Things Customer Service Must Do
I once saw an advertisement whose wording left a deep impression on me: “There’s nothing customer service can’t ‘resolve.’” Created for a certain organization’s customer service center, this ad cleverly used a pun to capture the essence of customer service work—not only is there nothing that can’t be “resolved,” but there’s also nothing that can’t be “overcome.”
The Key to Good Service Is Attention to Detail
In a typical corporate setting, employees generally just need to do their jobs and accept supervision and challenges from their department heads;However, the responsibilities of customer service representatives involve the company’s entire business operations; they must handle inquiries and challenges from all customers. As a result, they are often the most “well-informed” people in the entire company—not only do they understand internal operations, but they must also understand external needs, and are frequently regarded as representatives of the company’s image, where every word and actionare closely scrutinized.
However, beyond the rational requirement to be well-versed in everything from astronomy to geography, customer service representatives—in addition to handling “issues”—are actually spending much more of their time addressing the emotional needs of “people.”Dealing with “matters” means following explicit regulations—black-and-white rules that are crystal clear; dealing with “people,” on the other hand, can involve all sorts of situations with no set formula to follow.
To put it more bluntly, when dealing with matters, the goal is “reason”; when dealing with people, the goal is “satisfaction.”To meet customers’ wide-ranging psychological needs, customer service representatives face numerous challenges. One misstep—a single inappropriate response—can not only drive away loyal customers but also lead to negative publicity, deterring new customers and causing significant losses for the company.
As a direct-selling company, the primary group we deal with and serve consists of “members” who identify with the company and its products. Since the relationship between this specific group and the company differs from that of typical customers,they have certain expectations of the company and demand a relatively higher standard of service. Therefore, customer service in a direct-selling company focuses not on breadth but on depth—that is, it must be more nuanced and refined.
Convenience Is the Essence of Service
A friend of mine once bought a box of individually packaged nutritional drinks at a supermarket. When he got home and opened it, he discovered that one of the packets was empty. Since this drink isn’t cheap, it was a bit of a bummer to find a packet missing for no reason.So he called the customer service number on the packaging to report the issue, hoping to receive a satisfactory response to the problem and also to alert the company to the need for better quality control.
On the other end of the line, the customer service representative was very polite and asked my friend to fill out a form detailing the product lot number, the nature of the defect, and so on. Once the company received the complaint, they would send him “one package” as a replacement. Did you notice that? Just “one package”! Faced with this response, my friend was speechless.How many people would go through the trouble of filling out an application form, running to the post office, and spending money on stamps just to get one package replaced? Is this really a way to make up for a defect, or is it just making things difficult for the customer?
The only standard for service is thoughtfulness, and the design of a customer service system is a manifestation of that thoughtfulness. Its purpose is to ensure that when customers have questions or concerns, they can “immediately” find a channel for communication and receive a satisfactory resolution.Please note that I emphasize the word “immediate.” For any service or corrective action, if the initial opportunity is missed, its effectiveness diminishes. Furthermore, if service providers set too many barriers, they increase the complexity and time required for customers to access the service, which can even dampen their willingness to seek it out. A service that fails to be “convenient for customers” is nothing but empty talk.
Cultivating Customer Relationships with Care
In this age of advanced computers and human intellect, it’s not at all difficult to gather customer data; the challenge lies in how you turn that raw data into useful insights.Can this information help you understand your customers a little better and show them a little more care? Can it make them feel that they’re receiving special attention and are highly valued? The more thoughtful you are toward your customers, the more loyal they’ll be to you—it’s a fair exchange.
It’s hard enough to find customers—but if you let a customer who comes to you slip away, the loss can be huge! In a “service-first” business environment, the key to building a closer relationship with customers lies in whether you can truly connect with them on a personal level. In the direct sales industry, nothing yields more immediate results than service—not products, not systems.Building customer relationships isn’t actually difficult—you just need to put your “heart” into it! I expect our customer service representatives and direct-selling partners serving customers on the front lines to be the most dedicated and thoughtful customer service pioneers.
