| How much is "Being Right" costing your company or | | | | |
| organization? Studies show that a satisfied customer | | | | 1. The easiest way to make a customer happy is to |
| will tell 20 people of their pleasant experience, while | | | | say, "I'm sorry. What can I do to make it right for you?" |
| dissatisfied customers will share their experience with | | | | Often your customers just want to be heard. In this |
| over double that number, and you may never even | | | | age of voice mail, email and "press number 1 for. . ", |
| know about it! | | | | your customer feels de-humanized. Treat them as |
| Customer service was revolutionized in the 1970s in | | | | individuals and you just might turn a dissatisfied |
| Seattle by a local company named Nordstrom. Their | | | | customer into an ally for life. You might not be able to |
| return policy then was "we take it back"-whatever "it" | | | | fix the problem to the customer's satisfaction, but they'll |
| was! People in Seattle came to expect that sort of | | | | be happy anyway and will tell their friends! |
| service and demanded it from other stores as well. | | | | 2. When possible, remove the voice mail from your |
| Other stores quickly realized that they needed to | | | | customer service line. If an actual person answers the |
| adopt Nordstrom's customer service policy or go out | | | | phone, you will immediately have the customer on your |
| of business. | | | | side. |
| Later Nordstrom took that policy "on the road" and | | | | 3. Treat every one of your employees as a valued |
| changed the face of customer service across the | | | | customer. They will pass it on. Train your employees |
| country. | | | | to treat each other the same way. You will create |
| Sadly, that respect for the customer has largely gone | | | | loyal employees who, in turn, will create loyal |
| by the wayside in this country. The good news for | | | | customers. |
| companies is that you don't have to be as great as | | | | In this day of out-sourcing to companies and countries |
| Nordstrom was to get a good reputation as a | | | | that may not understand you and your business, just a |
| customer-centered business. | | | | small effort on your part to treat your customer |
| Here are some tips for small companies on giving | | | | differently and better will reap great rewards for your |
| great customer service: | | | | business. |