Customer Service Handbook for Staff in Small and Medium Enterprises

ROLE OF SMES OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Most countries are economically developed because of the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs offer great employment opportunities to many people in every country. On the other and, most big companies started as SMEs.

However, the staff of SMEs are not good at customer service. We need to note that customer service is the main business and marketing tool that SMEs use to promote their businesses. Some staff are rude and do not give the needed service, and instead exploit the people they are supposed to serve for personal gains. Some bosses or business people, instead of offering good customer service experiences are cheating customers and taking advantage of their ignorance. These practices are not good because they chase away customers. As a result, a company losses sales and profits.

CUSTOMERS SERVICE AND CUSTOMER CARE

Customer service: Means the speed of handling (serving) customers. It also means serving or giving customers all the items or services paid for (right amount), serving good quality items and at fair prices, within the shortest possible time.

Customer care: Refers to the human touch you exhibit while service customers, i.e. warm reception (smile), being friendly, talking nicely (not rude), not abusing customers (not proud), and showing respect and willingness to serve customers. Customer care is part of total customer service package.

 WHO ARE CUSTOMERS?

People or groups of people that you are supposed to serve. Examples include:

1. Hotels, restaurants, bars: guests, clients and other visitors.
2. Shops (supermarkets, furniture and vehicle show rooms, bookshops, hardware shops, groceries, boutiques, food markets): buyers and window shoppers.  
3. Land lords/ land ladies: tenants and their families. 
4. Banks, SACCOs and Mobile Money Agents: people who depot or withdraw money.

5. Salons and barber shops: clients for hair dressing, facials and body treatment.

1. Fuel stations and vehicles garages: buyers of fuels, vehicle servicing and repairs.
2. Transporters (bus companies, tour companies, taxis, boda-boda): travellers.   
3. Schools: students and parents /guardians.
4. Celebrities (musicians, actors, MCs, DJs): their fans and those who hire them. 
5. Hospitals, clinics and pharmacies: patients, visitors, patient attendants. 
6. Others: (farmers, artisans, security companies, invent organizers, cake makers, decorators, etc.): people who buy and use their services.

OTHER CUSTOMERS (SECONDARY CUSTOMERS)

Your service providers are also customers: e.g. suppliers, banks, lawyers, doctors, security companies, consultants; government officials (e.g. NWSC, UMEME, URA and KCCA); the media; and the general public.

The staff of your business are also customers (internal customers). Once the staff do not like your products or services, they will not market them effectively.

Even if they (secondary customers) are not your main customers, your objective should be to turn them into primary customers (buyers of your goods or services). If you offer them good customer care, they may start buying from you or refer you to potential buyers.

CUSTOMER SERVICE RULES 

Customer service rules

Rule 1: A customer is always right.
Rule 2: If you think that the customer is wrong, always consult rule No 1.

A Customer is a king

“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work – he is the purpose of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to serve him.” By Mahatma Gandhi

CUSTOMER SERVICE STATEMENTS

 Why are you in business?

Example: To make money and profits. But you cannot make money when you are chasing away customers because of poor customer service.

What is your business’ customer service motto?

Example: “The customer is the reason we exist.”

What is your organisation’s customer service statement?

Example: We aim at giving excellent customer service. Once we offer good customer service, our customers will come back and buy from us.

LEVELS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

The customer service that you provide to your customers can be divided into levels.

• Bad or Poor Customer Service: Below expectations
• Average Customer Service: Not good, not bad; just average expectations
• Good Customer Service: Meeting customer expectations
• Very good, Great or Excellent: Exceeded customer expectations

All SMEs or business people should aim at giving excellent customer service. When you offer great customer service, customers get delighted, become happy, and end up becoming friends and promoters. But in case you fall short of the customer expectations, learn from your mistakes, aim for better performance next time.

