Jodie Mcgruer

Excellent customer service is about: Treating your customers respectfully Following up on feedback Handling complaints and returns gracefully Understanding your customers' needs and wants Exceeding customer expectations Going out of your way to help them. The Importance of Good Customer Service "The customer is always right" is a famous business slogan. The underlying truth behind this statement is recognizing that customers are the life blood for any organization. Understanding the importance of good customer service is essential for a healthy organization in creating new customers, keeping loyal customers, and developing referrals for future customers. Excellent customer service begins at the initial greeting, whether that’s on the phone, chat, or via email. In all of these situations, using good people skills will increase the chances for a positive first impression. For example, saying hello with a smile to a customer who just called in makes that person at ease and makes them feel welcome. On the other hand, when an employee doesn't acknowledge the client or leaves them on hold, or makes them feel like an inconvenience, that customer immediately feels slighted. That negative feeling doesn't get the customer in a buying mood, and it will most likely turn them away from ever coming back to that particular store. If the employee is utilizing good customer service on the phone, the initial greeting will be courteous. Again, this makes the client feel comfortable. In turn, the customer will appreciate the pleasant greeting and usually be more agreeable on the other end of the phone. This is a much better situation for the client instead of leaving messages on answering machines, never getting any returned phone calls, or trying to extract some product information from an uncaring employee. Of course, good customer service goes beyond the initial contact. When helping customers choose the right product or service or answer their questions, assisting them with their needs is a great example of going the extra mile. This kind of service establishes good will, and it'll eventually lead to loyal customers. Even if that person doesn't purchase anything at that time, the good shopping experience will bring the customer back again. Think about how you've been treated whenever you're the customer. If you've ever had a bad experience with a company, you know that it's not easy to forget the encounter. Perhaps a clerk was too busy stocking shelves to help you pay for your items. Maybe there wasn't anyone around to answer your questions or help you with some additional information. You might have had to deal with an employee that won't help you because of some company rule. In any of these instances, the managers or the owner of the store usually aren't notified of the poor customer service. Instead, the people that do hear about the negative experience are many of the customer's family and friends. Especially with social networking, word travels very fast when it comes to communicating negative experiences to the world. When dealing with clients, sometimes there are situations that need to be resolved. If the customer is upset about a product or service they've received from the company, the first thing an employee should do is to listen. By taking the time to hear through the entire complaint, the customer feels that you care. Occasionally, the issue is actually not related to your company at all, but the initial problem is merely a catalyst for that person's frustration about other things. Either way, attentive listening will break down that barrier and begin to build a bridge to fix the situation. Usually, discussing different options will then bring about a positive outcome for both sides. Good customer service leads to many benefits. Not only will you gain trust with your current clients, they'll also become a wonderful referral system as they spread the word about your services to other prospects. 1.0 PURPOSE This standard operating procedure/guideline addresses customer service strategies, building/maintaining departmental image, dealing with citizen complaints, member contacts with municipal/elected officials and media representatives. The intent of this procedure is to document a common starting point for the execution of standard customer service behaviors in fairly standard situations. When standard situations do not exist, this procedure is intended to serve as a basis for the organization to creatively invent solutions through customer service empowerment. 3.0 SCOPE This SOP pertains to all customer service representatives. 4.0 PROCEDURES/GUIDELINES & INFORMATION 4.1 Customer Service Strategies: HISTORY / VALUE OF OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE PROGRAM Definitions Webster's New World Dictionary defines the term "customer" both formally and informally. "Customer" is formally defined as "one who buys goods or services," and it's informally defined as "any person with whom one has dealings." Our organization traditionally adopts an informal approach and our organizational vocabulary is simple and informal. The fire department no longer limits its organizational definition of the term "customer" to only its formal interpretation. We have expanded our definition to include any person who receives our services and anyone with whom our members have dealings. Examples of this expanded definition of our "customers" include: • The actual service recipient, • Anyone who knows or is closely related to the service recipient (e.g., family, friends, neighbors, pets, etc.), • The