Who Comes First The Customer or the Customer

I was waiting for my fast-food breakfast while my cohort of four little girls scurried over the indoor Big Toy.

"They're sure taking their time today," grumbled the man next to me. He wasn't talking about my granddaughters.

He was wearing a purple tee-shirt over his middle-aged paunch. A baseball cap and jeans completed the outfit. He could have been there with his grandchildren, but he was alone.

I nodded my head. I hate standing in line and really hate waiting, but I hadn't reached my annoyance threshold, yet. Obviously, my fellow breakfaster had passed that bar.

"They wait on the drive-through customers first and make the people inside wait," he said to me while maintaining a watchful eye behind the counter and into the kitchen area.

I nodded again and followed his gaze. The young woman, who seemed about four-foot-five, behind the counter was taking orders and was doing a good job with a friendly smile. The prep people were cooking and delivering, and yet . . . on the counter were five food trays. Each had a cash register receipt. In addition, between the trays were another two or three receipts. The young woman would take orders, fill them as best she could, and then wait for food from the kitchen, while she continued to take even more order.

A tray of goodies was handed out to someone who had been behind us. "I was here before him. This has happened to me before," my hungry friend commented. "I was waiting for about fifteen minutes once and I complained to the waitress. She said she didn't realize there was a problem and offered me a free meal. I told her that wasn't the problem and pointed to all the people waiting behind me." He shook his head in disgust, "I think I need to call corporate, again."

I like to hear people complaining. It shows that I'm not the only one observing problems and potential problems in business.

The keel of this fast-food breakfast story pops up repeatedly in retail and small businesses around the world. It's a good illustration of priorities. Who comes first: the customer in front of you, or the customer who calls on the phone (or ordering on the intercom)?

It's a juggling act that requires people handling skills. You don't want to offend or lose either customer, but by faltering in your juggling you run the risk of losing one or the other, or both. It's like fishing with two poles and a fish on each line. While this is enviable, the fisherman sometimes goes home hungry.

Here are some suggestions for working with multiple customers:

Be observant. Is everyone happy? Can anything be done for the unhappy ones?

Be polite. Use words and phrases like "excuse me," "I'm sorry for the delay," and "it'll be just a moment."

Know when to apologize and when to offer relief, "Can I get you a free coffee?"

Be respectful, "Excuse me, while I put you hold. I am currently helping another customer. I'll retu as soon as possible."

Get help when possible.

I got my order before my friend, but then I was in line before he was. My grandkids ate, played, and then with money in hand went back for snacks as a group. One retued with an unsolicited comment, "It's terrible over there. People are placing orders and not getting them!" Ah, yes, that's what I like, a ten year-old complainer. She's being raised right, I guess.

As my unhappy friend left a little while later, there were 12 people in line with the same clerk and finally another clerk joined her. Within minutes the line was gone and so where the people waiting for their orders. I wish the friendly little clerk had just asked for help a little sooner. She might have saved a customer . . . the one who had been directly in front of her.

Author Don Doman: Don is a published author of books for small business, corporate video producer, and owner of Ideas and Training (http://www.ideasandtraining.com), which provides business training products. Don also owns and Human Resources Radio (http://www.humanresourcesradio.com), which provides business training programs and previews 24-hours a day.

Writing The Book On Great Customer Service

Q: One of the big chain bookstores recently opened up near my small book store. Already I can see my business starting to decline. Is there anything I can do to compete with the bigger store or should I just accept the inevitable? -- Peter Q.

A: A wise man once said, "The inevitable is never a sure thing."

Don't be so quick to close the book on your business, Peter. You probably can't compete with the superstore on volume of inventory or on price, but there are other things you can do to help keep the customers coming in your door. One of the best ways to ensure customer loyalty is to offer superior customer service.

It's funny that you're a bookseller. Let me tell you about my last visit to one of the big chain bookstores just a few weeks ago.

