How your Customer Service Skills can Turn a Rough Sales Experience into a Repeat Customer
We’re living in what’s been dubbed “The Age of the Customer,” and for one to be living in the age of a “Happy Customer…” it takes a little bit of work on your customer service skills!
Customers expect patience, kindness, and positivity. They appreciate time management, logistical ease, and the assuredness that promises will be kept and deadlines met. Not only do customers expect these qualities, but they need them. And chances are if you’d like to turn that first-time sale into a repeat customer… You and your team NEED to possess them!
At Crooked Monkey, we have always placed an emphasis on customer service. It is important to us that not only do our customers know they are important to us but that they feel it in each and every interaction they have with a member of the Crooked Monkey team! And lucky for us, our customer service abilities have proven to be one of the number one things that drive our return customers… Well, that and our insanely good design capabilities!
Though we may be known by names such as “The Custom Apparel Experts,” and “The Logistical Ninjas” there are still times that we don’t meet our own high expectations and must make up for our mistakes. For a story on a time when we fell short for a customer but saved the day with our insane customer service skills, keep reading. Plus, we have a few tips for how you can improve your customer service reputation!
Once Upon a Time…
Often times, because of our extreme efforts to provide quality customer service, many of our new customers are brought to us by the recommendations of previous customers.
This was the case for Charlie, who is the son of a previous customer, and the owner of his very own clothing brand.
Charlie placed an order with us last month for a new line of hoodies and track pants for his brand. Charlie needed this order rushed as he had planned to use the clothes for a quickly approaching photoshoot.
The order was supposed to be delivered on a Friday for a shoot over the weekend, but by the time Friday afternoon rolled around, the order was still not yet complete. Charlie was very upset but worked closely with our sales associate Pillar to work out some sort of plan.
Pillar then offered to pay for the $100 fee Charlie had already dished out for his weekend photoshoot and convinced him to delay the shoot until Monday night. Charlie appreciated Pillar’s offer and reluctantly agreed. But unfortunately, this story doesn’t end with just one bump in the road…
By the time Monday afternoon rolls around, Charlie is more than ready for his photoshoot. But there’s just one problem… his apparel has still yet to be delivered. In fact, at 11 pm that night, Charlie’s order was still just in production.
Pillar immediately went into customer service mode as she was trained, searching for all the ways in which she could make it right. But as a customer service representative located halfway across the world, working with an outsourced printer, and a customer who refused to accept their delivery one day later… What more could she do?
Remember the “logistical ninjas” title I referred to earlier, yeah… they don’t call us that for no reason. So Pillar did exactly what she is trained to do, she handled it and made magic happen!
At 12 am and located thousands of miles away, Pillar began brainstorming how she could get Charlie’s seven packages from Virginia to Maryland before sunset. And it wasn’t long before she found her saving Grace… or should I say “Saving Zuhair.”
After calling Uber, Lyft, and all of the local Taxi Services… Pillar was given the idea to call the local airport shuttle near the printers. When Pillar telephoned the number listed for the shuttle service, a man with a strong Indian accent quickly answered her distressed call.
“Can you transport boxes??” she blurted out. “I mean can you drive packages places, or can you just drive people??” she clarified. Confused what was going on, the kind Indian man on the other end of the phone cautiously confirmed that yes, he could indeed transport packages. But first… he needed proof Pillar wasn’t scamming him. I guess a girl from Brazil needing seven packages transported ASAP from Virginia to Maryland could sound a bit fishy…
Pillar then introduced herself and shared her crazy story full of unforeseen trials and tribulations. She learned the name of the kind Indian man as Zuhair, and it wasn’t long after that he agreed to the job. Well, after he had confirmed the credit card information of course…
As Pillar anxiously waited for the printer’s confirmation that Zuhair had arrived to pick up the apparel, she imagined all of the ways her plan could fall through… What if the boxes didn’t fit? What if Zuhair was scamming her and he just wanted 36 new pairs of sweat pants? There’s no way she could know, but taking the chance was her only hope.
At approximately 1 am, Zuhair successfully retrieved Charlie’s apparel order from the printers and was headed to Maryland. At around 4 am Charlie finally received his packages, and his photoshoot was set and ready to go for the next morning… All thanks to the quality customer service provided by Pillar and her new best friend Zuhair.
In the days following the incident, you may think the boss was notified of this horror story by a strongly worded email full of complaints from Charlie. But instead, he reached out with compliments of praise for a team that prides itself on customer service and making things right!
No one is too good for a mistake, but when you let your customer service do the talking the errors are a lot less loud! And just like that this Customer Service horror story ended happily ever after… with a satisfied Google review!
Key Factors of Good Customer Service
Understanding that customer service is the cornerstone of your customer experience helps you leverage it as an opportunity to delight customers. Even when their are errors that are out of your control, the Four Influencial Factors of quality customer service are key to improving your customer service reputation and increasing your rate of return customers.
1. Personalize
Personalized interactions greatly improve customer service and let customers know that your company cares about them and their problems. Instead of thinking of service as a cost, consider it an opportunity to earn your customer’s business all over again. Get to know them and understand how you can improve their encounter and ease their experience
2. Competent
Consumers have identified competency as the element that plays the biggest role in a good customer experience. To be competent, a customer support professional must have a strong knowledge of the company and its products, as well as the power to fix the customer’s problems. The more knowledge they have, the more competent they become.
3. Convenient
Customers want to be able to get in touch with a customer service representative through whichever channel is the most convenient for them. Offer support through the channels of communication your customers rely on most, and make it easy for customers to figure out how to contact you.
4. Proactive
Customers want companies to be proactive in reaching out to them. If one of your products is backordered or your website is going to experience downtime, proactively reach out to your customers and explain the problem. They may not be happy about the situation, but they will be thankful that you kept them in the loop.
By building your customer service strategy around these four main principles, you’ll create a positive, hassle-free customer experience for everyone who deals with your company, and better yet you will increase their desire to return. Even with a handful of errors, quality customer service can be the difference between a poor Google Review and a raving one!
The Proof is in the Google Review
Google reviews can give businesses a big credibility boost without having to spend a dime. The benefits of getting Google reviews include Google ranking for local SEO, leveling the playing field, increasing your online reputation, and spreading the word about your quality customer service.
When you have an encounter with a happy customer who is expressing their satisfaction with your product, it’s easy to take the compliment and go on with your day, but then you miss an opportunity for someone to make a testimonial about your brand. Always ask for the Google Review!
Your Google reviews tell your potential customers far more than just what you do and the services you offer. Google Reviews offer readers a well rounded idea of how you do business, how you treat your customers, and just how important customer service is to your brand values.
