Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Customer Service

How important is customer service? Really!

Before owning my business, I had years of practice with customer service by dealing with the public on a daily basis. I attended college for Retail Merchandising and Marketing. I interned at The Limited (back then it was all the rage), and because I was so fabulous (wink), I was hired. That started my journey in managing retail stores. As I look back on that journey I realize that I have always given excellent customer service. Secret shoppers would come into the stores posing as desperate turn difficult turn disgruntle customers. I would always handle each situation with grace, listened to their concerns, and did what I could to make them happy. Those Secret Shoppers could never get me, so I would end up with $100 cash in hand!! Boy, I could use a Secret Shopper right now.

All the useful information that I gathered within those years, has spilled over into what I do today. It is very important for me to have happy, satisfied customers now and in the years to come. The bottom line is that customers just want to be heard, they want superb product, and they want excellent service.

The larger the company, the better the customer service. Right?
Here's an insightful article that I read this morning on MSN

Have you experience negative customer service lately? Speak on it.

What do you expect from a business? Speak on it.

Do you think you should receive outstanding customer service if you are a "bad" customer? Speak on it.