Butchering Customer Service

Title:Butchering Customer ServiceWord Count:985Summary:It one thing to be attentive and meetcustomers?needs; it another to be so present and\"in their face\" that customers think you want themto adopt you. This article will help youunderstand the difference so that your customerswill continue to reward you with loyalty.

Keywords:customer service trainingArticle Body:All businesses strive to provide excellentcustomer service, but there a fine line betweenservice and servility. Extreme servility iscalled obsequiousness. Now there a word for youto know. Even if you donot know what it means, youhave experienced itaybe in a restaurant, aclothing store, a car dealership, anywhere whereemployees hope that by virtue of their attentionthey will make sales or garner large tips. It onething to be attentive and meet customers?needs;it another to be so present and in their face?thatcustomers think you want them to adopt you.A few months ago, I ordered a gift of steaks androasts from a meat mail order business for somefamily members. When no acknowledgement came, I

called to find out if they had gotten theirpresent. As it turned out, the parcel deliveryservice had left the package at the wrong address,but the people who had received it in error werehonest enough to immediately call the intendedrecipients to let them know about the mix up.The only person who had made a mistake was thedelivery man who misread the mailing label, andno one ever heard a word out of him or his company.The same canot be said for the meat company. Inits relentless pursuit to keep customerssatisfied, company representatives startedcalling meailyo make sure I was still happy andto see if I didnot want to order more meat.After the umpteenth call that resulted in noadditional purchases from me, I asked to have myname and number removed from the calling list.Being nice hadnot worked. Maybe some force wouldbe more effective. Keep in mind I had hadabsolutely no beef with the mail order company

until now. It was at this point, however, thatcustomer service attention turned into customerobsession.I thought I gotten the point across, but abouta week later I started receiving calls at my worknumber. When I would take advantage of the callerID feature on my phone, I saw an area code andnumber I didnot recognize. I answered in my usualway, but each time the caller said nothing andsimply hung up. This happened several times untilI checked the number and discovered it was thecattle crew. This was out of control. I said nofrom my home number. The answer wasnot going tobe any different on my business line. Now theywere intruding on my work day without saying aword.One final call (and I emphasize the word final)came at 9:17 p.m. last week. Dinner was long over,and no one in the house was thinking about food,especially not about T-bones. No one was

consciously thinking about anything since we wereall asleep. It had taken almost an hour to get thethree-year-old to quit fussing about having to goto bed, but at last he drifted off. That is, untilthe phone rang. I was roused from a very deep sleepby the phone ringing and our child yelling forMommy.Too unawake to check the caller ID, I answered.To my utter amazement, it was another company repwanting to know if I was ready to order more filets.It was time to take this bull by the horns. no,?Isaid, ot now, not ever again!?I canot rememberexactly, but I sure I pointed out that I asked tohave my name and number removed from their list.That he had had the audacity to call so late inthe evening was absolutely beyond mycomprehension.This experience is a clear illustration of howcustomer service can go terribly wrong. Probablypart of this was due to someone misreading the

data and assuming that since I had placed asubstantial order, I would likely do so again. Whoknows? Maybe I would have at a later time, but theverkill?from the sales staff turned out to be adeal breaker as far as I concerned.Let this be a cautionary tale for any businessesout there that think ard selling?is going to workevery time. In many cases it will backfire andhave just the opposite effect from the one youwant.I have recently conducted aless-than-statistically-valid study pollingpeople (my office manager, my aunt, and a verynice woman behind me in a line at Safeway) aboutcustomer disservice. Although not all the resultsare in, here are ten tips to take to heart to keepyour customers truly satisfied:1. Just because your business model sayscustomers should, in all probability, be

interested in buying something, donot assume theyhave kidding when they tell you no.2. Limit unsolicited calls to the same person.3. Call at a reasonable time.4. After you hear hello,?really listen to what theother person says to you.5. Donot argue when the customer says no.?6. Honor the customer wishes.7. If you are offering service to someone inperson, be available, but donot hover.8. An internet order does not give youauthorization to call someone at home or work tooffer add-on purchases or services.9. Know that a lot of people have caller ID, sodonot call and hang up without saying something.

10. Ask yourself: Would you want to get the callyou have getting ready to make?This is just a starting point. Maybe you have somepet peeves of your own. If so, send them to ourwebsite. There are plenty of people we like tohear from. Just donot contact me about buyinganything that was standing on four legs and hada pulse until recently. I now a vegetarian thanksto the last person who did!