I took my teenage daughter in to find the classic book, The Once and Future King, for a school project that has to be done over the summer. It was a Sunday afteoon and the store was crawling with customers. We spent fifteen minutes scouring this great warehouse of a bookstore, but couldn't find the book anywhere. We also couldn't find anyone who worked there to ask for help.

Finally, I went up to the front counter and asked the apathetic looking teenager who was manning the register if they had the book in stock. She looked at me as if I'd asked her to do advanced calculus in her head and said, "I dunno."

I asked if she might check her computer for me. She looked at me again, this time as if I'd just asked her to rotate the tires on my car without a jack. After a minute of tapping the keys with her long fingeails (which were painted black, by the way) she said, "Yeah, we have it."

"Great," I said. "Where can I find it?"

She glanced at the screen again and said, "It says that it's in the classics section."

"Great," I said again. I use the word "great" a lot when I'm trying to restrain myself from strangling incompetent sales people. "Where might the classics section be?"

She didn't bother to look at me or the computer this time. She just shrugged and said, "Beats me, man. I've only worked her a week. "

I wanted to ask if there was anyone who had worked there long enough to know where the ^%$# classics section was, but by that time there were a dozen or so people lining up behind me to pay for books they had somehow managed to find on their own.

I went home and ordered the book online. So much for supporting my local bookseller.

It's a shame your store isn't located near me, Peter. I'll bet if I walked in and asked for a copy of The Once and Future King you would be able to tell me almost to the square inch where the book is on the shelf in your store. I'll also bet that if you didn't have a copy in stock you would go out of your way to order it for me.

That is what superior customer service is all about: going the extra mile to satisfy your customer. That is what will keep customers coming back to your store time and time again.

Superior customer service leads to greater customer satisfaction, which leads to repeat business, which leads to the holy grail of the retail business: customer loyalty.

Here are a few tips on how to deliver superior customer service and build customer loyalty:

1. Anyone on your staff who deals directly with the customers should be well groomed and dressed appropriately for the job. Customers over 25 years old will not get a warm and fuzzy feeling if the guy processing their credit card is wearing an Ozzy Osboe tee-shirt and matching nose ring.

2. Sales people should be knowledgeable about the product they are selling. I can't tell you how many times I have asked a sales person a simple question and only got a blank stare in retu. A lack of product knowledge does nothing to instill confidence in the customer.

3. Your staff should know where every product is without having to ask a manager or consult a computer. At the very least they should be able to point out the ^%$# classics section without blinking an eye.

4. Make it a point to know your customer's name. Nothing makes a customer feel special like the sound of his or her own name. You can't remember everyone's name, of course, but you should strive to remember the names of those customers who come in regularly. I f requent one particular restaurant and the owner not only knows my name, but the names of my wife and kids. And every time I set foot in his restaurant he calls me by name and shakes my hand and personally leads me to a table. I don't feel like a customer. I feel like a friend.

5. Offer personal services that the big boys do not. Anything you can do to make your customer's life easier will be appreciated and remembered. If a customer comes in and asks for a book you do not have, offer to order the book and deliver it to their home so they don't have to make another trip to pick it up. All this is going to cost you is a few minutes of your time and you will not only save a sale, but also make a lasting impression on that customer. The next time they need a book they will head your way.

There are other things you can do to combat the bookstore Goliath, Peter, but offering superior customer service is a great place to start.

Here's to your success!

Tim Knox

Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneur and syndicated columnist, Tim Knox. Tim serves as the president and CEO of three successful technology companies and is the founder of DropshipWholesale.net, an online organization dedicated to the success of online and eBay entrepreneur.

Related Links:
http://www.prosperityandprofits.com
http://www.dropshipwholesale.net

The Branded Customer Experience We Never Say No

Colin Shaw urges you to ensure that your branding and marketing activities are aligned with your Customer experience.

I work with a client in the North of England. Whenever I visit them I always stay at the same hotel. At this hotel their slogan is "We never say No". All the employees wear badges saying "We never say no", and there are even posters and flyers in your room saying the same thing. So ask yourself this, do you think the people "never say no"?

