Three Customer Service Mistakes to Avoid
Customer service has become more critical than ever. In our digital, on-demand culture, customers know that if one company isn’t treating them right, they’re only a click away from the next one. Furthermore, the success of some young companies who have made customer service their top priority has inspired a wave of customer service-focused companies.
This focus on customer service is as relevant to manufacturing as anywhere else. Here are three manufacturing tips on some of the top customer service mistakes to avoid.
1. Losing Your Patience
Possibly the most significant customer service mistake you can make is losing patience with your customers. It’s important to remember that something that is obvious to you as a manufacturing employee may be very complicated to someone with no manufacturing experience.
In addition, when someone is calling you, they are often in a panic, having tried everything else they can think of to solve their problem. It can be challenging to be patient with someone who is impatient with you, but it’s important to take a breath and stay on an even keel.
2. Not Following Up
Especially after a long call, it can be a relief to get to the end of the conversation — but you can’t let it end there. You must follow up with your customer after a customer service call, even if it’s just with an email to make sure they were satisfied with the outcome. You cannot assume that if they don’t call back, it’s a victory.
They may have just given up, figuring you can’t help them or you don’t care. The point of great customer service is to generate customer loyalty and repeat business, and you can’t do that if your customers feel forgotten about. A simple follow-up email or automatic survey costs you little time, no money and can do wonders for customer retention.
3. Not Providing Enough Contact Options
Not everyone likes to communicate in the same way. Some people want to call up and tell you their problem directly. Others may be content to wait for your response to an email. Still, others may prefer to try to find the answer to the problem with the help of their peers through your bulletin board. Even more may want to communicate you digitally right now through live chat. You could also encourage customers to post their question on social media via your Twitter account or Facebook page.
Technology has provided us with any number of ways to connect, and if you want a reputation for great customer service, you should endeavor to offer as many contact options to your customer base as possible.
What have your biggest customer service gaffes been? Which ones have you been lucky enough to avoid? What’s your biggest customer service victory? We’d love to know, so share your experiences in the comments! For great customer service when it comes to electronics and motor repair, visit Global Electronic Services today!
