Customer service is about so much more than merely delivering a product or service. It is in fact reflected in every single interaction you have with your customers.
How you and your team members are behaving when you think no one is really watching, could in fact be driving potential customers away.
Consider the example of your company driver:
1. Your brand reputation
- What stories is he or she sharing when talking to friends and family?
- Are they creating a negative perception of how things operate internally to your business and how you treat your employees?
Although your product may still be a good one and although some of these stories may be very one-sided, exaggerated or originating from inaccurate perceptions, you run the risk that they may cause potential customers to turn away from even considering dealing with your business.
2. First impressions last
- Is his or her vehicle kept in a clean state and good condition?
- Is the branding on the vehicle easy to read and the contact information on it correct?
- Is it easy to deduce what type of business your company is in?
You may be missing out on valuable business opportunities if people cannot figure out what your business is about or are unable to make contact with you, based on the branding on your company vehicles.
Not to mention that some customers can be put off forever if they see that you are transporting their order in a dirty truck. A vehicle that appears to be unreliable may make them think twice about whether they should trust your reliability.
3. Actions speak louder than words
- What impression will potential customers have of your business from the first interaction they have with your driver?
- As he drives past many potential customers – is he adhering to the law or is he putting other people’s lives in danger?
Again, although your end product may be an excellent one, you run the risk of potential customers refusing to consider you for business based on the fact that your driver once put their lives in danger and as a result they spread their negative perceptions of your company to other potential customers as well.
Prevention is better than cure
We have all heard this saying and it rings especially true in customer service. Your driver moves around outside on the road.
He or she interacts with customers on every delivery and therefore has the opportunity to identify and report on potential customer service issues often long before things spiral out of control.
Not to mention that he or she is also driving past potential customers on a daily basis and could offer valuable market related information.
We have only considered the example of your company driver above, but similar examples can be drawn for almost every position in your company.
Every employee, no matter their role, can impact on customer service and it is critical that your employees are aware of this and support the overall business effort to maintain and continuously improve the level of customer service you provide.
Make sure that each employee is aware of their responsibility and potential impact. Sales and marketing, branding and customer service should no longer be the responsibility of just one or two specific departments in your company.
Are your employees driving your customers away?