Of course not! This is marketing hype, and so far from reality it's ridiculous. The marketing people have sat in a darkened room and come up with a great slogan that is totally impractical to implement on the shop floor. The contrast is vivid. You talk to an employee who is saying "No" to you about something and yet their badge tells you that they "never say no".

You hear customers point out the inconsistencies - "I would like a non-smoking room, are there any available?". The employee replies "no, I'm sorry they are all gone" - and inevitably the customer says "but I thought you never said no"?. The employees get into games saying everything but the word "no" like "not really" or "that is not possible" to avoid saying the word "no". When a customer points out they are really saying "no" I've actually heard an employee say, I didn't say no, I said "not really". It becomes like the game show where you cannot say the words "yes" or "no". It made me think, "what are the brand values of this company?". Given the scenario above I guess they maybe:

1. Create and expectation that is not fulfilled

2. Treat customers as if they are stupid

Now clearly these are not their brand values. But why have a slogan that is so obviously incapable of being implemented?

These examples are all around us. Only this week I wanted to buy some travel insurance. Therefore, after seeing an advert on TV, I decided to call this company – their slogan was "Quote me happy". The images portrayed on the advert are of customers rolling around the floor laughing, and being very happy, with a telephone glued to their ear as they receive their quotation - and of the company's call centre staff happily dealing with the customer's enquiry. SO I thought I would give it a go……………..

The first thing I was greeted with was an automated service! The message said that when they collect my data to give me my quotation that they would use this information to send me further information about their products and services! Does that make me happy? No it doesn't. The message also says that if you don't want this to happen that all you have to do is tell the agent, when you do get through to them, and they will take you off the list. Do I trust that will happen? I eventually got through to the agent and asked for travel insurance. I explained that I didn't want to give my details as I don't want to be mailed with 20 million emails or letters and that I simply want travel insurance. Their reply was they couldn't provide it to me as their process is to collect the data before the quote. Does this make me happy? No. Were the people really friendly and happy? No. Were the messages happy? No.

So why do marketing sit on one side of the fence and the people who deliver the reality sit on the other? The creative people in agencies and marketing have great fun in creating marketing campaigns without any thought to how these actually get delivered, and the subsequent impact on the Customer Experience. In my experience, most employees do not even know what their companies brand values are. These are something that marketing do. They mean nothing to the people in the front line. Therefore what happens is that an expectation is created by marketing which is then not fulfilled by the people who touch the customer.

I would urge you to ensure that your branding and marketing activities are aligned with your Customer Experience.

About The Author Colin Shaw is the Founding Partner of Beyond Philosophy and guru of the Customer Experience. His first book, Building Great Customer Experiences sold out within just eight weeks, is on a third reprint and available in paperback. Colin's second book, Revolutionize Your Customer Experience will be released in September 2004. Colin has enjoyed over 20 years of experience working in blue chip companies, including Mars Ltd., Rank Xerox and BT. Colin's final position was Director of Customer Experience for one of the world's largest global companies. In his career, he has held senior positions in a number of different functional areas including Sales, Marketing, Customer Service and Training. Colin now indulges in his real passions, strategic thinking, conference speaking and Executive Briefings, writing books and advising boards of companies. Colin is a member of the Professional Speakers Association and enjoys a hectic conference speaking schedule. beyondphilosophy.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Colin_Shaw

Why does every company need a CRM Customer Relationship Management

First, let's define what a CRM is: The term Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a system that connects different parts of a company through the thread of customer relationships. Sales, Marketing, Accounting and Customer Service can all be tied together with a powerful, centralized CRM software made to retain customer loyalty, increase revenue, deliver consistent and efficient customer service, and finally, evaluate which customers to focus on.

Basically, every company has customers, and every company should maintain some basic information about those customers such as names, addresses, purchases, contracts, invoices, etc. Therefore every company should have at least some basic "CRM Technology" to track and serve their customers. Even small businesses use Outlook, Quicken or other applications for this purpose. If you use Microsoft Outlook for your daily communications, calendaring, tasks and appointments and need a way to track sales leads and opportunities, to share data across sales representatives, to improve the understanding of your sales process, to communicate with a broad groups of people on a one to one basis, to improve your business process in the most important area – sales, and need a reporting system that beats multiple excel spreadsheets, then you need a complete CRM solution.

