Attitude and Customer Service: Fixing Your Customer Contacts

If you have ever talked to a customer service representative with a "snotty" attitude you know how frustrating it can be to be treated poorly. You are their customer but they don't seem to really care. What you are to them is more of an annoyance as they try and earn their hourly wage. The least amount of work they can do the better off they are.

If you're a company the worst thing you can do is hire people with poor customer service skills. Unfortunately, since many executives view customer service as an entry level job they don't hire the right employees. They are more concerned with filling vacancies than doing anything else.

Treat your customer service representatives as important components to your business strategy. Pay them a living wage, allow for growth opportunities and give them the power to do their jobs well. If you treat them like entry level employees they will treat your customers the same way.

Before you can let your customer service representatives lose to go out there and please your customers you have to recruit the right people. Since many customer service representatives may have lots of experience dealing with customers they may also have lots of bad habits. Screen people for their positive personalities and not only their experience.

Each position of customer contact should be thoroughly planned so that it effectively handles the job. From the minute the customers see your advertisements, walk through the door and take your products home they should be catered to and their problems solved. They should walk out with the feeling that their purchase was the right one and they were treated exceptionally.

You might have heard the phrase "Satisfied customers will tell 4 people about their positive experience but will tell 10 people about their negative experience". One negative interaction sparked by an employee with an "attitude" will likely cause 10 other people to consider not purchasing. If this fact is kept in mind you won't ignore the customer any longer.

If done well a customer service department can actually be an extension of your sales department. Your customer service representatives can solve problems, develop lasting relationships, and improve future sales. In today's world relationship marketing is much more important than the quick sale. Make sure that your customer service representatives are selling the culture and caring attitude of your business and not its bad attitude.