The role of your staff is to attract customers to your business, to serve them well whenever they are in contact with the organisation and to keep them satisfied so that they do not think of living the organisation. Many organisations find it difficult to succeed because the role of staff is not understood by management and the staff themselves. The role of staff is to take care of customers who are the reason why the organisation exists. Your staff will drive away your customers when they mishandle them.
Fish rots from the head
The main contributor to good or poor customer service standards in an organisation is the Chief Executive Office and his management team. The staff will tend to follow the good or bad examples set by the management team. I have ever seen a CEO of big organisation passing by the front office without caring to check whether the people who are waiting have been served. It is extremely wrong to keep customers waiting without a proper excuse.
Not returning telephone calls
I have recently called a CEO of a big organisation to introduce to him a potential customer. He was not in the office but I left a message with a PA for him to call me. He did not call back. I called him again three days later inquiring about the message I left with his PA. He only told me that he was unable to respond because he was too busy with internal meetings. He did not apologize for the head up.
Not responding to email transmissions.
In my life as an auditor and a consultant I have come across few organisation with guidelines on how soon to respond to incoming emails. Incoming mails should be responded to within 24 hours with exceptions on mails coming in over the weekend and public holidays..
Staff giving incorrect information
Do not allow any staff to give incorrect information. There is sometimes a tendency of giving wrong information in order to buy time to complete the deliverable. Example include staff telling visitors on phone that they are not in office when they are actual fact in. A visitor could be calling you because he or she has seen you entering your office!
Intercepting calls and listening in to calls
No staff should intercept calls or listen in to calls without proper authority. A customer will move away from the organisation when he or she learns that confidential discussions with someone in the organisation was intercepted by someone.
Recording conversations without alerting the other party.
You have always to alert a customer if for any reason you plan to record the conversation.
Lack of appreciation
You should be grateful to the customers for buying goods and services from your organisation as the customers have options to make purchase from other suppliers. Remember the customer is a King and he is at liberty to buy from other suppliers . Please always remember to say thank
Author
John Muhaise Bikalemesa
Director: Big Drum Advisory Services Limited