Why ? Because a CRM software can increase profitability for your business by reducing current operating costs, usually in the call center or distribution system, and by increasing customer value through smarter marketing using customer data to increase customer profitability.

Can you do it without a CRM ? Probably, but not as efficiently because only a CRM is built to take care of Customer personal needs "centrally", meaning that by using a single software, all the employees of the same company can access an organised database via Inteet, where sales, customer service and management have access to the same customer data using tools such as "Sales Force Automation" (provides Lead Management, Opportunity Management, Account and Contact Management, Reports and Dashboards specifically useful for your organization's sales team), "Customer Support and Services" (provides Ticket Management, Knowledge Base, E-mail Notifications specifically useful for your organization's customer support team.), "Marketing Automation" (provides Lead Management, Mailing Lists, E-mail/Mail Merge templates, Product Management, specifically useful for your organization's marketing team.), "Inventory Management" (provides Products, Price Books, Vendors, Quotes, Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, and Invoices specifically useful for integrating your organization's sales, inventory, and accounting processes and enhance the sales effectiveness.) , providing a complete integration between pre-sales, post-sales, procurement, fulfillment, and other business processes within your organization.

In other words, a good CRM software will help you build customer relationships by setting mutually satisfying goals between organization and customers, establishing and maintaining customer rapport and producing positive feelings in your organization and for the customers.

Organizations that implement CRM and tu their business into e-businesses will find their competitors' customers ready to welcome them with a "smile". According to a study by IT Consulting firm Aberdeen - "The winners in this new economy will be those companies that can effectively leverage the Inteet to redesign, automate and integrate all business operations".
Take the plunge!

Either jump on board with CRM and invest, knowing you need it, or get out the calculator and pencil and start adding up what you're going to lose!

One thing is for certain – a few short months after implementing your CRM solution, you'll wonder how on earth you ever got by without it!
http://www.momentustech.ca

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Dr. Sylvain Desforges is the director of Research and development for Momentus Technologies.

Why You Need an Answering Service

The integral role played by the telephone as a business communication tool accounts for the growing importance of answering service businesses. All businesses, whether a physician's private practice, a small construction company, or a conglomerate, rely on the telephone as one of the fastest and most reliable communication tool in their businesses.

Anyone with a busy schedule and a telephone needs an answering service! Answering service can be a real lifesaver to a small business. Many small businesses have neither the time nor the means to take incoming calls during business hours when they are out on jobs -- yet those calls represent the very lifeblood of their business! They cannot afford an office; much less a secretary, but they certainly need those phone calls. Unless they can find a reliable and affordable answering service, they will probably have to do without (or ask people to call them only after 7 PM) or use an answering machine (which has a whole set of disadvantages).

Yes, you indeed can use an answering machine but the fact is that people really do not like to talk to machines, if they are unable to reach a human voice easily, they will go somewhere else – it's a lost business opportunity.

Fortunately, employers are recognizing this problem and solving it by contracting people to answer the phones when they cannot do it themselves. That personal touch you can offer can mean the difference in obtaining or keeping a client. Hiring a professional answering service business assures that you can take messages, deliver specific messages to callers, provide basic information, clarify the intent of calls and even arrange meetings with customers.

It's always in the best interest of small companies to hire an answering service provider to work for the company during the extended business workday, say from 8.00 AM to 8.00 PM or may be even for the rest of the day if your business needs it. Now it doesn't costs an arm or a leg to hire an answering service. Generally, in a competitive market you can get it for as cheap as $30-$50 per month on the lowest slab! So go and hire an answering service provider so that you never lose that customer again.

Vipul Gupta is the founder of http://www.answering-services.org Visit his site today to gain all proven information on the hiring your answering service provider without buing a hole in your pocket.