Is customer service dead ?

I recently had the experience of dealing with our department of motor vehicles at the Knox County Clerk's office.  The cumulative result is that I left feeling irritated and found myself being treated not as a customer, but rather a target.  This experience has got me thinking ..... 


Is customer service dead ?  


Caveat emptor is Latin for buyer beware, and many companies and organizations would be wise to take note of how many customers they are driving away.  Anytime, but particularly in these penny-pinching times, good customer service can make a difference.    


Establishing a reputation for excellent customer service is important to keeping the customers you have, and assuring that those people will help bring you others. Stellar customer service focuses on individual customer needs, solves problems and refuses to become wrapped up in red tape.  


So this got me to thinking about how we can improve our own customer service skills here at Southeastern Laser.


1.  Be Empowered: Allow your people to be extraordinary. 
Employees often may feel they lack the authority to make the decisions necessary to achieve extraordinary customer service.  The frustration of having a problem remain unsolved, or of being transferred from person to person, in search of someone who can fix it, only worsens a customer's impression of your business.


2.  Cater to Individuals:  Recognize that every person to walk through your door has different needs--and do what it takes to meet those needs.  What's appropriate for one customer may not work with another. Employees must be able to respond to different customer needs. 


3. Don't Take It Personally:  Listen to customer problems and make sure that they walk away with something, even if it is an assurance that you will follow up on the problem.


4. Be Positive:  Many businesses start off by telling customers what they can't do.  This projects an attitude where the customer is an enemy who must conform to the company's rules. Keep rules simple and flexible, recognizing that individual situations may require bending the rules or throwing them out entirely in order to meet a particular customer's needs.


We have all been guilty of taking the easy way out.  We all have room to improve.  At Southeastern Laser, we will do just that.  We work for you !!   Coach John Wooden once was heard to say "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over ?"


At Southeastern Laser we are as close as your e-mail or your telephone.  We want to make your experience a good one because this is YOUR company Knoxville.  We are just temporary stewards and if we can leave it better than we found it, we all win !!!


Contributed by Jim Seal, Co-Founder, Southeastern Laser.