Ideas to improve your Customer Service

By Adrienne Goldsmith - csconsulting

Improving service to your customers does not have to mean spending a lot of time, money or resource to make a difference. It also doesn't have to be done all at once.

Read through the following and see what ideas you can use to make a change to the way your customers receive service from your business.

Taking time to carry out a 'Health Check' on your service is a way of measuring your performance internally and within the market against other suppliers in your industry.

• Ask a colleague or csconsulting to attend your business as a customer. Ensure that you provide a specific list of criteria or survey of what you are hoping to gain feedback on (don't choose only the areas you feel/know that you excel at!). Make sure that they are not known by your staff members and that they will give 'Warts & All' constructive feedback.
• Ask your staff to write down the companies/Stores which they frequently attend or use and ask them why and what they like about their service/s.
• Visit other companies in the same industry and note what you like or dislike about their approach, service or products. Then compare these areas to your own.
• Call other companies contact centres/Stores and note down their response times, manner and follow up to your call. You may want to contact the company's manager of your experience.
• If budget is available, invest in a 'Mystery Shopper' programme with an external service provider such as csconsulting. Alternatively schedule personal visits or calls to be made by your team members and have them critique their own service.
• Commission an external consultant such as csconsulting to perform a SWOT and a review of your service levels.
• List the areas /departments of your business that face the customer on a day to day basis and visit these sites. Note when they were last maintained and reflect on the cleanliness or sharpness of the impression that the customer is experiencing. (I.e. when was the last time that your front entrance of your company was cleaned/gardens tended to, or signage updated).