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Quick, efficient customer service is important

This free article by Derek Stockley highlights the importance of fast, courteous and friendly customer service.

Responsive staff

I recently walked into a florist. Two staff were busy behind the counter making floral arrangements. As I approached, both turned to serve me. In fact, in their eagerness, they almost had a tussle over who would serve me first.

This willingness to serve was very pleasing.

We can all tell stories of waiting at a counter whilst staff continue their private conversations, seemingly ignoring our presence and importance.

I chose the flowers I wanted. They were quickly and nicely wrapped. I walked out the door a happy customer.

Poor service

Two doors down is another service business. A few months ago, I had a conversation with the owner, as they had an interesting sign in the window. It was hand written. It pleaded with customers to stop abusing the staff, as they could not take it any more.

Apparently, as new owners in an unfamiliar industry, a number of problems had arisen, including the resignation of key staff.

Consequently, service levels had suffered. Some services were not being provided, often on a regular basis. The same customers had to keep complaining. Many were obviously becoming frustrated and upset.

Providing good service seems easy

The florist shop staff made it look easy. They paid attention when customers walked in the door. They knew what they were doing. They did it well.

You need to know what good service is. You need to know what customers want. You need to tailor your business to suit. Courteous, attentive, well trained staff make a big difference. Staff need to be respected, supported and appreciated. They should not fear an approaching customer.

Good systems, combined with well trained staff, ensure that errors are reduced or eliminated. If there are no errors, there are no complaints. Customers are satisfied. Work is more rewarding for staff members.

Summary and conclusion

Making customer service appear seamless is in fact quite hard. Often it is like the duck analogy - you can see the duck gliding smoothly across the lake, but you cannot see how hard it is paddling to get there.

Excellent customer service is achieved when staff members combine their good interpersonal skills with good product, policy and systems knowledge. It is also important that staff have good policies and systems to work with.

Personal reflection

Are you or your staff afraid to work on the counter?

Do you and your staff provide instant attention to customers?

Are you and your staff eager to serve?

Do your policies and systems support your staff, or do they make it hard to meet customer needs?

Your comment

If you have a comment you would like to make, or you would like to share your experience, please send the comment to one of the email addresses listed below.

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Derek Stockley conducts public training courses in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, including a Public Train the Trainer Program. Derek also provides access to an online Certificate 1V in Training and Assessment.

This article was last modified on 18 May 2006.