Looking through copious definitions of customer service, I attempted to crystallize the major characteristics of this phenomenon. So, customer service is about fulfilling your promises; it’s about meeting your clients’ needs and taking care of them prior to, during and after the purchase; it stands for maximizing you clients’ benefits and being committed to them; famously, it means treating others as you want to be treated. Or, to utter it differently, customer service is respect manifested.
But why should we make a song and dance about customer service? There is an imposing array of reasons to take it seriously. Firstly, it’s our bargaining chip prompting potential clients to opt for our products and services rather than those of our competitors’. Then, treated well, our clients are more likely to benevolently forgive us should we make a fluff (and this we certainly will, it’s just a matter of time). Also, customers tend to stay with us longer and their passionate mouth-to-mouth advertising frequently outlives and outperforms other promotional efforts. Moreover, cooperative clients are an unending source of practical wisdom, helping us to improve whatever we do through their feedback.
However, I would like to go beyond these traditionally cited arguments and refer to another one… The bone argument. “I feel it in my bones”, so we say. These words allude to a gut feeling, a strong intuitive knowledge we possess despite being unable to always logically explain it. Yet, if customer service is respect manifested, then it resonates with one of our (and our customers’) deepest desires, a desire to respect and be respected.
One taxi driver was extremely polite and well-mannered with his clients. When enquired why, he narrated of another taxi driver who had been mentioned in his client’s will and rewarded with thousands of dollars for his courtesy. Inspired by the story he went on being considerate with his clients hoping one of them might become his generous benefactor. However, soon he discovered how satisfied and elated he was by treating his customers respectfully and continued doing the same for his own sake. Respect, or customer service if you like, is in our bones…
All in all, by providing good customer service not only do we improve our companies’ bottom lines, but we actually start doing something as natural as breathing. Customer service gets us back home, giving us peace of mind and keeping our conscience at peace. And quite on the contrary, running counter to this principle we feel like a fish out of water. Don’t you feel it in your bones?
