Comments on: What Is Great Customer Service?

By: Ralph

Ralph — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:44:08 +0000

Hi Adam, a little late in the game here (by about a year). Yowzer. So, how did 2012 go for the blog?

What is great customer service? I work in the consulting world as you know so the way I see it from that perspective is great CS is being proactive. We get hired to do a job that ha a lifecycle and most consultancies will do what they are hired to do as we do but the approach that builds great relationships is the ability to inform and anticipating issues your client can’t. I have done this on an account I manage through a value-add service that our client benefits from monthly. Simply using your experience to keep an eye out for issues that may affect the outcome of their expectations builds trust and a lasting relationship.

Thanks for offering the opportunity to think this through. Cheers.

By: Jeff Toister

Jeff Toister — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 23:43:54 +0000

Great customer service is service that exceeds our customer’s expectations.

The challenge, of course, is that every customer has different expectations. (Which might explain why you get so many different, but correct, answers to your question.)

By: Ken Jacobs

Ken Jacobs — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 23:22:28 +0000

I haven’t read all the comments, so forgive me if I repeat something mentioned above.

I think a critical part of customer and client service, one that we too often forget, is the importance of surprising and delighting your customers/clients.

LEGO did this twice recently, reaped enormous coverage online and off, and I believe this gave a well-deserved boost to its marketing efforts.

By: Ashlee

Ashlee — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:54:05 +0000

Taking care of others as you would a family member or friend i.e. doing what is best by them whether it benefits you or not. Also listening to your current and past clients and improving your service to satisfy their recommendations.

By: Kaarina Dillabough

Kaarina Dillabough — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:07:02 +0000

Great customer service is listening effectively to what the customer wants/needs, solving their problem to the customer’s satisfaction, thereby either increasing the customer’s pleasure/satisfaction or decreasing their pain. The only reason to be in business is to make a sale, but the sale comes from serving…serving the customer so that they are better off for having had the experience with the company than before. Great customer service is serving others as you wish to be served. Cheers! Kaarina

By: Paula Reid

Paula Reid — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:05:50 +0000

Good customer service means that you don’t subject your customers to your personal life or personal problems. It also includes being in the moment with each transaction, not rushing on to the next without giving your current customer your undivided attention.

By: You Tell Us: How Do You Define Great Customer Service?

You Tell Us: How Do You Define Great Customer Service? — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:59:58 +0000

[…] During the launch of Customers That Stick in March of 2012, we created a user-generated blog post to answer the question: What is Great Customer Service? […]

By: Bill Quiseng

Bill Quiseng — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:13:46 +0000

To be recognized for great customer service, the service provider should be committed to delivering an experience that at the end of the interaction the customer says to himself, “Wow, that was the best thing that has happened to me today.”

But good customer service shouldn’t be the goal. Nor is it customer satisfaction. Today it’s all about customer loyalty. It’s about wrapping your arms around your customers and never letting them go. The very best service providers “Think RELATIONSHIPS or Go Broke.” They do something unexpected and giving after the sale to express appreciation, ideally creating an emotional connection with their customers.

Great customer service is business common sense. The goal is to make it common practice.

By: Evelyn Mullins-Nwosu

Evelyn Mullins-Nwosu — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:38:12 +0000

Essentially great customer service deals with the company’s front line representative (the customer service agent), who has had the competency training to take ownership of a client’s problem/complaint/concern or even compliment! This is what I need to hear when I contact, CSx: ” Who are you? What do you need? How can I help? If I can’t assist you and or resolve the issue please allow me to obtain additional information, create a time-line so that you are clear as to what to expect.”

By: Christina Bandy

Christina Bandy — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:45:09 +0000

To me, Great Customer Service is speaking to someone that will actually listen to you. I don’t know what it is lately, but it seems as though everyone tries to “pass the buck” or they just don’t like their jobs. I have worked Customer Service before and I have always gone above and beyond for Customers. If it wasn’t for Customers, my job wouldn’t have been there & that is what a lot of Customer Service Reps need to understand.
People need to show sincerity & understanding. Especially with this economy, there are so many more upset Customers. I’ve had Customers go off on me just because they are having a bad day, but toward the end of the conversation, they were laughing & apologizing to me.
One thing, one ABSOLUTE THING that all Customer Service reps need to know is to never say “I DONT KNOW”. That is just ridiculous! Good Customer Service never answers with I DONT KNOW, and leaves it at that. I’ve had several tell me that before & I get frustrated & tell them to put someone on the phone that does know, or ask for a supervisor. If they don’t know, they need to say “Let me look into that for you.”