people we encounter, directly and indirectly, during our workday (e.g., members of agencies we routinely do business with, residents/vacationers who visit our work place, who see us during our work day, or we pass on the road.). These people are an integral part of our workday. We want to treat them in a positive way and include them in our customer service action plan. Every interaction with our "customers" is an opportunity to solve their problem and leave an impression that we are proud of. It’s The Companies mission and number one priority to deliver the best customer service possible. "Customer service" is generally defined as "the ability of an organization to consistently give their customers what they want." It is the goal of the ​The Company to go beyond traditional customer service and provide exceptional customer service - where we exceed our customer’s expectations. "Exceptional customer service is the result of an explicit, long term, planned out, acted out, and refined organizational approach to service delivery. It requires a personal commitment, as well as, organizational support and leadership. "Added value" is a phrase we attach to our organizational definition of exceptional customer service. "Added value" occurs anytime we go beyond our standard quick, effective, nice, customer-centered service to create a feeling that they were the most important customer we served all day. Added value only requires a little extra effort and leaves our customers with the opinion that we care and we’re nice. It’s the philosophy of the The Company to provide "added value service" whenever we have the opportunity. Our customers, and their problems, do not come with an instruction manual. Exceptional customer service and added value customer service are the result of a refined system where members of ​The Company are empowered by the organization to operate between the lines to provide caring service with both quality and value. "Empowerment" means "the organization delegates official authority and trusts its members with the power to provide customer service to the level of their abilities and imagination." To determine if you are empowered to perform exceptional added value customer service, ask yourself: • Is it the right thing for the customer? • Is it the right thing for the company? • Is it legal, ethical, and nice? • Is it safe? • Is it on your organizational level? • Is it something you are willing to be accountable for? • Is it consistent with our company’s values and policies? - If the answer to these questions is "yes," then don't ask permission. You are empowered by the organization to "JUST DO IT!" The Value of a Customer Service Program: The organizational benefits of providing exceptional customer service, with added value, are numerous. Benefits include: • Builds positive relationships and trust within our company • Builds positive relationships and trust in our community • Secures and maintains adequate resources and benefits • Happy customers, bosses, workers. • Positive job satisfaction • Places us in the best position to compete • It's fun to be nice and do nice things • Doing it right eliminates bad press, liability, and extra paperwork • It’s the right thing to do Our Mission: The Company is committed to providing the highest level of customer service for our community. Our human and technical skills are the foundation of ​The Company. The balance required to provide all the services our company is committed to delivering is rooted in being well trained and skilled. The value we place on technical and human skills is the same. Membership in the ​The Company group carries with it a host of responsibilities and expectations. The awareness and commitment to meeting all of them will ensure the fulfillment of our mission. Our awareness begins with viewing everyone as our customer. It is our job to respond to the needs of our customers. The people who call us with their needs cannot be viewed as interruptions to our work, they are our work. This philosophy will be supported as we develop a simple Customer Service plan, train all our members on that plan, and then trust and depend upon our members to directly execute the plan properly, whenever opportunity occurs. Nice is the essence of this whole Customer Service philosophy. The addition of "Be" makes it an action plan and allows us to take it to the street. This becomes our mission statement in action. Be nice to customers, to each other, and to yourself. This must become the most powerful value we create. At an internal level it simply means that we treat everyone with respect, kindness, patience, and consideration. Our diversity must continue to be one of our greatest strengths. Customer Service Standards Example External Customers We will greet our customers in a courteous and professional manner. We will listen effectively to our customers’ requests and promptly take the necessary actions to assist them. We will keep our customers informed of unexpected delays in service. We will inform our customers of normal process time, when they can expect completion and any delays that may arise in the process. We will touch base with our customers to update them as to where we are in the process. We will respond to website questions/requests within 24 hours during normal business hours. We will respond to applicants (employee/volunteer) within 24 hours of normal process time to let them know when they can expect completion and any delays that may arise in the process. We will finish our encounters with our