Lessons in Customer Service

Everyone knows the key to keeping a customer returning is to offer great customer service. If the customer is happy he/she will tell others, and if they are unhappy he/she will tell others.

When a customer is mistreated, the company might not care, but in the end if they continue to treat the customers in this way - it will affect their bottom line. This is true regardless of the business being discussed, whether it is retail, service or even entertainment.

A perfect example of great customer service would be my favorite retailer - QVC. If you have ever dealt with them, you have found they go above and beyond to ensure the customer is happy. If you do not like something you order, you can send it back within 30 days with no questions asked for a complete refund. If it is a food order, you don't like it, you call and tell them you did not like it and your money is refunded and you do not have to return the item. If they make a mistake, you will receive notification, sometimes you do not even know of the mistake until then.

If you contact customer service, you will actually speak to someone - not a recording whether in the middle of the day or the middle of the night. The person you speak to will be able to answer the question and will make sure you feel good at the end of the conversation. The bottom line is they value the business of the people spending their money with them. The customer hangs up feeling like their needs were met and they have not wasted their money.

Other companies do not care about the customer, they want the money and that's it - nothing more and nothing less. Like I said before, eventually the customer will get the message and move on. In these days and times, people just want to be treated fairly and with respect. It is not funny to think you can treat people any kind of way and expect them to fork over their money and say "oooo I liked that kick in my teeth, let me pay you to do it again." It will get old and pretty soon the money and the people will be gone.

Just something to think about.