Although we are all customers, the secret to good customer service remains one of the greatest mysteries for both budding and experienced businesses. We gathered customer service quotes that will help you understand that things are, actually, pretty simple – both to mess up and to be done right.
How is that so? Working with people is one of the toughest jobs in the world – and the line you’re treading in your daily interactions is ever so thin. Here is some guidance to keep you on the right side of this line.
1. About the deadly sin of arguing
Yes, we know – it’s almost irresistible to argue or end the conversation with a snappy one-liner when someone shows up with this.
But hear this guy out.
“If your temper is aroused and you tell ’em a thing or two, you will have a fine time unloading your feelings. But what about the other fellow? Will he share your pleasure? Will your belligerent tones, your hostile attitude, make it easy for him to agree with you? ― Dale Carnegie
So how do you become better? First, admit to your shortcomings.
2. About things that are holding you down
It’s usually quite simple things that are hampering your relationship with the customers. If you want to become good at customer service, make sure you remove each of these obstacles.
“There are five reasons businesses and organizations do not answer every complaint, in every channel, every time.
- There are too many channels.
- There is too much feedback.
- You take complaints personally.
- You fear getting scammed.
- You don’t have a customer service culture.”
― Jay Baer
The takeaway is – don’t have more channels than you have employees. If there is too much feedback, you need more people in your customer service. If you are afraid of scams, work out a system that prevents them. Ultimately, don’t treat a customer service as an afterthought. It’s an integral part of your business. And most importantly – learn to accept criticism.
3. About accepting criticism
Nobody likes to be criticized, but history and popular TV shows have taught us what happens to people who seek only flattery and humble servants.
“In our experience, the number one obstacle to great service—number one by a long shot—is the emotional unwillingness to embrace weakness.”
― Frances Frei
The first step on this rocky road is dealing with criticism in a manner that is constructive and beneficial to your business. And if you can’t? Well, here you can read the story of a woman who destroyed her business and became a national laughing stock just because she couldn’t bear to hear that her pizza crust just isn’t that good.
4. About keeping it simple
You don’t have to come up with scripts that sound like Victorian poems or waste your time on complicated support systems.
“Don’t reinvent the wheel. Focus on winning one customer at a time. Be honest and sincere. Do what’s right. There’s nothing magical about this.’ That’s been my guiding principle. To make it work, you have to live it every day. Make it your mind-set.”
― Robert Spector
Apart from overcoming your own ego, creating a great customer service simply requires the good Bible-old – do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
5. About the power of a kind word
And if being simple sounds too good to be true, remember that so many people are doing it wrong. Being kind is your chance to shine.
Why thank you. (Source: Giphy)“Competitors are bigger? Outcare them. They’re cheaper? Outcare them. They’ve got celebrity status and you don’t? Outcare them. Social media gives you the tools to touch your consumer and create an emotion where before there might not have been one. It doesn’t matter if you’re not small or cool or sexy—people can get pumped up about the craziest stuff.”
― Gary Vaynerchuk
This quote goes on to show the immense power of this fairly simple concept names ‘actually caring.’ And I feel its importance will only grow.
6. About your agency
This quote is my personal favorite. So many business owners feel that good customer service encompasses allowing people to treat your employees like punching bags. If you allow this culture to bloom, you will have on your hands are employees who hate both you and your customers. And customers know a fake smile when they see one.
The attitude I strive to get across to my employees is this: “You are not servants, because unlike a servant, I want you to be engaged with the customer—you have a brain, you have a heart and I want you to use them.” This is why we say, and have always said, that we are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.
We mean this. I believe in the power of recognition and empowerment leading to great employee engagement. And employee engagement is critical to guest engagement. Employee empowerment and recognition is the core of our culture and how we achieve outstanding service.
― Herve Humler, President & COO at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
The insistence that customer service employee is an equal, a solution seeker, a problem solver respected by their boss and customer – is a secret to a healthy, striving environment that will make your business stand out.
7. About the customer service’s focus
This customer service quote further expands on the idea that customer service is a one-on-one, deeply personalized experience that cannot and should not be scripted. This gives your employee more maneuvering space, resulting in creativity, agency and passion.
“Most call centers also have scripts and force their reps to try to upsell customers to generate additional revenue. At Zappos, we don’t measure call times (our longest phone call was almost six hours long!), and we don’t upsell. We just care about whether the rep goes above and beyond for every customer.
We don’t have scripts because we trust our employees to use their best judgment when dealing with each and every customer. We want our reps to let their true personalities shine during each phone call so that they can develop a personal emotional connection (internally referred to as PEC) with the customer.”
― Tony Hsieh
The takeaway is – leave the sales to your marketing and sales team. Customer service is there to care.
8. About your ultimate goal
“From a customer’s perspective, when something goes wrong, the overriding sentiment is: Help me fix it.”
― Matthew Dixon
Yep, it’s as simple as that. Want some more elaboration?
9. About simplicity
Here’s a visual pop-culture presentation by Jerry Seinfeld.
And then here’s an elaboration from another pop-culture phenomenon.
“Consumers want the predictable and consistent, with an occasional positive twist or added value thrown in. Psychologists who study happiness (the correct psychological/research term is subjective well-being) often talk about the importance of predictability for safety and security (the caramelized popcorn, if you will), mixed with small increments of variety to offset boredom (the prize).”
― Joseph A. Michelli, The Starbucks Experience
Starbucks is a place where you should go for customer service advice. After all, it is a magnificent feat to build an international brand by selling the same coffee everyone else does, twice as expensive. How come? Starbucks’ marketing strategy and product development are deeply intertwined with customer service and experience.
10. About the power of social media
I already mentioned that you shouldn’t treat customer service as an afterthought. Why do I insist on this? Because the times we live in no longer allow the same mistakes people used to make.
Every interaction between brand and human has the potential to delight or enrage—in short, to become memorable. Today, with the widespread usage of social media, those memories can live on, and live in public, for a very long time. Customer service has become a spectator sport, and your online panel of judges can award or deduct points for speed, execution, and style.”
― Jay Baer
This quote goes on to show that good customer service is no longer an option, an addition, a luxury. In the age of social media, building a strong social currency is an absolute must.
Conclusion
These are 10 things you should do if you want to develop an impeccable customer service. But it’s not always about the things that need to be done. It is also about the things you should avoid at any price. Here you can find a list of customer service deadly sins.
Nailing down the intricacies of good customer service in your daily routine is trial and error, just like any craft you need to hone. Don’t be afraid of your customers – offer them a helping hand, and treat your relationship as a partnership between equals.
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