The first week of October every year is marked as the Customer Service week to celebrate and appreciate the importance staff who serve and support customers on a daily basis.
This year’s Customer Service Week is themed “Celebrate Service” with the aim of recognizing and rewarding the contributions of customer service personnel.
It is worth noting that the first point of call of any business/organization, whether it is a school or a consulting service is usually the customer service attendant. Hence, it is important that these ones are provided with all the resources they need physically and mentally to carry out their jobs effectively.
From banks to other service providers, we have seen a lot of people here in Nigeria, dump many brands due to poor reception from the customer service point. Millions of unforeseen revenue have been lost and some organizations have closed operations because of this small but mighty problem.
Social media is filled with complaints of people from celebrities to everyday people who have terminated a long term partnerships with organizations just because a customer service attendant was either rude to them or was lackadaisical in their response.
This issue remains a big problem faced by top players in the industries today and it has contributed to the downfall of many organizations and businesses today. Most times, these customer care agents do not even know the overall impact of their actions.
So, here are 3 ways to curb this:
1. Key your customer service team into your Business vision
When the vision of a business/organization is not keyed into by the staff, there is a chance that the organization may not grow to where it is supposed to be as the staff have no major goal that they are looking to achieve on their own part for the prosperity of the organization.
For example, if a business vision is to accommodate the needs of all its customers, a customer service agent knows a customer hanging up the phone angrily should not be heard at all, he/she will go to any length to ensure that situation is prevented.
2. Communicate your Business values
When there is lack of proper communication on the values that are to be upheld by the organization, expect some member of the staff to communicate out of order. When one of your values as an organization is respect, it means that no matter how harsh the customer sounds and behaves, they must still be accorded every form of respect by the customer service staff.
3. Care for your customer service team
This can not be overemphasized. When the customer care agent feels loved, respected and paid their worth in the organization, they will naturally be obligated to give their best to the organization and that will mean that they take their place as a customer service representative seriously to deliver the best.
This list is not exhaustible, but as you celebrate your customer service staff, remember to put them and your customers at the forefront of your plans to grow your organization.
