Rules Exceptional Customer Service

I have been accused a number of times of being unnecessarily finicky and a little hard with sloppy customer service agents. The accusation makes me laugh a little helplessly because I doubt I’ll ever snap out of that zone. I find it utterly appalling to be attended to shabbily by a customer service agent who is supposed to be the face of his company and the ambassador of the brand. I guess I can blame my attitude on my experience as a Customer Service/Retail Adviser with Etisalat Nigeria. I worked there for about 7 years and there, the intricacies of exceptional customer service became ingrained inside of me.

I know we have all heard these phrases over and over but do we really know what it means? Are we truly aware of what it entails as business owners or employers of labor or even employees? Exceptional customer service can be defined as a pre-planned set of well-orchestrated actions that guarantee that your customer has a ‘wow’ experience before during and after a sales experience at your point of sale. Your point of sale could be a physical shop or store or office and it could also be an online version of the same. Your products may be tangible and physical such as car sales or clothes and they could also be intangibles like selling insurance policies. QDVP3 can be adapted to suit any kind of business but my focus is on physical shops/brick and mortar stores.

A customer or client approaching your outlet must see the clean exterior. The store gate, walls, doors, and walkways must be kept very very clean.

Orderliness must be maintained at all times within the outlet, everything must be tidy and properly arranged. When your client steps in, he should continue to enjoy the experience of the outward cleanliness of your establishment.

Don’t keep clients waiting in long queues but if it’s unavoidable then provide proper sitting arrangements and be pleasant to everyone. Use standard greetings and make sure you wear no frowns.

All frontline staff must have a dress code that they comply with very strictly.

Ensure there is adequate customer engagement; Probe and uncover the customer’s requirement also educate him or her on the various products you have to offer.

Ensure that all queries are resolved. Escalate issues you are unsure of and follow up on escalated issues in order to provide timely feedback.

Use a non-pushy sales approach. Make the up-selling and cross-selling sales processes relatively hassle; it builds affinity.

Once the sale is made, the items purchased must be properly packed, make sure your exit greeting is gracious and nicely delivered.

If you can adhere to all of the above as strictly as possible, you’ll continuously deliver exceptional service that would delight your customers and make them committed to returning again and again. Exceptional service always increases brand loyalty very significantly.