This is a basic one, folks, from way back when. Let's take a quick look at what it means.
It means that you go out of your way to help the customer. It means that when possible you give them the answers and services they seek. It means you always treat them with the utmost respect and never in an inappropriate way.
It does not mean you let them take advantage of you or your company, or to gain access or credit where it's unwarranted. Use your head, but don't ever forget your duty to show respect and manners to that customer.
And when possible, PLEASE don't make us sit through 30 minutes of hold music or annoying button pressing just to be hung up on.
Just sayin'...
I reject you title, but agree with your sentiment.
ReplyDeleteThe customer isn't always right. Customers who expect X shouldn't necessarily get it, or get it from you. If you make plastic widgets, you shouldn't try to make a metal doohickey if it's not in your business plan/you're not set up for that/you don't have a good reason. You should never let customers abuse you, dictate implementation, or make ridiculous demands.
That said, everyone is in customer service, regardless of what you actually do. You should be respectful, friendly, and helpful. You should try to minimize the "burden" of using your product, contacting support, and gaining access to training materials. You should try to make their experience with you, and with your company, as painless as possible.
Because honestly? There's someone else who's doing exactly what you're doing. And if you're doing a crappy job with it, if you're rude, or if the customer thinks it's too much hassle to deal with you, they'll go elsewhere.
I've dropped companies cold turkey because of bad customer service. I've also shown brand loyalty when something was more expensive or harder to get because of great customer service.