The concept of customer service is not new; it has been around for centuries. But now, it has undergone a major transformation, becoming more customer-centric. With technological advancement, customer service is not limited to providing good customer service but includes their satisfaction and happiness.
Have you ever been disappointed by a customer service experience? Or did you receive excellent customer service and feel bad about asking for more?
A customer service culture values providing exceptional service to customers and treats every interaction with a potential customer with utmost importance.
Customer service is your company’s first line of defense. If customers aren’t happy with the service they receive from your company, they will go somewhere else.
Many people have heard of the concept of customer service. The idea that companies should do a great job serving their customers has become an expectation in many business sectors. But what does “customer service” mean, and how does it relate to psychological health?
Customer Service Definition
“Customer Service” is defined as the actions of an organization to provide its customers with a satisfying, rewarding, and safe shopping or buying experience. It is about exceeding expectations and customer needs—going above and beyond.
Customer service is also about listening to your customers, acknowledging their feelings, and responding to them appropriately.
Customer service is about great communication, delivering the best possible information, being honest, and being a customer resource.
It is about having a positive attitude, being friendly, helpful, polite, and showing concern.
It is about apologizing sincerely when you make a mistake, ensuring that all customers are treated equally, and putting your customers first.
It is about treating all your customers with respect.
It is about ensuring that your company has policies and procedures to provide the highest level of service and about working professionally.
It is about delivering a satisfactory service. It is about making the customer’s experience a positive one.
It is about being the first to respond to customer requests, handling complaints professionally and promptly, and resolving disputes.
It is about being accountable for the quality of your product or service and being the industry’s most trusted company.
It is about ensuring that you provide a satisfactory service.
Customer Service Principles
Customer service principles are the core of any company’s culture. A customer service culture is based on the philosophy that everyone in the organization should be part of the team to deliver the best customer service possible.
It’s important to understand that the customer service process doesn’t end when the last employee leaves the building. It is ongoing, and an organization must constantly work to maintain a positive customer relationship.
So, how do you start building a culture of customer service?
Here are five steps to help you get started.
- Establish clear customer service goals.
- Create a simple customer service system.
- Identify the most common customer service issues.
- Develop training programs.
- Measure the results of your program.
How to Improve Customer Service
As consumers, we expect great customer service; most companies know it’s important. However, a bad customer service experience can change our opinion of a company and its products.
That’s why creating a customer service culture is so important. The idea is to create a culture where everyone is happy to help each other and customers feel safe and respected.
Here are the steps to improving customer service:
- Start by creating a culture where everyone is on the same page
When you hire new employees, you must understand what they’re looking for in a job.
A good culture will have clear expectations for an employee’s role, and they’ll know what to expect from you and your team.
- Create a culture of transparency.
Most people enjoy seeing how things work, and this includes customer service. Being transparent about what’s happening allows your customers to see things from your perspective.
- Keep everyone involved in the process.
By keeping everyone involved in the process, you’re giving them a chance to voice their concerns. They can ask for a different person or approach if someone feels ignored.
- Offer flexible scheduling
You want to ensure your staff can answer customer questions and resolve issues. Flexible scheduling can help with this.
- Keep everyone informed
It’s important to let your customers know how things are going through email, phone calls, or other means.
- Be transparent about the problems that happen.
When there is a problem, it’s important to be transparent about it. Tell customers what’s happening and when they can expect an update.
- Don’t blame the customer.
If you’re blaming a customer for the problem, you’re blaming them. Instead, it would be best if you took responsibility for your mistakes.
How does culture affect customer service?
While customer service is the main focus, a culture of customer service is a company’s approach to treating its employees well and helping them grow.
A good example of a customer service culture is Netflix. According to their website, they have over 70 million members with a “Netflix family.”
They even have a phrase they use to describe their customer service: “Never leave a Netflix family member hanging.”
So what exactly does this mean? It means they treat their members as a family and will work hard to help them.
Another great example of a company with a customer service culture is Apple. Their “Think different” motto describes how they handle customer service.
Apple’s slogan is “Think different.” If you’re an Apple customer, you know you’ll be treated like a king and get great customer service.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Culture of Customer Service
Q: What do you think is the biggest problem in customer service?
A: Most companies lack understanding of their customers.
Q: What do you think the solution is to this problem?
A: Training. Having training programs where you can learn how to serve your customers better.
Q: How do you think companies can improve customer service?
A: Companies should always learn and listen to their customers to improve themselves.
Q: What does it take to be a good employee?
A: A good employee works hard, is honest, and cares about their co-workers.
Q: How did you first get into customer service?
A: I started my career as a receptionist at a law firm. I realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do, so I switched to a company offering more customer service and became a phone agent.
Top Myths About Culture of Customer Service
- The culture of customer service is not a job title.
- It’s not just a job for people who want to be managers.
- Managers do not need to have good communication skills.
Conclusion
Customer service culture is defined by the service you provide to your clients. When you think about customer service, think about how you treat people when they interact with you. Do you provide them with the best customer service possible? Or is your attitude one of indifference and uncaring?
As you can see from the above list, many different types of companies and customer service cultures exist, making it difficult to know which ones are best for you.
However, some things apply to all types of companies and cultures. For example, most companies will have a human resources department. They will need to hire employees, train them, and pay them, and they will need to fire employees if they don’t meet expectations.
