Here in the Philippines, Christmas time equates a mad rush of shopping frenzy. Parking lots overflow into the streets, and so expect terrible traffic jams!

So if you were to test an establishment’s customer service, this is the best time to do it. Is there grace under pressure?

I went to SM Makati last night, and as I expected, the mall was packed, the lines to the cashiers are long. But I have to hand it to SM for the following:

1. Their sales personnel are on the floor ready to help shoppers.
2. The sales people are very friendly; greets shoppers and really go out of their way to help, find, dig up sizes of shoes, clothing, and what have you.
3. Plenty of checkout counters are placed in strategic areas of the department store. I like it that in every counter, there is a box of Christmas wrappers, Christmas paper bags, ribbons, and small greeting cards. It makes things so convenient.
4. Their cashiers ar fast, may your transaction be in cash or credit card!
5. SM has practically everything you need in one place.

From my experience, SM people have really been trained well when it comes serving shoppers. If they sustain this, they’ll be assured of repeat business with happy customers.

Interestingly, I stumbled upon an article, titled Good Customer service is Key to Capturing Holiday Shoppers. According to the article, 60 percent shop more often at certain online sites, and 50 percent shop more often at specific retail stores, because of a good customer experience. You can read about it more here.

As companies go online to expand business and reach customers, customer requirements, on other hand,  have become more demanding.

There is now a competition between which company is timely at giving feedback to customers. Social media has made that possible. This is in fact good for customers.

So, Business2Community, an independent online community focused on sharing the latest news surrounding social media among other things, comes up with seven virtual customer service tips.

Over communication. Just like with your virtual workers, your clients cannot look over their cubicle wall to see if you are busy at work.  Once you accept an assignment let them know. This can be through an automated message or a personal one. Another form of this is “thank you for your order” confirmation emails.

Timely Response. In addition to letting clients know that you have accepted their order be sure to ask any questions or return items in an appropriate time span. For example, as a content writing service we ask clients questions during the first 24 hours of accepting a project. That way a client knows we have not only accepted the project but are actively working on it. Imagine having a 5 day turnaround and then asking questions 3 hours before the deadline. That speaks volumes to your client.

Read more…

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During the past month or so, I have observed quite a number of customer service faux pas. And I could only sigh and say, “this is not the way you treat your customer!”

Thus this blog post is born. I want to list instances where you are not serving your customers. Let’s start.

Choose the options for them

Popular notion has it that if you do everything for your customers, they will feel like a king. And true enough, you often hear customers gushing about not lifting a finger, yet get the best service there is. However, this does not work all the time.

Let’s take the CebuPacific website as an example. When you book for airtickets, all options are ticked—from insurance, baggage fees to the pre-seating. Well, yeah, there is that convenience but it comes with a price, of course. What about the budget travelers who choose Cebu Pacific in the first place because of cheaper rates? The seat selector is quite unwieldy. If you are not that techie and patient to figure out how to de-select the seats, then you will end up paying more. I spent hours to figure out how to “de-seat myself.” The safest way to do it is to know your customers first and find out if what you’re doing for them is what they want you to do for them.

Serve them eagerly

I often experience this in the department stores or specialty shops. I walk in and salespeople start swarming. It’s fine actually, but it distracts me from choosing or even making decision, because somebody is there looking and giving suggestions.

Strictly follow company policy

This phrase “We can’t do anything about it, it’s company policy” really irks me. The policy is there as guide. Unless the customer demand or request brings you business down, you should be able to give considerations to your customer.

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), one of the top local banks in the country, recently rolled out the paperless transaction using the BPI Express Assistant Machine.

The BPI Express Assistant Machine is like the other automated machines where you choose the kind of transaction that you are going to do.  Based on what I did the last time I went to the bank and used the machine, this is how it went:

1. Touch the window screen choosing your type of transaction: Deposit, Withdrawal, Bills Payment
2. I chose Deposit.
3. I was then asked if I were going to make a check or a cash deposit. I chose check deposit.
4. I was asked to key in the issuing bank, the check #, and the amount.
5. After a few buttons, I was asked to input my account #.
6. Done.
7. The machine then spits out a paper indicating my priority number.

(Too bad, I can’t use a mobile phone inside the bank, I was not able to take a photo of the machine.)

The procedure, I think, took me only 15 seconds or so. I didn’t need to fill out a deposit slip. Holding my priority number, I took a seat and waited for my turn for about a minute or two.

When it was my turn, I gave my check to the teller. A few seconds after, I got my already filled out deposit slip.

Easy does it.

As far as I know, it is only BPI that uses this paperless transaction. It makes for a good, efficient, and fast customer service. Much improvement from their old system of lining up and waiting for hours to be served.

Let me also tell you about BPI’s convenient banking online. I can send funds, pay bills online and mobile instantly!

Congratulations on this one, BPI! Yes, you take us farther!

Have you ever been put on hold for an hour for customer service? Well, perhaps, not. For who would wait for an hour for that?

Yet, that possibility is not remote. I am sure for a desperate customer who really has to talk to a customer rep, desperation could make him wait and wait.

Well, fret no more and be thankful for technology. There is now an application for iPhone and Android that waits on customer service for you.  FastCustomer, a company that advocates for fast customer service and aims to eliminate wait times, has developed this app. What’s more interesting is that this app is free!

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Technology is really making our lives more convenient, isn’t it?

