Customer Service is establishing a positive relationship with each and every consumer or potential consumer that I meet and to exceed their needs in every way possibly.
This impacts the service I provide by immediately thinking of how I can make this customer in front of me a long term customer that will come back and speak positive of their experience they had with me.
Nicole,
This is very accurate! I'm curious, what do you do when it isn't within your power to "fix" what they are asking for?
Dr. Jean Norris
My defenition of customer service is to always treat the customer with patience and understanding. I think this helps prevent negative situations from escalating. If you continue to reassure a customer that you will rectify a negative experience and let them know you understand how they feel they will be more than satisfied with the outcome. You have to keep in the back of your mind that if the customer leaves unhappy they will spread a negative word about your company.
Very true, Henry. How do you specifically build a relationship that keeps the customers coming back? What's your secret? (I'm sure many want to know :))
Dr. Jean Norris
Great customer service is the lifeblood of any business. Building a relationship with the customer is about bringing customers back which will impact the serivce you provide postively and negatively.
Great Lora! What do you specifically do to demonstrate respect?
Dr. Jean Norris
This is a great practice Roberta! First impressions are SO important and anything we can do to help our customers feel comfortable and welcomed is valuable. How do your customers typically respond to your attention?
Dr. Jean Norris
Treating each student with the same respect and enthusiasm
All of us at the front desk greet them by standing up, shaking their hand and introducing ourselves. We want to make sure that they have an exceptional feeling of being special to us. We offer them water and chat with them while they are waiting for the admissions representative to come and get them. Our goal is to make them feel comfortable and welcome and to make their visit with us all about them.
Great approach Roberta. I'll bet your students really appreciate the personal attention they receive each day and being treated as special individuals. What do you do to stay focused on your customers?
Dr. Jean Norris
Always treating someone the way you wish to be treated is a very important componant of customer service. We try to make everyone that walks into our school feel like they are very special. We recognize them by name, listen when they have an issue or question and assure that the issue/question is handled in a timely and professional manner.
When dealing with over 200 different personalities a day in our campus, it is of utmost importance to be able to personalize our time with each of them, whether it's a cheerful greeting in the morning as they enter the building or taking the time to give them positive and useful feedback when needed.
We rely on customer satisfaction from our students and continuously strive to provide the best service to all of them.
Thank you for your insights Lise. I get the sense that your approach is focused on enrolling the right students which is a win-win for all. How do you think this approach impacts your student population and graduates?
Dr. Jean Norris
Great insights Ashley! I'll bet your graduates appreciate your dedication to listening to them and understanding their goals. There is nothing more powerful then being heard and when you can listen at a high level, you are providing a memorable service to your customers. Keep up the good work!
Dr. Jean Norris
I definitely agree, treat someone the way that you would want to be treated. I have often felt that instead of cranking out multiple students, make sure that the quality of students and their skills is what is more important. Putting out a quality product will ensure that companies will contact you to get your next group of students so that they have the best ones. We need to be a positive role model for the students, but we also can't sugarcoat things and allow mediocre products (students) to graduate that could hurt the industry or your product base.
My definition of customer service is that when providing a product or service for a customer, you treat them with a friendly personality. One should be knowledgeable on the product or service to be able to answer any questions. Also, one must listen to your customer to be able to provide the best service possible.
The service I provide is assistance. I assist our graduates in finding employment post graduation. One of the most important aspects of customer service that impacts what I do is listening. Listening to my graduate (customer) to learn what he/she is looking for in employment, listen to what they want to do in their field, where they want to work, and how far they are willing to travel. Really listening and understanding what he/she is looking for will allow me to be successful in assisting their job search and ultimately assist them in finding employment.
I'll bet your students appreciate the student-focused approach and tools that you and your school offer. I think it's especially considerate of you to schedule your lunch around their schedule to make yourself accessible. Thank you for your post!
Dr. Jean Norris
For me it is having open door policy. Students can come and see me anytime of the day. I make sure I don't leave for lunch from 12-1 because that is their lunch hour and it is when they usually will stop by.
We are creating more self-service tools on our portal so that they can order a transcript at midnight if they want or submit a course add or w/d form from home.
Trying to make everything convenient for them and still allowing face to face time to talk about schedules or academic issues.
Janice,
As you can see from the many posts in this forum, there are varying definitions of customer service but listening seems to be a common theme throughout. Beyond listening, what can you do to demonstrate a high level of service to your customers?
Dr. Jean Norris
It's true, the customer may not always be right but allowing them the opportunity to express their point of view is important. How do you facilitate that process with your internal and external customers Janice?
Dr. Jean Norris
I personally don't feel that the customer is always right! However, I do believe they have every right to say what they feel is right! Being able to allow them to express themselves allows for us to carry out excellent solutions to resolve any issues!
