Being customer focused is one of the main keys to building customer loyalty, this is not the job of just one person but everyone in your company. Are you hiring people with a customer service attitude in all positions?
Doing business in what is now a global economy may have its benefits, but there are just as many challenges. For one thing, whatever you sell – motel rooms, hot sauce, paperclips, or life insurance policies – you have more competition now than ever before. Customers can choose to by real Egyptian cotton bath towels from Egyptians in Egypt without paying extra. They can find an auto insurance policy online that will beat the price of the local agent, hands down. If you want to compete in this buyer’s market, you must have one of two things in order to stay afloat. You must either produce the world’s best widget, or you must supply the best customer service available today. Most of us want the first, but aim for the more achievable second.
The truth is our customers can find what they want in a heartbeat online. What they cannot always get online is personalized customer service. You, as business leader are totally committed to customer service, but you may be less confident in the efforts of your employees. Yes, You’ve trained them, but training, like juggling, involves constant attention and effort. How can you be certain that your people are customer service superstars? It begins long before the training starts.
Not all applicants have what it takes to be thoroughly attuned to customer service. As a matter of fact, employees with a genuine customer service attitude can be difficult to find. Like panning for gold, you must sift through a lot of rocks before you find a nugget of value.
Some attributes common to customer service superstars are these:
- Outgoing personality
- Good listening skills
- Empathy
- Pays attention to detail
- Demonstrates problem solving skills
- Has a positive attitude
- Enjoys new challenges
When you spot these qualities in an applicant, you may think you’ve scored. You should be aware, though, that there’s much more to matching the applicant to the job.
According to the well-researched e-book Hiring Talented Team Players, A Guide to Getting it Right, there is a science around finding the applicant best suited to any job you have to offer. Each of us fits, more or less, into one of four personality quadrants with its own set of special attributes. By understanding the differences in personality types and matching them to the job at hand you, and your potential hires, can save time, money, and frustration by avoiding costly bad hires in the first place. Consider testing your pool of applicants using the ideas and procedures in this book.
Once you’ve applied the science and have a pool of customer service experts to consider, move the interview process outside the box. In the typical interview setting, it is difficult to observe and assess the abilities of a customer service professional. You want watch him as he interacts with others. A good place to do this is at the local lunch counter. Watch as he communicates with the server. Does he engage her/him? Does he make eye contact with others? Notice if he is observant….does he read the name tag and then call the waiter by name? These small details can make all the difference in the business of making your customers happy.
Just a bit further outside the box is the early morning (say, six or six-thirty,) interview. The concept of performing at a level above beyond what is usual is an important one in customer service jobs. This is a great final hurdle in the interview and testing process and can serve to set the right team member apart from others.
Your customers get to make choices. They can choose to buy from countless thousands of widget makers the world over. If you want to win their business, you must win the customer service battle. That can only accomplished by good hiring practices and thorough training.
- Doug Myrick
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