In a day when we tend to have more user identifications and passwords than we do meaningful relationships real customer service that treats you like a person really stands out and separates you from your competition. There may be nothing worse than to be stuck on a computer phone tree that puts you through twenty selections only to drop your call before you get to a real person.
I love technology but when you substitute the personal touch with a phone tree you have gone too far regardless of what the cost benefit studies tell you. These are my non-negotiable items when it comes to customer service:
1. Personal Touch—If you must use automated answering software there must be an option to get to a real person within first ten seconds of call. If people want to use technology they can go to your website and totally automate the entire transaction but when they make a phone call they need to talk with a highly trained friendly individual who knows how to deliver.
2. Inside Staff—When you talk with someone and you can tell they are probably several thousand miles away and they are not well trained it is a horrible experience. I do not think customer service should be outsourced because no matter how much they know about your product they are still not personally invested in your success.
3. Follow Up—There is nothing better than when the person on the other end of the line lets you know they own your problem and they will not be satisfied until you are as well. This means they give you their name, an incident report number and a direct phone number if you need to call them back. They also get your number and call you back later to make sure the problem has been resolved.
There are many areas where it may be prudent and profitable to cut back on expenses to help your bottom line. This is not one of them because in the end if your customers are not satisfied they will find someone else who gets it.