FastCustomer by the way is inviting companies to add your company to this app. Read more…

CFO.com will have a webcast on Achieving Customer-Centric Shared Services. Sponsored by PRGX, this webcast will discuss Best Practices of shared services organizations.

Schedule:

Featured Speakers:

Bruce Kelly
Managing Director
Advisory Services
PRGX

Charisse Jacques
Principal
Advisory Services
PRGX

Moderated by:
Joe Fleischer
Senior Webcast Producer
CFO Publishing

Register now!

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Very young—not yet a month old—into the social networking industry, yet Google+ is creating a tsunami. Already, social media people have their own predictions about Google+, some of which are:

• Google+ will replace Facebook, which replaced Friendster
• Google+ will change the information highway
• Google+ will help online business big time, especially in terms of customer service

All these because Google+ is powered by Google and evolved from Gmail.

Well, any social networking tool or app can help customer service, if used well. Twitter started it when companies created Twitter accounts to create touchpoints with their customers. Companies also use Facebook pages to create buzz about their business and latest products and services.

With Google+, it has so much promise in the sense that it comes after all other social networking sites have kind of settled down and reached their peak. Like a shrewd businessman, Google embarked on a rigorous R&D and came up with two features (initially) that companies could use to reach out to their customers efficiently.

1. Circles. You can group your customers or clients into these circles and send out customized messages to them. The naming is even left to you, so you can be as creative as you can be with these cirlces. This is also a good thing because you can use your labels to categorize your customers into their preferences, their dislikes, and the like. I posted a question one time about how my Circles label their friends, and I was amused by the names of their circles. Some, like me, couldn’t think of a good naming system at first.
2. Hangouts. I tried this one last night, and it seems pretty cool. The Google+ hangouts are not your typical chat features because it ventures further into a video chat or video conference. They can hold 10 people in the same video chat room, and the best thing is it’s web-based and free. Skype is first in this type of service but it’s Windows based only, and if you get more peole into the chat room, you need to upgrade your membership to a paid one. I can see companies using the hangouts for focused-group discussions (FGDs) and VOC activities. This early, Dell is already thinking of using hangouts for its service and sale teams.

The only deterrent for now is that Google+ is by invitation only. Once completely rolled out, I hope to see how it progresses and meets everyone’s expectations.

According to the Consumer Reports survey of almost 1,000 consumers, experiencing bad customer is fact of life. It happens every day even to the best of us.

The results show how the respondents reacted to bad customer service:

Read the full story here.

While it’s true that between bad and good customer service, we often  hear more about the bad than the good experience. But that is largely because we share with more people our bad experience.

In any case, I wouldn’t want bad customer service become a fact of life. Never!

A couple years ago, I helped my friend run a concessions stand at a Santa Barbara baseball game. As the game progressed, I noticed that friendly conversations would lead to more hot dogs, peanuts, and chips. Creating a connection with you customers not only builds the reputation of your company, but may be the key ingredient for increasing your client base.

However, building this relationship is more than selling a hot dog and asking for a score update. Many businesses manage their clients with Customer Relations Management Software. These solutions streamline the process of creating a positive buying experience for your customers and may lead to future business.

Choosing a CRM software that caters to your specific needs can be a daunting task. However, the CRM Software Comparison Tool from FindTheBest offers an unbiased opinion when choosing what software is best for you.

Need a CRM software that offers forecasting simulation and mobile access? Simple, just select the functions you need, and your CRM software providers are clearly presented. You can even compare the top providers side by side!

By comparing key features and expert ratings, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions when choosing a CRM software thus allowing you to focus on what really matters: Finding Repeat Customers!

I purchased a pair of flat shoes from Cole Vintage, The Ramp, Crossings in Glorietta 3 Makati, about November last year. After using the pair for only a couple of times, I noticed that soles of one pair had a break in the middle. Thinking it was only a few months old, I brought it to Cole Vintage nook in The Ramp and asked the salesperson if they accept repairs. To my surprise, the lady took the shoes and told me that she would have them repaired. I asked for a sheet of paper as proof but she said, “no need, Ma’am.”

I was impressed by the ease of the transaction. It reminded me of the time when I had to bring in my iPod to the Apple Store for a check up. No fuzz!

I went back to the store after three weeks, as I was told. And surprise! The salesperson said that she couldn’t remember me or anyone bringing in a pair of shoes for repair. While I was describing to her how I brought it in, even showed her a pair of shoes in store of the same style, she kept on denying it as she flipped through her notebook (This extended sentence somehow describes how I felt that time). I was aghast.

She could only tell me to come back again in a week after she checked with her team and their main office.

It was nearing Christmas and I got so caught up with Christmas and New Year that I was not able to go back. I sent a message though asking about the shoes, and I got a reply saying that she’s still looking for it. Sad.

I felt at that time that I did a time travel and was almost convinced that maybe I didn’t go there and gave them my shoes. But every time I would recall, I was really sure that I brought my shoes there for repair.

Finally, when the holiday season died down (You know how Christmas and New Year’s are here in the Philipplines, we have a long celebration.), I went back. It was almost Valentine’s.

This time, when the salesperson saw me, she was smiling and happily told me, “Ma’am we really can’t find your shoes, but we’re giving you a new pair!” Whoa!

She handed me a box and in it a new pair of flat shoes.

What else can I say but, all’s well that ends well.