Customer Service

Customer Service

This week I have been thinking about how I can integrate customer service into my business.  I don't have a customer service department, which is an essential element of any successful business. I did some research and am beginning to understand what I need to do.  Automated phone systems and auto responders for email, appear to be the two most important components of customer service.

If I want to run with the big boys I am going to have to start acting more like them.  Currently if someone calls me I answer the phone,  if someone sends an email I catch it on my blackberry and respond.  My business is lacking that all important customer service that the big companies advertise.  If I had customer service I could focus on my core competencies, as I hold my feet to the fire and am accountable, for raising the bar.  Wow!  Looks like a paradigm shift!

There is no reason to reinvent the wheel, many successful businesses have customer service and care departments that I can model.

Customer service department phone system:

Callers will be prompted to press 1 if they are buyers, 2 if they are sellers, 3 if they have a question about a property, 4 if they want to be put on hold and told how important their call is to me, or want to listen to some music.  Music seems to be an important component of any customer service or care program.    Current clients will be able to press "0" and talk to one of our operators.   

An electronic operator that understands voice commands will ask callers for the last four digits of their social security number, the spelling of their mothers maiden name, and the middle three  digits  of their drivers license number or state I.D. This will help us better serve you and all calls will be recorded for quality. 

It is hard to decide what callers should be asked, it can't be too easy or no one will take my customer service seriously.  After looking at how other businesses operate customer service I am considering adding 5 or 6 more questions and I guess if the caller can't answer, the system is supposed to tell them how important their call is to us and that it may be recorded for quality, and then play music, something upbeat maybe.

The information obtained from callers will be used to better serve them. Currently callers don't get any customer service,  I  just answer their questions and give them information they request.  I don't ask them any questions until after I answer their question.  Seems like I am doing it backward.  How can I serve them if I just answer their question without asking any of my own?   

Customer service email:

This one is a no brainer. Instead of answering my email immediately from my blackberry I am going to be setting up some forms and some auto responders.  Persons sending email will get an automatic response thanking them for their email and will be told that they will get a response to their inquiry. Other companies promise to respond in 24 to 72 hours.  I could maybe improve upon this by promising to respond with in a week, or raise the bar and go for a month.  The bigger the company, the longer the response time, the strategy would make my little business look huge and make me look extremely important.

Thinking big is important, while I enjoy being small I fear that I will never achieve great wealth if I don't change my ways.  Great wealth is important.  If I were wealthy I would have to pay more taxes but would also get to buy more stuff.  Expensive stuff from huge companies that have customer service.  Eventually if I make enough money I can pay someone to call customer service departments for me, they can be put on hold for hours freeing me up to make even more money.

Have a great Holiday, don't drink too much, but drink just enough.

Originally posted March 2, 2007, carnival of customer service winner April 2007.