0816_TOEFL-Test-and-Score-Manual-1997

246 ● 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business
GREAT
Quick Customer Service Quiz
Take this customer service quiz to find out whether
IDEA
you are treating your customers the way you, yourself,
want to be treated.
1. Do you really know who your customers are? If you are unsure, get busy
collecting information on their purchasing habits and preferences.
2. When customers return a product, do you treat them the same way as
when they purchased the product? Treat returns and complaints as a
way to improve your operations and generate goodwill.
3. Do you respond to e-mails and telephone calls immediately? With so
many options, customers expect a prompt response. Voice mail is great,
but it should never replace a human at the other end of the line when
a caller presses “0.”
4. If your product is guaranteed, do you honor that guarantee? If a customer
buys a product with a guarantee, but you refuse to provide a
replacement or refund, you are not providing good service. Honor all
product guarantees, even if the conditions are not fully met. Nordstrom
takes back any item, usually with no questions asked.
5. Does your staff have all the information they need to provide excellent
service? Everyone needs to know everything about the products
or services you sell. Review their performance and reward employees
for providing great customer service. Consider hiring a mystery
shopper (see next idea).
GREAT
Hire a Mystery Shopper
Carol Cherry makes her living from shopping, but you
IDEA
won’t catch her wandering around a store.
“I hate shopping,” she told me when we spoke a few years ago. “I can’t
remember the last time I’ve been to a mall.”