What makes customer service great?
Did you know that 86% of consumers will pay more for a better customer experience? Also, 89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience! (source: Oracle, 2011 Customer Experience Impact Report). Consumers are setting their expectations higher each day in regards to the quality of their experience and this is greatly influenced by the type of service they receive.
So, what makes customer service great? A great customer service experience can be created by following a simple recipe. Follow the instructions below and be sure not to miss a step!
— First, pre-heat your restaurant so that it is warm, friendly and inviting. Then add customers. Customers are the focus of the recipe, without them, this dish would not be complete.
— Then you want to toss in a handful of great employees. Make sure they are the right employees for the job and ready to take on your brand promise! Appreciation stems from the top.
— When you treat your employees with kindness and respect, chances are they will have a higher regard for the customers.
— Next, add a generous helping of good listening. Ask your customer questions, but also pay attention to their tone of voice, body language, and how they feel in order to best meet their needs.
— Sprinkle generously with a sincere smile. Not only is a smile visually pleasing to the customer, it also helps with your tone of voice, your demeanor and makes everything better. Have you tried to be upset and smile at the same time; it just doesn’t work.
— Add in a dash of confidence to the customers. Make them feel important and treat them as an individual. Get to know their names and compliment them in a sincere way. Thank them every time you get a chance. And be sure to invite them back to dine with you.
— If the experience seems soggy, stir in a helping of apology. If you make a mistake, apologize sincerely and do whatever you can to correct the mistake. As much as we don’t like when we hear complaints, they can actually be used as a learning tool for the future.
— The final touch on this dish is to “give ‘em the pickle!” Taking an extra step to please the customer is an easy way to differentiate your restaurant from the competition.
This recipe is more than just having the right ingredients though. In order to truly have a complete customer service experience you should always invite them back to dine with you again and get regular feedback and respond to it. Feedback can be done verbally by the management doing “Table Touches” which are basically visiting random customers and asking them how their meal was. Another great way to get feedback is to have them take a survey after they dine with you.
Creating a great customer service experience can be easy as long as you always follow the recipe. And be sure to remind your staff what makes customer service great.
Bon Appetit!