How to Get Great Customer Service

We've all been there - on the phone with a technician, checking into a hotel or airline, waiting in line at a department store. We sometimes feel like we're not being heard or treated unfairly. It can be frustrating, maddening, and more than a little bit frightening. A couple of times, I've even cried.

I'm talking about customer service.

Decades ago, in the golden age of independent proprietors and small businesses, just a few sales at the cash register could mean the difference between finishing the year in the black or filing for bankruptcy. In those times, customer service and consumer loyalty were just as essential as the quality of the product being sold. Fast forward thirty years to the new millennium, and the general consumer is facing a different type of commercial environment. In a land currently overrun by conglomerates such as Wal-Mart, Target, Duane Reade, Pottery Barn and the Home Depot, many agree that the quality of customer service taken a decisive nosedive.

Once upon a time, a business transaction in a store was a personal event. As cash or check exchanged hands, there was a certain esteem granted to the customer, a simple "Sir" or "Ma'am" to acknowledge the time spent earning and working, however small the eventual purchase amount. Companies are larger now, with millions of customers. In order to compensate for the growing consumer base, businesses have become impersonal, with boardroom drafted, focus group tested responses to every possible situation and incident. As a result, service providers are taught, not to listen and relate with the consumer, but to spew words like machines. It can be a very daunting experience, for sure, but there is a way to get the service you desire. All you have to do is follow the ten guidelines below.

These ten guidelines may change your life.

You are stupid. Having worked in customer service for ten years (and hotels for five), I know that HHthis is what some service professionals are thinking when they encounter a patron with a "problem". Perhaps not consciously, but on some latent level, the belief is there. In order to combat this, you must be informed. Know what you want, know what you are asking for (not always the same thing) and know what is guaranteed by the company in question. If you are checking into a hotel or airline, bring your itinerary. If you are redeeming a gift certificate, read the instructions. This may seem like a no brainer, but you would be surprised at how many people have shown up at my hotel, argued when a reservation wasn't found, only to discover that they were in the wrong place.

Ask questions. Use the five Ws - Who, What, When, Where, Why. Your hotel room isn't ready? Ask why and when. Having a problem with a clerk? Ask who is in charge. Waiting in line for a long time? Ask what is happening. If you can't get something when you want it, ask for an alternative. Maybe you won't get the immediate and desired answers you need, but asking the question assigns accountability to the person standing in front of you. It means that someone must get the answers. Don't stand there in silence, fuming. Ask, ask, ask.

Have a conversation. Your clerk or sales representative is a person. If you feel resistance, change your tactic. Yes, you should expect immediate and appropriate help, but that's just not the service world we live in right now. Making it personal for the staff makes it personal for you.

Leave your problems at the door. This is a big one. If the cab you took was slow, it is not the problem of the person in front of you. If your boss was an ogre that day, it is not the problem of the person in front of you. If you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, reset your attitude before interacting with a service professional. Too many times you are treated poorly because you treat someone else poorly. The saying is, "What goes around comes around." In the customer service world, this is instantaneous.

Don't use obscenities, shouting or name calling. Maybe in Barney's you can get away with this behavior because you'll spend a lot of money. At your local bookstore or Wal-Mart, forget about it. Your complaints will fall on the deaf ears of clerks and managers. Oh, you'll get your service, but it will be with the minimal amount of decorum required. Your mother taught you manners for a reason. Use them, they work.

Be specific and be persistent. If something goes wrong - a machine breaks, your receipt is unclear, your cable isn't working - say exactly what it is you want, and when. Also, if you are talking with someone who is not qualified, ask for the manager. I've often been told, usually while on a telephone call with a computer or credit card company, that the manager is unavailable. This is what they are taught to say. The catch-22 here is that the call is being recorded, and they are not usually allowed to utter the word, "no". This means push, push, push. I once spent 37 minutes (after I began counting) on the line with a computer representative who told me the manager was not coming in that day. After it became clear that I was going nowhere, she acquiesced and transferred me.

Don't ever say, "I'll have you fired." I worked in customer service for ten years, as a sales representative and in management. Every single time I heard this phrase uttered, either to me or one of my co-workers, I laughed. Everyone does. It's ridiculous, and I'll tell you why. For a company, it's hard to find people who understand the product, the services, the software and also show up on time, well-dressed and awake. When a company happens upon one of these individuals, they don't let go easily. You'll be tolerated through your tirade, sure, but you won't be taken seriously. As soon as you leave, you'll become, "that" guy.

Write a letter. When I was the overnight manager for a midtown Manhattan hotel, a former guest wrote a letter that not only garnered immediate results, but opened the eyes of upper management. Her requests were met immediately and sincerely. The letter was scathing, yes, but it was also extremely specific. She mentioned the incident in question, the individuals involved, what she expected as a recompense from the hotel, and what she would do if her demands weren't met (most important - she would stop payment from the credit card company - take note). The letter was delivered to the hotel management, and also the hotel owners. Letters to the company important because it records a certain behavior and because they are physical, not oral, representations of an incident. In large chain stores, many service professionals behave inappropriately because they'll never be punished. Writing a letter removes this crutch. In that regard, take the survey (there is usually one available in large chain stores). Both of these conditions are after the fact, but they will have an impact on future service levels.

Learn to take no for an answer. We don't want to, but sometimes we must. Exhaust your options, ask your questions, but if it can't be done, it's usually not the fault of any one person.

Smile. Simple? Yes. Too simple? No. It matters. Being a customer is now a proactive experience. You must adjust yourself accordingly.