Customer Service – “Listen to me”

“Listen to me.” This statement can lead to your success or your failure very quickly. I have long been told, as many of us have, to treat others like you want to be treated. This is the golden rule of customer service. Think of the worst customer service experience you have encountered. For me, it came recently when unauthorized transactions appeared on my bank statement. My initial phone call I thought fixed the problem, but in reality four calls later, more fraudulent charges later, I found myself walking away from a banking relationship that began 12 years earlier. In an earlier blog post I mentioned a few things that make good sales people. This first one was listening. If each person I spoke with on the phone had listened they would have pulled up my account and verified the debit card had been canceled like I mentioned on each call. Ultimately the fourth phone call achieved the goal I set out to accomplish with my first call. It should never take four calls. They lost a client, and I don’t want you to do the same.

From the very first opportunity you have to make a current client happy, make it count! From the first opportunity to talk about your product or service with a potential client, make it count! Don’t assume you’ll have another opportunity. You have to make those first ones count and it all begins with listening. I’m adamant about sales people providing the highest level of customer service. Look for future posts on this topic!

— Chellie Thompson, Cofounder, Monarch Media & Consulting, Inc.