What good customer service means
Definition
Customer service: the help, advice and support a business gives its customers before, during and after a sale.
- There are three methods of good service to know: product knowledge, customer engagement and post-sales service.
- Service is part of what the customer is buying, and it matters most where the product itself is the same wherever they go, such as a phone contract or a bag of cement.
- Good service has to be trained and repeatable rather than a matter of personality, because it still has to happen on a busy Saturday with temporary staff on the tills.
Note
This article covers the methods themselves; why service matters to the business, and what it gains or loses, are covered in the two topics that follow.
Product knowledge
- Staff understand what they sell. They know the features of each model, what fits with what, and what the product will and will not do.
- They recommend the right product. Asking what the customer needs and then matching it to a model turns a browser into a buyer, instead of somebody who leaves to think about it.
- They answer questions on the spot. The customer does not have to go away and research it on their phone, which is usually where the sale is lost to a rival.
- It depends on training. Supplier briefings and product training every time the range changes stop staff guessing about items they have never handled.
- A new range of ovens arriving in store is worth little if nobody on the shop floor can explain the difference between them.
- The customer buys the right item first time. That means fewer returns to process, fewer complaints to handle and no wasted delivery.
Example
- A Currys colleague can explain why a 9kg drum and a 1400 spin suit a family of five, and what the energy label means for the electricity bill.
- The customer buys the £549 washing machine that afternoon rather than going home to compare models, so product knowledge is what completed the sale.
Customer engagement
Definition
Customer engagement: creating a positive experience for the customer, so that dealing with the business feels easy, welcoming and worth repeating.
- Greeting and availability: customers are acknowledged when they arrive and can find someone when they want help, without being followed round the shop.
- Listening and asking questions: staff find out what the customer actually needs instead of pushing the dearest option, so the customer feels advised rather than sold to.
- Helpfulness under pressure: short queues, a quick till, a clean shop and a clear layout are all part of the experience, and are what most shoppers judge a food outlet on.
- Handling a complaint well: listening without arguing, apologising and settling it there and then can leave the customer more loyal than if nothing had gone wrong.
- Staying in contact: order updates, loyalty schemes and replies to messages and reviews keep the relationship going between purchases.
Example
- A Greggs at eight in the morning clears a queue of twenty people in a few minutes, with one member of staff taking the next order while the last one is bagged.
- Speed is the engagement those customers want, because they are on their way to work and would walk out if the queue reached the door.
Post-sales service
Definition
Post-sales service: the support a business gives after the purchase, such as delivery, installation, user training, help lines, servicing, warranties, repairs and returns.
- Delivery and installation: the item arrives on the day promised, is fitted and left working, and the old appliance is taken away.
- User training: the buyer is shown how to use the product, from a two-minute demonstration of a hearing aid to a full course for a business buying new software.
- Help lines and support: a phone line, email address or chat service gives the customer somewhere to go when something does not work, which turns a fault into a solved problem.
- Warranties, repairs and returns: a clear guarantee, spare parts kept in stock and a returns process without an argument remove the risk the customer feels when handing over their money.
- Servicing: an annual service keeps the product working for years, which is often what persuades a buyer to spend a large sum in the first place.
Example
- John Lewis gives a two-year guarantee on many electrical items and arranges the repair or replacement itself rather than sending the customer to the manufacturer.
- A customer who has had one television dealt with that way buys the next one there too, even though the same set is cheaper online.
Exam technique
- For explain one method the business could use to improve its customer service, name the method, say exactly what staff would do differently, then give the effect on the customer.
- Match the method to the business: a garage needs honest repair advice and servicing, while a takeaway needs speed, order accuracy and a clean shop.
- Post-sales service is the strand most often forgotten, so keep delivery, warranties and repairs in your answer as well as what happens at the counter.
- Avoid the vague answer "be friendly", which describes no action; write what the business trains its staff to do instead.
Self review
- Name the three methods of good customer service.
- How does strong product knowledge reduce the number of returns a shop handles?
- What is customer engagement, and give two examples of it in a shop?
- Give three examples of post-sales service.
- Why might a well-handled complaint leave a customer more loyal than before?
