| The competitive business market today requires | | | | Let's first say she doesn't have good customer |
| all businesses to instill good customer service skills | | | | service skills and see what happens. She's |
| in their work force. Without good customer | | | | slouching lazily against one of the shelves while |
| service skills it becomes difficult to retain a regular | | | | talking to him, fiddling with her hair and chewing |
| and consistent customer base because the | | | | bubble gum. She speaks really fast as she explains |
| customers you do get will walk away dissatisfied. | | | | a blue widget and points with her finger to a |
| Customer service is all about maintaining a positive | | | | vague location where he might be able to find |
| perception in your customer's eyes. If they walk | | | | some more. The customer doesn't get a good |
| away from your business with a smile on their | | | | feeling from this and doesn't make a purchase at |
| face knowing that you and your employees did | | | | all. After all, he doesn't know what he wants to |
| the best they could to help them get exactly | | | | buy and it was up to our service representative |
| what they were looking for, your business over all | | | | to help him out. |
| is going to improve. The positive feedback from | | | | Now our customer goes home and tells his family |
| customers trickles through the entire social | | | | what a horrible day he had shopping for blue |
| network of that customer. | | | | widgets. He tells them about the unhelpful |
| For example: let's say that I own a business that | | | | employees there too. Then, when his neighbor |
| sells blue widgets. A customer comes in wanting | | | | asks him where he might be able to buy Blue |
| to buy a blue widget but doesn't really know what | | | | Widgets our customer tells him to definitely not |
| kind of blue widget he's after. He honestly has | | | | go to our shop. That neighbor tells his family and |
| little idea of what blue widgets really can do and | | | | friends and then the cycle goes on and on. |
| he needs a lot of information about these things | | | | Make sure your employees have good customer |
| before he can make a purchase. He goes up to | | | | service skills because when they are helpful and |
| one of the associates in my Blue Widget Shop | | | | look interested in helping the customer the entire |
| and starts to ask them questions. Two possible | | | | scenario will work in our favor. As the social cycle |
| things can happen from here, we want the | | | | goes around and around the neighborhoods our |
| customer service representative our customer is | | | | reputation will get better and better and more |
| talking with to be knowledgeable and have good | | | | people will come in. |
| customer service skills, but what if she doesn't? | | | | |