SOME COMPLAINTS FROM CUSTOMERS OF SMES

Customers complain that the staff of some SMEs:

• Poor at customer service and customer care.
• Cheat customers by not supplying what they promise.
• Tell lies, are dishonest and offer inferior products or services under disguise.
• Once they get money from customers, they disappear and start giving stories.
• Overcharge customers and take advantage of customers’ ignorance.
• Are interested in customers’ money not future business relationships.
• Bosses or owners of businesses and their staff are rude and proud.
• Connive with thieves to steal customers’ items from vehicles or hotel rooms.
• Do not follow-up customers to ensure that customers are satisfied.

EXPERIENCES OF POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

There are some business owners who like cheating customers and they enjoy selling wrong items or poor quality. Some staff of businesses steal customers’ items left in shops or hotels. They also take advantage on the ignorance of the customer and overcharge customers, who may not know the best quality or price of the product or service.

How can a business person who depends on customers cheat them?. How can you knowingly sell something bad or of poor quality to your customers so that you get money while the customers lose?. Examples include selling faulty items, bad or spoiled food, damaged clothes, expired goods or putting dangerous chemicals in foods or drinks. This is very bad! Business people who are involved in these practices should stop, because soon they will lose business.

CUSTOMER SERVICE CASES

Case 1: A family may open up a small grocery shop and ask their son, daughter or relative to go to sell in the grocery (interact with customers) without training the person in customer service.

Case 2: An SME or company may recruit a new staff and ask the staff to serve customers as a sales person, front office agent or receptionist without training the person in customer service.

There are high chances that the new staffs will use home or school based communication skills in their new jobs, which are different from customer service skills. Some young people in businesses are very stubborn, rude and they abuse customers. They do not want to assist customers and others cheat them. They borrow such behaviors from their homes or schools. But these are not accepted in business places. Before communicating with customers, every person should be taught the DO’s and DON’Ts of customer service.

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE

1. If you offer good customer service and care for you customers, they will be happy with your services and continue buying from you.
2. Happy customers will tell other people about your business, products and good services.
3. Your happy customers will become your marketing agents and am­bassadors, friends and supporters.
4. Good customer service is an important business and marketing strategy that you can use to promote your business.

PROBLEMS OF POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

1. If your customer service is poor and you offer poor quality products and services, customers will run away from you.
2. If you and your staff are rude, tell lies and cheat customers or take advantage of their ignorance, soon customers will know the truth and become annoyed and unhappy about you.
3. Unhappy customers are dangerous people because, they will tell other people and start decampaigning your business and services.

DO’S OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

1. As you start talking to a customer (physically or on phone), please put on a SMILE, warm face and tone.
2. First ascertain the language that the customer is comfortable with, and then use it.
3. When talking to customers, speak clearly and do not rush. Give full attention to the customer.
4. Learn to listen to whatever the customer is telling you.
5. Portray the willingness to help the customer, this will please the customer.
6. Know your products or services. Customers trust people who are confident and know what they are selling.
7. When talking with customers, give your full attention to customers. Stop what you are doing and give full attention. Stop paperwork or anything you are doing.
8. For every customer you serve, please say “Thank You! All customers like these two words.

DON’TS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

1. If you are annoyed, stressed and or unhappy, never show it to the customers.
2. Do not look annoyed while talking to customers.
3. Never appear rude or gloomy on the face while communicating with customers.
4. Never abuse or back bite customers if they do not buy from you.
5. Never speak rudely to customers. Never quarrel with customers.
6. Never argue with your customers. Never neglect a customer.
7. Never offer poor quality products and services to your customers.
8. Never cheat customers or clients. When they get to know, they will tell others and they will stop coming to your shop or business.
9. Never tell lies or take advantage of customers.
10. Never continue eating or drinking something when talking to customers. A customer needs a listening ear.

BENEFITS OF GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE

1. Good customer service brings more customers, increases sales and profits.
2. Practicing good customer service reduces stress at work place.
3. Poor customer service can result in abuses by customers. If you quarrel with customers and get annoyed, then you become stressed and you can even fall sick.
4. Serving customers with a smile keeps you younger.
5. However serv­ing customers with a gloomy face and without a smile leads to early development of wrinkles and looking older.
6. Good customer service has healing, curative and therapeutically advantages.
7. Customer service improves staff interpersonal relationship thus creating harmony on work places.

HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH CUSTOMERS

1. Always listen to whatever your customer is saying and give appropriate feedback. This portrays a sign of willingness to help customers.
2. Always try to understand what the customer needs or wants. Do not impose your thoughts or ideas to customers.
3. Address your customers by their names or titles e.g. Mr., Mrs., Ms., Madam, Ma’am, Hon, Prof, Dr, Counsel, Eng., Pilot, Teacher, Bishop, Rev, Hajj, Hajjat, Pastor, Father, Sister, Brother, Uncle, Auntie and others. If you are not sure, please ask them politely.
4. Before you deploy your staff to interact with your customers, first train them in customer service skills. Most businesses are making a big mistake of allowing their staff to interact with their customers without first training them on communicate skills.

SMILE WHILE SERVING CUSTOMERS

• A smile is a tool that spices customer service.
• A smile is one of the most important customer service tools.
• A smile is a language that opens doors and communicates a good customer service tone.
• It communicates the following: Thank you for coming; I treasure you; I respect you; I am ready to serve you.
• “A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” Chinese Proverb
• “A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles”. William Hazlitt
• “Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl (gloomy face) and have wrinkles”. —George Eliot

TIPS ON HOW TO SMILE WHILE SERVING CUSTOMERS

• Before interacting with customers, prepare yourself and plan to put on a smile.
• Greet your customers with a smile. First impression with your customers is important.
• When interacting with customers, be warm and portray a ready attitude to help.
• Smile from the beginning to the end while serving customers.
• Practice how to smile because serving customers is like being on a stage or show.
• Keep the smile simple and do not exaggerate it.
• When speaking on phone, your tone should be clear and warm. The person you are talking to will receive the smile through your warm tone.
• Market your business using the smile.

LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

• Always listen to whatever your customers are saying and give appropriate feedback.
• Clarify on areas where they seem not to understand you.
• Don’t interrupt and get defensive while talking to customers.
• Just listen to them and reflect back on what they’re saying. This portrays a good sign of willingness to help a customer which eases communication.
• As a result, customers will pay attention to you and what you want to say and will be more willing to listen to you too or buy from you.

TIPS ON LISTENING SKILLS

• When listening to a customer, be attentive and give them a warm facial expression.
• Give customers all the information they need to make a decision on whether to buy or not. Never confuse customers so that they buy from you.
• While interacting with customers, don’t interrupt and impose your solutions to them.
• Be patient while attending to customers. Ask customers to explain what is not clear such that both of you understand each other.
• Never interrupt or finish a sentence for a customer. This might make them feel offended.
• Show empathy to customers and understand their point of view.
• Put yourself in the shoes of the customer. If you were the customer, how would you want to be treated?
• “We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.” By Diogenes

RESPONDING TO CUSTOMERS’ COMPLAINTS

• We live in a world of complaints because everyone is always looking for things to complain about. But complaints offer a good opportunity to improve service delivery. Customers have a right to express their views, so complaints should be welcomed.
• The customer may not always be right, but he or she has a right to complain. It is therefore how you handle the complaint that matters.
• Respect customers when they complain. They are helping you to improve.
• When customers are unhappy, they can abuse you or write something bad about you or your company. Do not respond to them in the same way. Your objective should be to sort out the case and turn the complaining customers into loyal or repeat customers.

TIPS ON HANDLING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

1. Listen attentively and encourage the customer to talk.
2. Do not be defensive or justify anything.
3. Apologize to the customer even when they may not be right.
4. Respond to complaints quickly and efficiently.
5. Ask the customer what you can do to solve the complaint.
6. It is a good practice to keep records of all customer complaints.
7. Endeavour to follow-up to ensure the customer is satisfied.
8. “When a customer complains, he is doing you a special favor; he is giving you another chance to serve him. The alternative was to desert you for a competitor.” Seymour Fine.
9. “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning’’ Bill Gates.

