more preferably defined as “Customer services are the fulfillment of wants and needs of the customers in a persistently and always matching their requirements”. From this concept we come to realize the fact that customer services have great impact on any business. The customer services can be further divided in to two broad categories to put under discussion:
- Common customer services.
- Effective customer services.
Common Customer Services
Customer services are a very important matter to be considered in any business and it is equally difficult to handle. It consists of a huge number of customers except few who are not much satisfied or happy with the services being provided to them. The fact is customer’s can never trained to be better customers than what can a business person do? Obviously one has to train his/her staff to be a better representative. You can not ask a customer to act in a better way they can readily switch over anywhere else, they have the right to complain and the right to demand for the best.
The common customer services mostly include the following behaviors:
- The Way of Conversation. It is very minor point but an important one and you can say that the whole deal might sometimes depend on it, that how a representative deals with the customer. The way you speak, respond and welcomes the customer’s query is the point to ponder. A warm welcome in the company, bank, shop etc will leave a pleasing impact on the customer’s mind and most probably he/she will continue to shop or deal with the same place in future as well. On contrary if a bad start at the entrance with a stern look and cold expressions is given it might be very much possible that even having good products and quality assurance the customer will not rely to spend his/her money with you.
- Argument Wins the Situation, but Patience Wins Hearts. It is said that argument can win the situation for time being, but it can never win heart of others rather it will keep them stay away from the person or place who practices it. Arguing with the customer is a very unpleasant practice to do. Customers are the major cause of production. If there is no demand there is no reason of production and supply is not possible.
- Be Flexible. Flexibility and politeness in any matter of life is appreciable. Forcibility and sternness is never preferred, but disliked and avoided by others. If you are not flexible with choices available to the customer you will loose a deal. Common customer services makes the customer to choose what’s easier for the service provider and not for them, instead there should be flexibility in choices for the customers to make for themselves.
These were some points about the common customer services; now let’s talk about effective customer services.
Effective Customer Services
Effective customer services are nothing but giving the proper and most satisfactory solutions to customers needs and wants. It all depends on the organization’s efficiency that how it deals with its customers and how much importance it gives to this issue. The customer’s are the major resources of any organization. There can be a number of ways to make the customer services effective and efficient among which few are:
- Internet-based Solutions. Providing Internet based solutions is the most effective and appreciable practice by customers. Today when everything is just one click away, providing the answers to the queries of customers is as important as providing the service to them. It firstly provide a lot of knowledge without any hesitation to the customers plus it prevents the relationship to go irritated and in arguments sort between the sales representative and the client.
- Customer Training Programs. The customer training program plays a very significant role I the internal mechanism of any firm. As much the employees are trained the best they sell and present to the client. Each employee not only the high level staff but also the lower staff should be granted such certification courses to increase their efficiency.
- Conduct Surveys. Arranging surveys to be conducted on regular basis are a very good attempt in making the customer services effective. Be anonymous, prepare questionnaires and ask people randomly about a certain product, their complaints if any and how these complaints can be eradicated according to them. Welcome criticism and appreciate their comments.
- Fast Availability of Services. Imagine you need a sofa set for your home and need to wait a week long after ordering, or you have o reserve seats in airplane and you do not get a fair response about your allocation of seats, wont’ these things make you irritated and less interested to go again to such places where you have experiences this behavior. Naturally everyone wants efficiency and quality both in less time. Fast availability of services plays an integral part for a successful business.
- First Customer-than Competition. An effective customer’s service provider always keeps the customer at first place and the competition with other firms at the second. Gaining some profit at the cost of loosing quality and efficiency means loosing customers in long run. Targeting the customers and present best services to them will be far more effective and long lasting as compare to waste all energies in just competition.
Whatever might be the choice of the businessperson to go for common customer services or to practice efficient customer services the bottom line of any business is to make profit? But the differences between putting into practice each one of them are the results. One offers short-run results of profits which might not be so good and the secondd provides fruitful and long-lasting customer relationship which the key to stay in the business world. All the above-mentioned points and comparisons we see in our daily life. At some places we just passed on and ignore but at some we stop, shop and come again. Small things play vital role, remind your employees that even a smile and a greeting can make the customer loyal to you. Words are very important in our daily life, words like ‘please’, thank you’, kindly’, ‘sorry’, and ‘may I’ are the key concepts to win hearts.
“You can advertise, provide great products and quality services, but without serving your customer quickly and in a caring manner when a problem arises, you will never build the loyal customer base that will allow your organization to thrive even in difficult economic times…”. (Aria, n.p.).
Works Cited
Aria M B. “Building Customer Loyalty Through Effective Customer Service. 2007. Web.
Bob H. “Secrets of Effective Customer Service.”2007. Web.
Bean L L. “Lesson 2 Care for Your Customers and They Will Keep Coming Back for More”. 2007. Web.
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Kaufman W. May 21, 2007. “Survey: Poor Customer Service Common, Expensive”. 2007. Web.
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“The Insider’s Guide to Building an Effective Knowledgebase”. 2007. Web.
Ward S. “Customer Service.” 2007.