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	How To Improve Customer Service
	Article 2: Take Responsibility Excellent customer service doesn’t just happen. You as the business owner must make it happen. In other words, you are responsible, not your employees. Poor customer service “is always the owner’s fault because he hired the wrong people, didn’t train them right, didn’t give them the tools they needed, failed to reward great customer service and so on,” remarks Texas restaurateur and consultant T. Scott Gross, whose book, “Positively Outrageous Service” (Kaplan Business, 2004), is in its second edition. “If you don’t like the way things are going, look in the mirror.” Providing excellent customer service sounds easy: It’s mostly just good manners and common sense. But doing it consistently, even on a hectic day, even when you are short-staffed, even when everything has gone wrong, is a continual challenge. “It’s not an innate skill, but a life skill that has to be taught,” says Jennifer Kalita, principal consultant with the Kalita Group in Washington, D.C., which works with entrepreneurial companies. For that reason, “Getting people into the habit often means changing attitudes and behaviors they’ve been using for a long time,” adds Karen Leland, co-author of “Customer Service for Dummies” (For Dummies, 1999). It’s not easy, and it needs continual reinforcement. As the owner, you set the tone and standards. No matter their training, employees follow your lead. If you are short with a customer who is rude to you, your employees will do the same. If you keep a customer waiting, so will your employees. Your commitment and personal example is therefore vital.