Unit 2. Develop a Customer Friendly Approach

Expand Your Definition of Service

How you define service shapes every interaction you have with your customers. Limited definitions of service based on an exchange of monies for goods or services misses the overall point of customer service. “Service” should provide the customer with more than a product or action taken on his/her behalf. It should provide satisfaction. In essence, the customer should walk away pleased at the result of the transaction- not just content but actually happy. A happy customer will continue to be a buying customer and a returning customer.

Who are Your Customers?

Customers, buyers and clients want to pay a fair price for quality service or products and feel satisfied they have paid for a service/product and received what they have paid for in return. They also want someone to take care of them. They need someone to understand their needs and help answer them. They need someone to hold their hands and walk them through a process. Customer service starts with the ability to listen to the customer and find out through polite questioning what he/she needs or wants.

Customer service and contact with a client mean that the customer will be heard and his/her problem will not go unanswered or ignored. It also means getting to know your client, his/her likes-dislikes, ideas, background, etc.

The other most important aspect to do is to listen to what the customer is saying. If people do not understand what is motivating the customer, they will not be successful in handling them. Do research on customers, their habits, and what they want and expect.

Most customer service is defined by how a company or organisation treats “external customers,” but there is “internal customer service” as well. While this course mainly addresses “external customers,” expanding your definition of customer service to include co-workers will lead toward even greater success. Remember the internal customer chain is just like the external, we are all customers both inside and outside the company or organisation. As a Wall Street Journal article succinctly put it, “Poorly Treated Employees Treat Customers Just as Poorly.”