If your customer is king or queen, do you treat them like royalty?  In these difficult economic times, keeping customers happy is the key to success.  Yet many businesses today are reducing costs and cutting front line staff.  How many shops or service organisations have you seen lately where the staff were clearly overworked and providing a poor customer experience?  Now, more than ever, is the time to find simple ways to delight your customers.  After all, keeping your existing customers is far easier than finding new ones in today’s market.

I was reminded of the importance of customer service in a recent visit to my local Starbucks here in the UK.  It is a simple story that illustrates the point that the customer is king.  At the coffee shop, I received my order and walked away.  But when I tasted the coffee it was not hot and of poor quality.  I debated whether to take it back or just gulp down the tepid brew and forget about the £2 spent.  But I opted to make a statement by returning to the shop.  I fully expected the staff to be annoyed that I was returning the product so prepared myself for a small debate.  However, to my delight the reception I received was truly extraordinary.  First, they expressed empathy for supplying me with a poor cup of lukewarm coffee and apologised for their mistake.  While quickly making me another hot, fresh cup, they  checked the coffee making equipment which was in fact faulty and not heating the liquid properly.  They thanked me for pointing this out, handed me the replacement coffee plus a coupon for a free cup on my next visit.  The coupon said “a cup should never be half empty.” and was purposely designed for such situations.  What a delightful way to deal with complaints.  Instead of creating a stand-off with the customer, they simply agreed with me and promptly set about treating me like a king.

Are you applying such customer service concepts in your business today?  Do you take time to train and mentor your staff on the best ways to deal with difficult customers or complaints?  What are the ways you can improve your staff’s capabilities to deliver excellent customer service?    Investing in customer service and satisfaction can deliver extraordinary results.  In my recent businesses, my customers who were happy and loyal bought many more of our products and services resulting in 10 times the revenue per customer than first time, single product clients.  There are many examples of successful business today that have developed a unique differentiation based on excellent customer service, both in consumer and business to business.  Find the leaders and benchmark their best practices.  Invest your own time to show staff how to treat customers, and they will also follow your lead.