Customer service: not taking any chances

Customer service risk

Should companies take risks when managing customers relationships? There are well documented cases where economic imperatives have forced companies to take short cuts and potentially sacrifice their long term future. Most customers will let it happen once but like falling off a bridge, it is not something that they will want to experience again.

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Monitoring customers' purchasing habits

Customer service monitoring

The increased availability of tools to support customer loyalty initiatives can be intrusive and creates threats to privacy in the eyes of customers. They could also be accused to contribute to the creation of a boredom factor. As customers are always presented with their favourite products, shopping for everyday items, tends to become a utility service. How could this mountain of data be used with more imagination to deliver better customer service?

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Good customer service delivery: changes afoot

Customer service delivery

With the growth of internet shopping being experienced at the moment, ways of delivering customer service are evolving rapidly. The number of parcels being shipped is increasing exponentially and customers are having to adapt and make different choices for their delivery. A little while ago the main issue was whether the internet based virtual shop was trustworthy. Nowadays the main concern is to choose which organisation can be relied upon to deliver the goods on time. Is delivery becoming a key buying criteria to the extent that good customer service will become known as good service delivery?

Good customer service qualities should include a sense of anticipation

Good customer service qualities are all about knowing what the customers want and anticipate their needs before they even show up. This will ensure their well-being and a high level of customer satisfaction.
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Good customer service: a lifeline to retain customers?

Is good customer service a lifeline to retain customers?

Many companies know how to deploy fully fledged customer service but will not because of economic imperatives. A two tier system is often created whereby customers are only offered a good level of service if they threaten to chose another supplier, a clear case of emergency . Customer service executives with the full range of skills are allocated to the retention effort ("we are going to lose this customer unless we do something...") and become the lifeline to retain valuable customers. Does this make sense? If the service was better in the first place, customer retention would not be an issue.

Good customer service skills are increasingly in demand

Good customer service skills 

A difficult environment makes attracting a new customer more challenging than ever. Existing customers will only return if they have been offered impeccable service or rock bottom prices. Continuous investment in training to improve customer service is required to ensure that the valuable shoppers will not hesitate to come in and start to look around for alternatives.

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