How far do you take customer service?

Just about every job on the market nowadays, regardless of industry or sector, will require you to be involved in customer service in some form or another. Maybe you’re dealing one-on-one with a customer, or you’re answering the phone between oil changes…. at some point, you’re going to have to deal with the people who’re paying you to perform a service. How do you handle these interactions?

My first job was that of a waiter at a St Elmo’s pizza shop. I loved it. I enjoyed the work, I thrived on the stress and the pressure, and the cheap food was a bonus too. But what I enjoyed most about this job, was the chance to deal with people one-on-one. Granted, not everyone was as friendly as the next, but having to deal with agro people, having to settle complaints, keeping the customer happy, going the extra mile… all these facets of client relationships were engrained in me from the beginning.

It might have been a simple job, but my time at St Elmo’s taught me lessons and principles that I fear many companies take forgranted all too often. I’m a stickler for good service and I rant about bad service all the time. It’s the most simplest thing to do: to smile at your customer and greet him. Regardless of whether you’re having the crappiest day ever, a smile can go a long way. I make a point of greeting every person I deal with, whether its the petrol attendant, or the clerk at Spar, and I can’t tell you how often I dont even get a reply greeting - not even eye contact is made.

I doubt there’s even one industry nowadays that does not have competition. So if your business has 10 other competitors that all supply the same service or product, what’s going to make sure the client comes back to YOU and not Joe Soap next door? Prices and product quality aside, if you make sure that you treat that client like your only client - smile, greet, joke, make him feel like he’s your first priority for as long as he’s in the store…. it’ll be YOUR shop that he comes back to next time.

My first business that I started when I was 20-ish, involved printer cartridge refilling - an industry that has new ‘companies’ opening up daily. My prices weren’t the cheapest, in fact I knew of many companies that had refills waaay cheaper than my own. Yet I had a huge client list that grew quickly through referrals. I loved my customers. I treated them like friends. Once a year I bought a box of chocolates, and went to all my clients and gave each of the staff members a chocolate - a simple gesture, but one that drew me closer to my clients and made them more willing to accept my products and services.

Respond to your emails. Smile and greet your clients. Go the extra mile. Make a friend, not a customer.

Any amount of effort to keep a client is worthwhile.