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Customer satisfaction…because they’re always right!
The customer’s always right. Even if you work in a technical area where the customer is actually (pardon me customers) CLUELESS! They are still right. Know why? Because if they don’t like what you do, they take their business elsewhere. So even if they weren’t technically correct, they’re still right, because they’re buying, or not, if you fall foul of one!
If you know this before you start, and can manage to get through each and every customer interaction with a big, deferential smile on your face, whilst providing them with what the customers think they want, in a manner that doesn’t cause their technical set up any problems, you’ve probably cracked it. However, if, like many IT bods in the business, you sigh with impatience at the stupidity of the clientele, you’ve got a problem…and some of your customers are likely to be transient to say the least! However, you can work on putting this right, using the steps below as a good starting point….
1. Every transaction counts. Think of it like a satisfaction ‘swap shop’. If the customer says/indicates something to you, your response counts. Ever played ‘THE SIMS’? (No?? Where have you been????) The satisfaction of each SIM goes up and down depending on how they interact with the SIM world and with the other SIMS. Realistically, your customers have a similar ‘satisfactometer’ somewhere, and you have to feed it each time you speak to them or carry out some work for them.
2. Remember when a customer is in technical trouble, they feel less confident. Imagine going to your doctors. These people are putting their technical troubles in your hands in the same way that you would put your medical ones in the hands of your doctor. You want to be reassured that everything’s OK, that there is an answer/treatment for what’s wrong, and that it wasn’t your fault it happened in the first place. (Discount that last one anyone who’s ever been for a post-drinking broken nose!)
3. Consider that when a specialist is at work, it can be an opportunity to ask all the things you wouldn’t ask normally. So you’ll open up lots of room for ‘when I was using the computer the other day, it got up and walked off/was only working slowly’ or whatever the experienced malaise was. Sometimes you don’t have to say anything more than ‘Everything OK now or do you want me to take a look?’ or ‘Oh. OK well next time you could always try X,Y,Z’.
4. Bear in mind your face usually gives away how you feel. Try looking blank or just neutral. It’s a particular skill, and can help buy you some thinking time, or at least allow you not to betray your horror/amusement.
5. Have a sense of humour. If you don’t, it makes life so hard at work!
6. Remember the customer is your bread and butter. In every customer facing job I’ve ever had, the rant has always been (from me and my colleagues) ‘It would be great without the customers’. Think this through. You’d be out of business without the customers. Thank your lucky stars each day for the gaps in other peoples’ knowledge.
7. Ask your customers what you do badly, and how to improve. If you ask for feedback, and look like an orphaned puppy, you’ll get the sympathy vote. However, if you ask in a businesslike way, usually when you’re not facing the person you’re asking, how the experience could have been better, you will likely get some good hints and tips, especially if you explain why you want the feedback.
8. Give yourself a day off once in a while. It’ll improve your disposition no end, and allow you some time to reflect on what you do well and what you can improve on.
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Wow, this is spot on. I’ve been looking for these words for a few years now. I’ve always been one to ask a lot of questions and that’s caused a few eye brows to raise. The arrogance that the tech people portrayed only inspired me to want to get into this business so I could know how to answer the questions of our clients without acting superior to them. Now, I preach humility to all of my technicians. You’d be amazed at the response and call back rate you’ll get if you treat every question as the most thought inspired question I’ve ever heard. I try to take a second to answer (showing careful consideration) and just before answering, say “That’s a good question” before delving into either a technical answer (for the technically inclined) or an analogy for the less technically savvy.
Regardless of whether or not they ask where the “Any key†is, or why their printer won’t work (which is unplugged), I like to let them know these things happen all the time and I’ll even tell a funny story where a similar thing happened to me. It builds rapport, puts their hearts/minds at ease and helps ease any tension caused by silence.
The majority of our clients are repeat customers now, which is great, since we don’t have to spend as much on advertising to keep the calls rolling in.
Yup. Customer is always right all the time. :P
I think costumer has the right but not always right.
Funny, one of the basic computer certifications here (In Canada) is the A+ certification. One of the primary questions on it is: Is the customer always right? The answer is ‘No’.
The question should be ‘Does the customer want to always *feel* right?’
To use an analogy, if the same customer went into a doctor’s office and the doctor found they had cancer, but the patient insisted they didn’t – well, guess who is likely to be correct. We can’t hide the truth from clients just because they want to be right.
Another skill aside from adopting a blank face (which I have seen many people do – but not through any kind of skill) is to guide their clients to the truth without bluntly telling them they were wrong. Sometimes this ‘leading’ approach doesn’t work well with some people, sometimes it does.
A lot of end users (and therefore our clientele) understand that their knowledgebase is considerably smaller than our own when it comes to computers and I have said flat out to many of my clients:
“It’s funny that you think and say that to me. I come into your office/home to fix your PC, but there’s no way I can do what YOU do for your business. Each person has their skillset and capabilities; I don’t fix my car as there are mechanics for that. We can’t all do everything…”
When you tell them that you respect that they have knowledge you don’t, it puts you back on even footing. A computer tech still needs to see a doctor – but unlike our clients, we don’t feel the need to tell the doctor that we don’t know medicine. Or do you? I know I certainly don’t…
In short, I’d say customers want to be treated as equals and yet be comforted. I don’t think they want to be coddled and kept in the dark or made to feel they are right when they aren’t – but it certainly does take time and experience to be able to foresee how an approach will be accepted by the various people you’ll meet in your career.
for me “the customer is not always right…AHAHAHA…what if the customer insult and even embarassed you the crowd what would you do?? Even me as a customer i didnt consider myself right always..
is that OK for us as the owner of the business to fall down our dignity for the customer as they say that they always right??
what do you think??