10 things about customer service you should never do: 1. Don’t tell staff ‘the customer is always right’. They know and you know that it ain’t so. If you have to say something, say the customer thinks they are always right, or that we should act as if the customer is right. 2. Don’t tell your staff to ‘be friendly’. Instead, employ friendly people and create an environment that encourages and enables authentic friendliness. 3. Don’t put a sign anywhere to communicate nega
tive things to customers like ‘no refunds’ or ‘we prosecute shoplifters’. You are just proving to everyone that you have no customer service.
4. Don’t ever communicate, verbally or through signage, that you value the customer or appreciate their custom or are happy to help. Instead, just show it and do it. Walk the talk.
5. Never start a conversation with a sentence that includes the word ‘but’.
6. Never ask a customer what went wrong or why something happened. You are asking them to repeat and remember a negative experience associated with your store and your products.
7. Never ask a customer if you can help them. They don’t need to be reminded of the fact that they appear helpless. Just go ahead and help them.
8. Don’t think of reasons why a customer might be wrong. Think of reasons of why they may find it necessary to complain. Even if in your opinion they are wrong or are being whingers.
9. Don’t ever ask a rude customer to leave your store. The best revenge is to take more money off them. (Shoplifters are not customers.)
10. Don’t ever blame head office or the manager for a policy or a decision, even if you don’t agree with it. When a customer senses a crack they will wedge it open and make it harder. Keep your disagreements internal and once it is decided live with it or leave. (And managers/owners, you should fire those who don’t live by this.)
Happy trading
Dennis Price
GANADOR – Creating customer-centric organisations
