Having started this series, I hope you will stay with me, while we have another little chat about customer services….after all, customers are here to stay, and that other platitude --- “the customer is always right” – that is YOU!!! Remember, start from that point, YOU are always right….yes, you will have people who will get annoyed at you and say you have a big head, but hey, you will get what you want and when you want it…..example, right off….

….special offer in our local Co-operative of 2 boxes of Cat Food for £6.00. My cat will eat nothing else but this brand as he knows what he likes, is an older lad and enjoys his food. OK, he looks a little like a barrel, but hey, when you get a bit older, you put on the beef, are less active and it’s harder to take it off…we’ve all been there and in fact I am there right now!!!!

Well, sorry for the digression, but to carry on…as there was only one box of his favourite food left on the shelf and not two, I went to speak to Trevor, a very helpful shelf stacker at my local Co-operative, and he went through to the store-room and said, “Nope, sorry, you’ve had it, (or not as the case may be) there is only one box on the shelf and that is all we have”….oh no, how can I tell my cat this? I moaned. So I took another box of a different variety, concerned that my cat would simply not eat this, and he had not been feeling well lately….well, I went around the supermarket, feeling a bit down in the dumps and then, just as I reached the checkout with my loaded trolley, 45 minutes later, up came Trevor, waving a box of cat food and saying “I found it!” He proceeded to tell me how he hoped I appreciated this, but he had climbed all the way up to a top shelf and found a box especially for me……! What can I say?

Above and beyond the call of duty? What do you think? I was impressed. They know me at my local Co-operative shop, and they know also that I do surveys and ALWAYS say what I think. They know I understand statistics and customer service and good customer relations, and they also know I was chosen as the Customer of the Month a few years back when the Co-operative was Somerfield…..my picture in the magazine, and a write-up about all the lovely staff in Somerfield, many of whom are still there working for the Co-operative after the takeover….so they go that extra mile for me. I appreciate it, and what is more they know that I EXPECT IT!! Why should I not expect it? And that kind of personal service is exactly what good customer services are all about. You should expect it too. Enjoy it, relish it and appreciate it.

Another interesting point about good customer service is that it is available at all times and in all circumstances. In store or online…..and as an online example, try the following – I purchased a pair of trousers for my 17 year old son who is going back to school next Tuesday, well, boys being (teenage!) boys, he didn’t like them. Cotton Traders was the online store, and they are really very good, despite the vast amount of literature they bombard you with – reliable, great prices, and good customer services – but I didn’t realize quite how good their customer services were until I had to return the trousers. I parcelled them up, got them off, recorded delivery, to them and sent an email the following day to them to advise them of the unsuitability of the trousers. Within THREE MINUTES of my sending the email, the phone went, and it was a lovely, polite, well-spoken lady saying she quite understood the reason for return, having teenage boys herself, and advised that the warehouse had received my parcel but it was not yet on the system and she would personally take charge of the refund. She then sent me an email the very next day saying the refund had been actioned and I received this within three working days, just as she had said I would. Exceptional service, and they come highly recommended by me, to anyone who now asks me!!

What I want to say, really, in this short article, is simply that there is one sure way to make sure that you are GIVING good customer service….that is, if you work within the industry, and you will, of course, know this, if you do. You must ESTABLISH A RAPPORT with the person you are dealing with. This holds true for good salesmanship as well as good customer service. Just as above, the Cotton Traders representative identified with me by talking about her teenage sons. What impression has she left me with? A very favourable one, but not only that…..I WILL RECOMMEND THEM HIGHLY TO OTHER PEOPLE. How does that seem to you? A good idea? But how many companies do you know of who are prepared to go that extra mile? I wonder if you realize how important that little extra personal touch is in today’s world of “me, me, me”!!!! I wonder also if you realize how valuable the customer loyalty built upon this premise is also? Many companies I know I have been dealing with for many years. Not only do I know that the company is reputable and reliable, but they KNOW ME. They know my likes and dislikes and that leads me to what I will make the subject of my next article (just to whet your appetite….) and that is loyalty schemes and personalization.