Ring The Bell For Service

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

I am thinking about writing a book about Customer Service.

Here is the deal…as much as I love the advancements in technology that allow me to have convenient, short conversations via email or text message, I do think these “conveniences” have created a major setback in how people communicate with other people. Instead of hand written letters, phone calls or in person meetings, we now have emails, text messages and web conferencing. In theory, we would never have to actually see or talk to our customers again and I think this is unfortunate.

Companies that are built around providing a service should rely on their customer service abilities to keep customers, solve problems and anticipate issues. But, as I’ve seen over the last few years, many companies do not make customer service their priority. In fact, as the state of the economy gets worse, the level of customer service does too. I would think it would be the opposite. Let’s ensure that we keep our current customers happy and focus on their needs instead of focusing on dropping prices to get new business, more lay-offs, under-staffing and instilling fear of unemployment in every front-line employee that works for you.

At Hot Shot Delivery, my family’s Houston Courier Service, we hand-write letters to our customers and mail them, not email them. We schedule face-to-face meetings with our customers to make sure that they are satisfied with our services. I take time to answer calls in the call center to let them know that even the top-level management cares about their needs. Delivering donuts to a long-time customer along with their package is a great way to show them that you care and that you want to ensure their satisfaction. These little things don’t take much time out of my day and they do wonders for the mindset of my employees, the impressions of my customers and not to mention, my personal satisfaction.

At Hot Shot Delivery, our motto is “Whatever It Takes” and we are constantly working to make sure we deliver on our promise. On time delivery percentages, great technology for ordering, tracking and reporting and a fleet of fantastic drivers help us to get the job done, but the customer service we provide keeps them coming back. Something to think about…

Let the book writing begin! If you have any great ideas for customer service tactics, let’s share them with the world together.

Until Next Time,

Eric

Tags: Business, courier service, customer service, recession

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