65 Customer Service Best Practices

Customer Service Best Practices

The results of a brainstorming session where the attendees came up with 65 customer service best practices.

1) How can we make it easier for our customers to do business with us?

2) Online message board to better communicate calls that are received

3) Questions and answers online – online help

4) Instant chat lines set up to answer customers concerns

5) Increase one stop shopping – get call answered

6) Technical staff should get out and meet customers

7) Have a profile and complete record of each customer.

8) Checklist for people who are at help desk for answers to frequently asked questions and for what questions to ask the customers

9) Customer rep for each floor

10) Focus groups/Brainstorming sessions with customers

11) Very clear instructions for customers. (i.e. little card for instructions)

12) Effective service level agreements

13) Call back after assistance to see if problem was solved

14) Pleasing personality – work on SOFTEN and phone personality

15) Have 800 telephone numbers

16) Support off hours and weekends 24/7

17) Onsite support for each floor and field office

18) Develop a pamphlet and online directions on how things work – step by step

19) Be accessible to customers

20) How do we meet and exceed expectations?

21) Good timely response

22) Have meeting with staff to outline and discuss what excellent customer service means. (Can’t just say quality, but explain what exactly quality means)

23) Go beyond solving to explaining and educating the customer

24) Acknowledge customers – give full attention and listen

25) Contact after the problem has been solved – follow up

26) Customer advisory board

27) Anticipate problems and solve them before the customer complains

28) Underpromise and overdeliver

29) Do what you say you are going to do

30) Do it when you say you are going to do it

31) Do it right the first time

32) Train and educate customer base on what we can and can’t do

33) Think outside of the box

34) Customer surveys/focus groups

35) Reward exceptional performance for meeting and exceeding expectations

36) Determine customer expectations

37) Set guidelines for being more reliable, responsive and credible

38) How do we overcome an attitude of indifference on our part towards the customer?

39) Listen to them

40) Follow up

41) Empower customers – Give them the tools to do things themselves

42) Get more customer involvement

43) More educational opportunities for the staff

44) Prompt assistance

45) Ask the right questions to find real problems and concerns

46) Customer focus groups

47) If cannot resolve customers problem direct it to the right place

48) One stop shop – one person should know answers or manage the response to make sure customer gets an answer and is not “tossed around”

49) Be sincere and genuine – not just insincere “smiles”

50) Don’t add burden to customers frustration

51) Don’t take it personally

52) Incentives for the staff

53) Customer relations training for everyone at all levels

54) Make everyone feel like part of the organization – connecting to the core mission

55) Don’t think of customers as being a nuisance. If you do you will inadvertently treat them that way

56) How do we make the workplace a more positive place to work?

57) Improve managers knowledge about the real work environment

58) Empowerment for employees to make decisions

59) Rewards and strokes – appreciation

60) Teambuilding sessions with the whole team

61) Open communication

62) Clear guidelines

63) Say “NO” less often

64) More recognition for both internal and external customers

65) Showing the flag – get in front of the customer more often – visit

About the Author

Arnold Sanow, MBA, CSP works with companies and organizations to build stronger customer and workplace relationships by improving verbal, interpersonal and organizational communication.

  • Linda Mock-Bryant March 25, 2020, 9:53 pm

    This was very helpful.

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