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Customer Service
How many �hoops" do we jump through to make sure that we provide the best customer service?
We all know that in reality the customer is not always right. (shhhh....don't say that too loud) But, good customer service means treating those you service as if they ARE always right. Good customer service takes patience and sensitivity.
Sometimes, it even means knowing when and how to tell a customer they cannot be provided the assistance they need. But, if you provide direction for them to get the assistance they need, you are providing good customer service.
A basic first step for good customer service is to:
Know who your customers are.
There are two basic types of customers: external and internal.
External customer examples are:
1. injured workers and employers
2. attorneys who represent those injured workers and employers;
3. a recently unemployed person looking for job assistance;
4. a couple that brings the kids to your park to camp out and go hiking;
5. people driving the roads of the State of Ohio;
......you get the idea......
Internal customers are those we serve internally:
1. Our supervisor(s);
2. Human Resources employees;
3. Fiscal department employees;
4. Our own employees.
They all expect and have needs of us as well. And if those needs are not met, we have very unhappy customers, don�t we?
And, guess WHAT? We�re customers too!
We are customers of:
� warehouse people who deliver supplies to keep us functioning;
� outside contractors to build and maintain our buildings;
� our payroll department to ensure our paychecks are accurate;
� our employees (we have service needs of them also, right?)
You could say that we are everyone�s customers and everyone is our customer.
So, what is the difference between good and bad customer service?
Good customer service juggles efficiency and accuracy with promptness, courtesy, caring, and flexibility (among other qualities) and rolls them into a daily business routine.
Good customer service provided by Ms. Ima Do-good, Mgr:
A weekly request for supplies has been faxed to the warehouse.
1. The order is picked up from the fax machine promptly;
2. The order is given to the person in charge of filling the order;
3. The items are placed on the shipment truck on the day of the delivery schedule;
4. The order is delivered and placed in the supply area of the requesting office
BAD customer service provided by Mr. Ima Do-less, Mgr:
A weekly request for supplies has been faxed to the warehouse.
1. The form gets put on someone�s desk and covered with other paperwork resulting in the order not being filled;
2. After no shipment arrives, the warehouse is called. We are told they can�t find the order, so we must not have sent one. But, we did, and we have the fax transmittal to prove it went through properly;
3. We are told we need to re-fax it, but will have to wait until our next shipment date.
4. We run out of toner for the printer and have to ask another office to print for us until we can get the toner in from the warehouse.
Here�s an example of what could be done to rectify the bad situation as it stands now:
�Do NOT tell the customer they did not fax the order.
�You could say that it doesn�t appear to have been received, although you will look again in an attempt to locate it.
�If the original order has never been located, ask that the order be re-faxed and call the customer back to confirm receipt of the fax.
�Fill the order immediately.
�Ship the order in the most expedient way possible (overnight shipment).
Give us your opinion or suggestion on how to turn a bad situation into a good customer service experience.
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