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How To Improve Customer Service
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Article 4: Catch Them Doing Right
It’s just human nature that people like to be recognized for their accomplishments. Employees will turn metaphorical somersaults when you publicly praise them for providing excellent customer service.
Conversely, no one likes to be criticized, and fear of censure is a poor long-term motivator.
This writer once worked for an employer who believed that paychecks were the only reward needed for employees who performed jobs well. Staff morale was low and employee turnover was one-third a year. Hiring and training costs for new employees were astronomical. Perhaps not surprisingly, that company is out of business.
Catch your employees, then, doing the right thing for service and reward them in front of everyone. They will repeat their good performance—and customers will benefit.
That applies double if you know a particular employee is going through a rough patch—a child is sick, he’s getting a divorce, she’s caring for an elderly parent—and still manages to provide excellent service.
Rewards don’t have to be expensive, but do build them into your budget. Give a dinner for two at a local restaurant, a gift certificate at the nearby bookstore or tickets to the basketball game.
Incentives can even be free. Put positive customer comments on the bulletin board for everyone to see. Praise a person’s specific actions at a staff meeting. Give the employee of the month a prime parking spot.
Says Karen Leland, co-author of “Customer Service for Dummies” (For Dummies, 1999). “What gets recognized and rewarded is what gets done.”
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