A few days ago, a client shared with me how they had improved their customer service over a period of a year. Their NPS score improved over 20 points over the 12 month period. What they did was seemingly simple but took a lot of discipline.
Let me share the key things they did to make a difference:
- They sent customer contact information to the company conducting the follow-up interviews. It sounds simple but it is critical. They needed to make certain the interviewers are talking to the right person to give feedback on the experience.
- They had the appropriate number of staff with the right kinds of attitudes taking care of customers. In this case, the recession had forced a staff cutback that could not keep up with the recent growth. They hired additional staff and made certain they were hiring employees that had the types of attitude needed to service their customers.
- They read the surveys and took action on customer suggestions. In the surveys, they kept noticing customer comments/complaints about how long it took to pick up parts. They made a change that improved this area. Customers immediately noticed!
- They increased awareness of the importance of great customer service through weekly staff meetings. They also began making customer service a topic during regular employee meetings.
- They instituted a mystery shopper program, which raised the level of employee professionalism.
- They increased customer communication before, during and after service. This included reviewing the invoice with the customer before it was sent out and following up with the customer a few days after repair to make certain they were satisfied.
- When there was a complaint, they thanked the customer for it and told them what they were going to do or did to correct it. When a customer gave them a particularly positive survey they called and thanked the customer.
The manager I talked with indicated that perhaps the most important thing they did was to do what they said they were going to do. Think about it. If you do that, the customer can really begin to count on you without having to worry. After all, not having to worry is an important value to the customer.
Lynn
