Judy’s 10 commandments of winning customer service
Have you ever wondered why Apple created the Genius Bar? They did their homework. They interviewed customers and asked them where they experienced the best customer service. The overwhelming winner: the treatment experience working with a hotel concierge. Why a concierge? These talented people do what it takes to satisfy their customers. They help you find what you need when you need it, even when the path to success is not easy or a straight line.
I’ve translated the parallels between the hospitality model and that used by Apple into the 10 commandments of winning customer service:
1. we are here to help you have a good experience
2. listen to what your customer has to say, especially when they are upset
3. respond with helpful behavior
4. treat your customer with respect
5. have a fix-it mentality (solutions not excuses)
6. maintain a broad spectrum of knowledge related to the needs of your customer base, beyond the expertise of your own business
7. recommend tools and resources outside of your own brand when appropriate
8. be friendly
9. be available
10. make it easy to work with you, be flexible
How to build customers for life
Become a resource like the Apple Genius Bar. You will find that you have higher customer satisfaction, frequent contact with your customers, repeat business, it is more fun for you as well as your customers to be engaged and to work together on solving problems (which will come up — and how you behave under pressure can make a customer one for life or one who goes out and tells 10 or more people about their bad experience with you).
This post was triggered by an article about why Apple is great in the May issue of Fast Company. You can read more at http://bit.ly/cdLiGy, Whether you are an Apple fanatic or a PC fan, there is much to learn about why the Apple style is a winner and why other industries want to emulate them.
Let me know how I can better serve you.
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