Do You Care?
What is happening to our customer service levels in Jersey?
How hard should we be trying to attract and keep customers?
These are examples of customer ‘care' that have been experienced in the Island:
- Customer: 'I'd like to have a look at some watches please for my girlfriend.'
Sales Assistant: 'Well, we have these, or these but these will be far too expensive.'
The customer was offended and walked out in disgust. He went to another store and bought a ‘very expensive' watch. - In this example, it is 16.45 in a shoe shop.
Sales Assistant: 'Excuse me, but are you actually going to purchase anything this evening?'
Customer: 'Well, I am not sure yet, I am looking.'
The customer's little girl picked up a pair of shoes, 'Mummy, these are lovely.'
The voice of the Sales Assistant could be heard: 'Yes, but they aren't in the sale.'
This customer asked to see the manager and complained about the attitude of the Sales Assistant. - Customer: 'Can someone measure me for a bra please?'
Shop Assistant: 'I can't because there are only two of us here at the moment - can you come back tomorrow morning when it is less busy?'
Customer: 'Well, no I can't, I work.'
Then the customer watched as the assistant chatted with a colleague and then went off to lunch as a third assistant returned.
Not just in retail
Examples like these are not confined to the retail sector. Utility companies and the finance industry are also guilty, increasingly so as back office positions are being outsourced and staff are being relocated to customer-facing roles often without adequate training and development.
While I understand the economic climate is more difficult now than for decades, shouldn't we be trying even harder to improve our customer service levels and win the customer's loyalty rather than alienating them?
Competition will continue to arrive and thrive in the Channel Islands - all wanting a slice of the profit, but who will win the war? True customer satisfaction only results from a combination of a good product or service and good human factors. The ‘human factors' are the elements of customer contact between the customer and member of staff either face-to-face or over the telephone.
They are the points of contact which leave the customer with a clear understanding of whether or not the company is ‘customer-orientated'. Often referred to as ‘customer care' it is exactly that - do the sales assistants ‘care' or not? Phrases like ‘Can you come back tomorrow when it is less busy', are the kiss of death to customer satisfaction. The way in which we are treated throughout any transaction will determine our response and trigger a desire to either return to the shop/store/bank, or not. Human factors are apparent by the way in which we deal with the customer through our body language, our tone of voice and the type of language we use.
From a basic platform of good customer service a company can introduce training in sales skills and develop a sales culture.
Many businesses are re-locating their call centres to those areas where labour and infrastructure are less costly. It is interesting to note that this is, in many cases, coupled with a high level of training and development. Staff are given exposure to the popular culture of the countries with which they will be dealing in order that they can understand the people they will be talking to. Although poorly paid in comparison with Europe, these people take pride in their work and strive to do their jobs well.
What is the level of customer service in your place of work? Do people really appreciate the loss of revenue to an organisation each time we fail the customer?
Research tells us that one unhappy customer will tell another eleven people! Another truth is that a high percentage of customers will not complain - they simply won't return. So, I question why customer service levels are dropping off now when the opposite should be happening.
We are experiencing times of change and uncertainty, which can leave staff and managers alike demotivated. The product or service can be affected by systems, procedures and structure changes, whilst the ‘human factor' can fade or become distorted due to staff reactions to change.
No matter which sector we work in, when ‘change' increases its dimensions, it impacts on each individual member of staff.
Understanding people and managing their responses to change is critical to the success of any organisation navigating its way through change. A motivated workforce makes a vital contribution to quality and service, which gives your company a valuable competitive advantage.
