Customer Relations

Customer Service Dilemma: Answer the Phone or Serve the Person?
Here’s the situation: You take the time to get in your car to drive to a company where you do business. It could be any company: a retail store, a restaurant, a gym, a vendor, etc. You walk in the door and up to the counter or receptionist’s desk. No one is in front of you, so you think this is going to be a quick transaction. Then, as you start explaining to the person behind the counter why you are there, the phone rings. The individual serving you holds up a finger to you as a gesture to say, “Hold on,” and then proceeds to answer the phone. You wait there, looking around at the signs hanging on the wall or the plaques on the shelves while the person on the phone gets through his/her entire litany. When they are finally finished, then – and only then – can you complete your introduction and your business…unless, of course, the phone rings again. click here to download article

Whatever Happened to Customer Service?
What happened to good old fashioned work ethic? What happened to the days of trusting in a handshake or a person’s word? It seems more and more today that it is difficult to find a business that truly cares about their customers. How many hours have you sat at your desk on hold waiting to talk with a real person? Of course this waiting was only after hours of pushing numbers on your phone to even have the opportunity to talk with someone. Inevitably, you end up getting disconnected somewhere in the process and you need to start all over again. If you ever get to actually speak with a real human being, far too often that becomes as frustrating as the process was to get to them. I have a feeling that far too many of us can relate to this scenario. click here to download article