Excellent customer care is crucial to business success today, but it is essential that managers go beyond theory and get their staff to buy in to the whole process says Christine Hayhurst
Morrisons recently came top of a poll exploring company reputations. It may well be riding the wave of popular opinion following its successful acquisition of Safeway, but it’s worth noting that Tesco and Asda were also high on the list. Perhaps, then, other industries should take the time to look at the lead being set by major players in the fmcg marketplace.
After all, in this sector it can be extremely difficult to maintain a good reputation. Products spoil easily, causing dissatisfaction; staff work irregular hours, creating discontent; and customer needs change, affecting demand. But there are a number of steps that can be taken to build - and maintain - a positive image.
It is true to say that favourable media coverage and targeted advertising are important factors in winning over and retaining customers, but the key to a good reputation is consistently good customer care. The old adage, that it is harder to win new clients than it is to keep existing ones, is truer today than it has ever been.
Is it reasonable, then, to expect employees to maintain a good service on a consistent basis? And can you ensure your staff have customers’ needs front-of-mind at all times?
The answer to both questions is quite simply, yes. At least it is if you have customer service standards in place. If you haven’t, you need to ask yourself why, because standards are an easy way to set benchmarks and they ensure your staff know exactly what’s expected of them. To introduce them you need to understand what your customers want. Then you can decide issues such as the maximum number of times the phone can ring before it is answered, the length of time it takes to process an order, and how long customers should wait before they receive a response to complaints. But even this won’t work, unless you have the buy-in of senior managers. So your first step should be to create an outline plan and offer it to your bosses.
Once accepted by the top levels of management, the attention paid to customer care will undoubtedly filter through the rest of your organisation.
And be careful not to make the standards you intend to introduce little more than your own thoughts. The best way to encourage colleagues to adopt your ideas is to involve them in the development process. As the people in day-to-day contact with your customers, their input will be valuable. And if you encourage them to ask customers’ opinions directly, you’re likely to get even more support because of the additional responsibility this is perceived as giving.
And while we all want to be in a position to rival the likes of Morrisons, Tesco and Asda it is crucial that you recognise your current constraints. Being the best, or having the best reputation,
won’t happen overnight and introducing service level standards won’t change that - unless they are realistic.
So the standards must reflect the shop floor. For example, if you only have two sales assistants at a time when 20 customers are in the shop, it’s unreasonable to expect them to answer incoming calls within, say, three rings.
It might be a fair requirement at other times, but you must build in some degree of latitude to be fair.
At all times the service you offer is only as professional as the people you have employed to deliver it. Consider introducing questions during the interview process that focus on an individual’s attitude to others. Provide a range of scenarios to see how helpful they can be in difficult situations. And find out how much training they will need if you choose to employ them.
Even if you have the right staff in place and the buy-in from your own bosses, you are still not guaranteed success. The best thought-out customer care programme is doomed to failure, unless the right messages are communicated to staff in the right way. If internal communications are not working well, you have no legitimate reason to expect external communications to be any better.
To work, your messages need to follow the principle of the three Rs - they have to be responsible, respectful and regular.
In other words, don’t ask for anything that can’t be done, don’t be patronising in the way you ask it and make sure any changes are communicated frequently.
n Christine Hayhurst is director of professional affairs at the Chartered Management Institute
Morrisons recently came top of a poll exploring company reputations. It may well be riding the wave of popular opinion following its successful acquisition of Safeway, but it’s worth noting that Tesco and Asda were also high on the list. Perhaps, then, other industries should take the time to look at the lead being set by major players in the fmcg marketplace.
After all, in this sector it can be extremely difficult to maintain a good reputation. Products spoil easily, causing dissatisfaction; staff work irregular hours, creating discontent; and customer needs change, affecting demand. But there are a number of steps that can be taken to build - and maintain - a positive image.
It is true to say that favourable media coverage and targeted advertising are important factors in winning over and retaining customers, but the key to a good reputation is consistently good customer care. The old adage, that it is harder to win new clients than it is to keep existing ones, is truer today than it has ever been.
Is it reasonable, then, to expect employees to maintain a good service on a consistent basis? And can you ensure your staff have customers’ needs front-of-mind at all times?
The answer to both questions is quite simply, yes. At least it is if you have customer service standards in place. If you haven’t, you need to ask yourself why, because standards are an easy way to set benchmarks and they ensure your staff know exactly what’s expected of them. To introduce them you need to understand what your customers want. Then you can decide issues such as the maximum number of times the phone can ring before it is answered, the length of time it takes to process an order, and how long customers should wait before they receive a response to complaints. But even this won’t work, unless you have the buy-in of senior managers. So your first step should be to create an outline plan and offer it to your bosses.
Once accepted by the top levels of management, the attention paid to customer care will undoubtedly filter through the rest of your organisation.
And be careful not to make the standards you intend to introduce little more than your own thoughts. The best way to encourage colleagues to adopt your ideas is to involve them in the development process. As the people in day-to-day contact with your customers, their input will be valuable. And if you encourage them to ask customers’ opinions directly, you’re likely to get even more support because of the additional responsibility this is perceived as giving.
And while we all want to be in a position to rival the likes of Morrisons, Tesco and Asda it is crucial that you recognise your current constraints. Being the best, or having the best reputation,
won’t happen overnight and introducing service level standards won’t change that - unless they are realistic.
So the standards must reflect the shop floor. For example, if you only have two sales assistants at a time when 20 customers are in the shop, it’s unreasonable to expect them to answer incoming calls within, say, three rings.
It might be a fair requirement at other times, but you must build in some degree of latitude to be fair.
At all times the service you offer is only as professional as the people you have employed to deliver it. Consider introducing questions during the interview process that focus on an individual’s attitude to others. Provide a range of scenarios to see how helpful they can be in difficult situations. And find out how much training they will need if you choose to employ them.
Even if you have the right staff in place and the buy-in from your own bosses, you are still not guaranteed success. The best thought-out customer care programme is doomed to failure, unless the right messages are communicated to staff in the right way. If internal communications are not working well, you have no legitimate reason to expect external communications to be any better.
To work, your messages need to follow the principle of the three Rs - they have to be responsible, respectful and regular.
In other words, don’t ask for anything that can’t be done, don’t be patronising in the way you ask it and make sure any changes are communicated frequently.
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