Top Tips for Customer Service in the Recession

Customers, whether you call them patients, passengers, clients or residents have increased expectations. They are more articulate, knowledgeable, technically savvy and selective than ever before. Their expectations are shaped by the sum of their customer service experiences and you will be measured against the best, whether you are in the private, public or third sector.

The challenge for any organisation, whatever the sector is to at least meet, and if possible, exceed those expectations. The fact that you are operating within the voluntary sector does not alter those expectations and therefore those challenges.

The great thing about customer care is that it doesn't have to be expensive. Here are a few tips to help you along the way. Though these may seem like obvious suggestions, getting them right time and time again can make a massive difference, but there are no quick fixes in improving customer service. So take some time to really think about whether you are putting customer service at the heart of your business.

Top tips to achieve customer service excellence

1.    Four key issues

To put the customer at the heart of your organisation you should concentrate on four key issues - going the extra mile, treating people as individuals, keeping promises and handling queries and complaints professionally.

2.    Take time to understand your customers needs

Making your customer or client feel valued by understanding exactly what they want and delivering it to them is key. Take your time to understand their particular needs. Remember one size doesn't fit all.

3.    Recruit and train the right people

People with the right attitude are essential to building a successful customer service approach - "hire for attitude, train for skills" should be the maxim. Once in place, don't leave customer service to chance. Put in place a planned training programme in both job skills and people skills, these must both be maintained.

4.    Lead by example

Getting customer service right in an organisation, and continually improving it, is a long-term commitment that must be made by those at the top. They need to recognise its importance, believe in the strategy, be active in leading by example and take actions that support those charged with carrying it out.

5.    Welcome complaints - and act on them

Complaints are free market research and should be welcomed. Ensure that you are hearing about all of them; resolve the ones you get quickly and efficiently; stop them being repeated; learn lessons and pass these on to others. This might even lead to a short-term increase in complaints but this is artificial - you always had them you just didn't know about it.

6.    Keep your staff happy

Staff retention is crucial to your organisation improving customer service excellence. Research shows that staff stay when they are happy and respect the organisation for which they work. It also shows that high employee satisfaction leads directly to high customer satisfaction and staff can also be a major source of feedback on the services you offer.

7.    Measure your performance

Make sure that you measure the right things, not the easiest things. Measure what is important to your customer, not what you think is important to them. The two things that you should always do are to measure customer satisfaction/delight and employee engagement. The true question is: are you doing it to give yourself a warm feeling inside, or to see where you can make improvements?

8.    Learn from others

Looking at what others do when it comes to customer service and how they handle dissatisfied customers can give you pointers for your own organisation. Get out there and learn from others - and not just those in your own area of business. You can learn from any market leader when it comes to customer service.

9.    Communications

Commit to keeping people fully informed, your staff as well as your customers. Don't just tell them what you are doing; explain to them why you are doing it. Where possible ask for their opinions.

10. The little things are very important

A reputation for great service can be easily won, but at the same time can be easily lost by the small details - a poor telephone manner, or a confusing website.

About the Institute of Customer Service

The Institute of Customer Service is the professional body for customer service and is the first port of call on all aspects of customer service, delivering tangible benefits to organisations and individuals. Our aim is to ensure that our customers can improve their business performance and their customers' experience.

The Institute is a membership body with a community of more than 350 organisational members - from the private, public and third sectors - and around 7,000 individual members.

Membership Benefits

In particular, we:

• Develop and spread authoritative knowledge and good practice in customer service.
• Define national, professional and occupational customer service standards and how people can attain them. We work on National Occupational Standards, ICS Professional Awards and NVQ/SVQs in Customer Service.
• Give people professional recognition through individual membership.
• Help customer service professionals develop and stay motivated through our programme of continuous professional development.
• Recognise, reward and celebrate the attainment of customer service excellence by organisations and individuals. Including National Customer Service Week and supporting the National Customer Service Awards.
• Networking events and conferences to share best practice.
• Influence employers and policy makers.

For more information about the Institute of Customer Service go to www.instituteofcustomerservice.com