FOLLOW UP CUSTOMERS 

• Always follow customers to know whether they are satisfied or not.
• Follow-up is the act of bonding with your customers.
• Follow-up helps you to keep in direct contact with your customers.
• Use follow up opportunities to thank customers. It is always a good practice to thank your customers whenever you get an opportunity.
• You can thank them through a telephone call, face to face or email, etc.
• Always ask for feedback from your customers on whether they are satisfied or not and how you can improve your service.
• Customer follow-up results into customer satisfaction and loyalty.

SHOW RESPECT TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

• A customer is the king and is always right. Customers want to be treated with respect.
• Tell customers that you respect their views and choices.
• Tell customers how important they are to your business.
• Show respect to every customer, no matter their age, gender, race, ethnicity or position.
• Always listen to customers, a good sign that you respect them.
• Recognize your customers whenever you get an opportunity. Address them by name and title if you can.
• Be nice and bring happiness to customers. It shows respect.
• Customers should always be given chance to make their own choices. It shows respect.
• Fulfill what you promise to customers. It is a good sign of respect.

GREET CUSTOMERS APPROPRIATELY

• First impression while greeting is an important aspect in customer service.
• People have a tendency to form a positive or negative perception of others during a greeting exercise.
• Put on a smile before greeting customers and show a positive attitude.
• Always make eye contact to your customers. Good eye contact communicates that you are focused and ready to help.
• Make sure your voice creates the perception of intelligence, re­sponsibility and capability to offer a service.
• Be responsive to customers, acknowledge and value their time when serving them.
• Identify yourself with a nametag or identity card where possible. This will depict seriousness and make it easy for customers to identify and trust you.

BE COURTEOUS AND FRIENDLY TO CUSTOMERS

• In today’s competitive environment, your customers should be treated with courtesy.
• This will build customer relationships with your business. Customers will start telling others to buy from you.
• Give a friendly image to customers when they arrive to your business.
• When interacting with your customers, always project a tone of readiness to help them.
• Actively listen to what the customer wants before you respond.
• Empathize and be attentive to customers.
• You can ask if there is anything in addition you can assist with.
• Show gratitude for the customer’s support towards your service.

BE RELIABLE AND KEEP YOUR PROMISE

• Every business person should try to be reliable and keep his or her word and promise.
• When you cannot keep your word, customers will not trust you.
• As a result, your image and that of your business will go down.
• Customers will start dodging and shunning away from you.
• Be honest with customers. Some owners and staff of SMEs are dishonest. Some connive with thieves to cheat customers.
• Never tell lies to customers, they will lose trust in you when they discover the truth.
• Fulfill customer tasks in time. Customers are always impatient.
• Keep time when you have an appointment with a customer.

APPRECIATE POSITIVE CRITICISM FROM CUSTOMERS

• When faced with criticism from customers, never be annoyed and do not take it personally because they are telling you how you should serve them.
• Be positive and always accept constructive criticism from customers.
• Be open to learn from criticisms.
• Never be defensive when faced with criticism.
• Always be objective to constructive criticism.
• Avoid personal attacks, insults and hostile language when you receive constructive criticism.

EFFECTIVE TELEPHONE AND EMAIL SKILLS

• Before you continue the conversation, get to know the caller.
• When you receive business calls, respond for example as follows; “Thank you for ringing “ABC Company”, “Jane” speaking, how may I help you”?
• Put on a smile, stop what you are doing and concentrate on the call.
• Pay attention to every caller and do not let your mind wander away.
• When talking on phone, always identify customer needs.
• Give full attention to the caller and project “Ready to help” ‘tone.
• Control the conversation, so that it doesn’t drag on needlessly.
• Do not dominate the conversation with customers.
• After the telephone conversation, always thank the customer.

QUOTES ON RESPECT TO CUSTOMERS

“You must never cheat the customer. You must make the customer happy and satisfied, so that she/he will come back” Alexander Turney Stewart, Business Magnate

“Ask your customers to be part of the solution, and don’t view them as part of the problem.” Alan Weiss, Author “Million Dollar Consulting”

“Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement’’ JC Penny

“It is not your customer’s job to remember you, it is your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don’t have the chance to forget you.”  Patricia Fripp, Professional Keynote Speaker 

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job to make the customer experience a little bit better.”  Jeff Bezos, Founder Amazon