customers in a courteous and professional way. Internal Customers - We will report all orders at the end of each day. We will interact with each other in a courteous and professional manner. We will inform our internal customers of normal process time, when they can expect completion and any delays that may arise in the process. We will touch base with our internal customers daily, either by e-mail or phone, to update them as to where we are in the process. We will work to resolve issues with coworkers and other departments by discussing problems directly and working toward agreed upon solutions. We will be considerate, cooperative and helpful to every staff member to assure quality services. We will hold ourselves and each other accountable for addressing inappropriate comments and behavior. Telephone Etiquette When at our desks (virtual or otherwise), we will answer the phone within two rings. We will identify ourselves when we answer. We will listen to the caller’s request and assist the caller accordingly. If we cannot assist the caller, we will direct the call to the appropriate person. Before transferring the call, we will obtain the caller’s permission and provide the caller with the name and extension number of the person who will be helping the caller. We will obtain the caller’s permission before placing the call “on hold” by asking and waiting for a response before initiating the hold function. We will end the conversation in a courteous and professional way by thanking the caller. We will wait for the caller to hang up first. We will notify our customers that someone is unavailable by saying, “He/She is unavailable. Is this an urgent issue or May I take a message?” Voice Mail We will respond to voice mails within 24 hours during normal business hours. We will update our voice mail greeting, advising callers when we will be out of the office for an extended period of time (1/2 day or longer), informing callers of when we will return and who they may contact with questions (if applicable). E-mail We will respond to e-mails within 24 hours during normal business hours. We will update our e-mail notification message when we will be out of the office for an extended period of time (full day or more). We will indicate our expected return date and indicate a contact person (if applicable). General We will make our goal to exceed the expectations of all of our customer groups. We will work to anticipate the needs of those we serve by proactively working to meet their needs. We will hold ourselves and each other accountable for our service commitment. We will be conscious of our communication style (ie; audible voice, eye contact when speaking to someone, tone of voice) and communicate in a professional manner. We will make a conscious effort to compliment coworkers when their actions comply with these standards. Taking care of all customer groups is the key to business success.  Investing the time to create service standards, and holding employees accountable for adhering to standards, is a basic management practice that should be incorporated into a structured performance management process. STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS 1. PURPOSE 1.1 The purpose of this procedure is to describe how to respond to customer complaints. 2. SCOPE 2.1 Complaints expressed by customers and employees during use of the product are reported using this procedure. 2.2 This procedure applies to all finished goods. 3. RESPONSIBILITY 3.1 Company employees, representatives and distributors are responsible for reporting all customer complaints to Customer Service Representative or SOS (Save our sales). 3.2 Customer Service is responsible for: 3.2.1 ensuring all follow-up customer service actions are completed. 3.2.2 Determining whether a product problem has been confirmed. 3.3.3 Determining whether a complaint requires review by Upper Management. 3.4 Quality Assurance is responsible for tracking complaint investigation, corrective action, and verifying resolution in a timely fashion. 3.6 Document Control is responsible for the retention of all original complaint records and reports. 4.0 Customer Action Report Form – Must be completed for all customer complaints Section 8 8.1 Definition of Complaint - Any written or oral expression of dissatisfaction relative to: 8.1.1 The product's identity, quality, durability, reliability, safety, effectiveness, or performance. 8.1.2 The product's packaging or labeling (including manuals and inserts). 8.1.3 The use of the product (procedural complaint). 8.1.4 Service received. 8.2 Source of Complaints 8.2.1 A verbal or written complaint from a customer may be received over the telephone, via chat or email by any employee, distributor or representative. 8.3 Initiation of a Complaint, customer service representative will send the information to management. ----Note: Good documentation practices must be followed in documenting activities relating to complaints. This includes completing all information spaces on the forms with either the information, “N/A” if not applicable or “Unknown if efforts to obtain missing information fail. 8.3.1 If a customer contact (verbal or written) meets the definition of a complaint described in section 8.1, the representative will initiate a Customer Complaint within 24 hours. 8.3.2 Customer/Technical Service and/or the local customer representative will attempt to resolve the problem via email, chat or over the phone. 8.3.3 Representative completes a customer complaint report form and forwards to management for follow up.