Customer Service
Okay, I’m just going to come right out and say it:
One of the fastest ways to undermine your credibility and look like a yahoo (and at the same time turn off prospective clients) is using your home phone for business.
It’s such a rookie mistake! The only argument for this gaffe is that it saves money. But that isn’t actually true. It’ll cost you money if people expected to call a business and get, “Hi, you’ve reached Bob, Beth and Fluffy. We’re probably out walking Fluffy, but leave a message and we’ll call you back. Meow!”
Okay, that’s a bit extreme. But even a basic personal greeting that doesn’t reference the business says, (a) the caller got a wrong number; or (b) “I work from home in my pajamas, when I’m not out walking the dog.”
Either way it makes the “business” sound like a sham, hobby, or other half-assed venture — and that means I’d not to risk my money on it.
Here’s what you can do to improve people’s first impression when you’re connecting on the phone:
- Get a second phone line. Enough said. They are relatively inexpensive and with a different ring tone for the business line, you won’t accidentally answer after hours.
- Use a mobile phone for business. You probably have one anyway, why not make a business expense? You can redirect your calls to a land line during the day and screen calls after hours. There are lots of plans and options, find one that works for you.
- Answer the phone in a professional manner. That means identifying yourself, not saying something inane like “Yeah?” or “What’s up?” both of which scream “unprofessional!”
- Have a proper voicemail message. Let people know whether they’ve reached the right number, and when they can expect to hear back from you. I don’t leave a message if I’m not sure the right person will get it, and that can mean lost sales.
By liz gaige, July 14, 2010 · Filed under Customer Service, Marketing - General
Hey, who knew. You can now buy karma. Forget tips jars where you reward staff based on quality service. Now you can purchase good karma even at take away shops where all the staff do is hand you your food and ring it up.
I wonder, can all minimum wage clerks grant good karma or is it only those who work at the big brand outlets? The papacy of take away, so to speak.
Or maybe this is an example of the entitlement attitude I hear so much about, where you don’t actually have to do anything — let alone anything special — to earn praise and rewards.
Either way, you’re not getting my dime.
By liz gaige, January 4, 2010 · Filed under Customer Service
I was royally ticked off this afternoon by the customer service at Hallmark Cards. I believe in the power of the collective consumer voice, so when later today I discovered that Johnsonville (the sausage people with the irritating commercial) sell products on non-recyclable trays, I dropped them a note as follows:
How come you don’t use recyclable trays for your meat products?
I prefer the hot Italian sausage without the skins which I brown for homemade pizza, but I’m thinking of switching to the grocery store brand, because their trays are recyclable. It’s more hassle for me, but worth it when I think that you must go through a mountain of trays every single day in your production facility.
It doesn’t make sense to me that so many trays are making the trip to the dump when there are alternatives.
Let me know…
I’ll let you know what they say. As for Hallmark, their 1-800 number is by the phone. I’ll be giving them a call tomorrow morning, first thing.
By liz gaige, January 3, 2010 · Filed under Customer Service
It never ceases to amaze me what I discover as I learn more about my colleagues and clients.
You can know someone for years and after all those conversations suddenly discover they are involved with a charity you want to support. Or they know the CEO at a business you’ve been trying to find an “in” with. Or they have a niche area of expertise you had no idea they had.
“You do that kind of work, too?! Wow, I didn’t realize.”
When you’ve built trust and connected on a more personal level you can begin to discover ways to connect with each others’ networks in a very authentic way.
I mean, it’s one thing to get the email address for a contact, it’s quite another to have a personal endorsement made to a personal friend of theirs. It’s often the cherished contacts that are the most valuable and the ones that are only offered when you have a genuine relationship. And, it goes both ways. You too are more inclined to only connect colleagues with your innermost circle when there’s a high level of trust involved.
It pays to strengthen your existing business relationships, and to continually work to cultivate new ones. It also pays to weed out the ones that are no longer working for you.
By liz gaige, December 30, 2009 · Filed under Articles, Customer Service
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