Why Do Companies Make Customer Service So Complicated

By: Vic Pichette owner of Eye on Success, a customer service consulting agency located in Rhode Island.

I like to take a few minutes to talk about some of my recent customer service issues that I’ve been involved with. I hope that someone who works with customers reads this and understands that this is not acceptable.

I am a huge fan of bold flavored coffee, and I really like this one national coffee chains coffee. The problem is their customer service is absolutely horrific. I have called the company several times and tried to find out if there was somebody I could talk to about helping resolve some of their customer service issues, but so far no one is interested. Let me tell you what I am talking about.

On two occasions during the same week I pulled up to this locations drive through. There was one car in front of me and one car parked outside. There were approximately 4 people inside working. The car in front of me ordered his drink, and I proceeded to order my medium regular coffee cream only. Let me make another note about this company. If you say the word medium coffee and not the ridiculous word that they use, they will correct you, which I find really disturbing that the actually take the time to correct you.

The car front of me moved up the line to the window, and we both waited approximately 7 minutes for him to get his coffee. If thats not long enough, when I got to the window my coffee wasn’t ready. I had to wait another minute or two to get my coffee. They ended up giving me and the person in front of me our coffees for free because it took so long.

I have no idea why it took so long, I have no idea what the person in front of me ordered, but it took almost nine minutes to get a coffee. This has actually happened to me on two different occasions during the same week.

So there is one simple and basic question that I as a customer need answered. Please tell me what was going on inside that coffee shop that could possibly take this long? Was it because they were brewing a new pot of coffee? Was it because they were really busy inside? What was the reason that it took that long that they had to give us free coffees?

Let’s take a look at the possible reasons and see if we can come up with a solution. If it was because they were brewing a new pot of coffee, they should’ve said to me and the customer front of me this very simple line. “Im sorry it’s going to take a few minutes were in the middle of brewing a new pot of coffee, would you like to wait or would you like something else?” How difficult would it be to say this? Instead they made us wait almost nine minutes for coffee, and then end up giving us our order for free.

On several other occasions when I went inside to get a coffee and I have been the only person in line, it can take you anywhere between four and six minutes to get your coffee.

While I’m on my high horse, let me tell you about one of my biggest pet peeves.
This applies to all companies that deal with customers directly. If you have customers in a line waiting and you have an employee whose cleaning, training, or doing something other than helping the customer, that employee immediately needs to drop what they’re doing and assist in getting the customers through the line quickly. Banks are famous for this. I guarantee if you do this, your customers will appreciate it big time. And once the rush is over, you can get back to doing what you doing. This is a very simple concept, but hardly ever done.

Getting back to my coffee shop experience. I am honestly concerned about this company survivability long term if they do not start taking customer service seriously, especially when their biggest competitor is extremely concerned about getting the customers out quickly. I believe that this is or will affect their bottom line. Quite frankly if I’m complaining, then many others are complaining about the same problems.

I tried contacting the regional manager, and told her that I would be very happy to do a free video shop so that they can see and hear everything that I see and hear when I purchase products. To date, I’ve gotten no reply.

A new way to save money on your new cell phone and wireless plan

A new way to save money on your new cell phone and wireless plan.

At a time in our lives where the cost of everything we purchase seems to go up every day, I’m here to talk about one area that you can actually save money on an item that we all use every day. Our cell phone and cell phone plan.

When looking for a phone, there are a few things that people are looking for…..

1. Price – Just like everything else we buy, price is king.
2. Coverage – Having a great cellphone is worthless unless you have service where you live.
3. Features – These days, cell phones are used just for talking on. Things like email, internet and texting has changed the way we use our phones.
4. Customer Service – Is someone going to be there to help when problems come up?

What if I could provide you with a place that not only gives you options to select what carrier you want, choose from the newest phones from those carriers and have full support from the carriers, but at a cost much lower than going to your local mall kiosk or directly to the carrier’s own stores.

Here’s how it works.

I run a website called MedCity Wireless. We are a reseller for all the major carriers and carry all the latest phones and tablets on the market today. But the biggest difference, is that we are an “online only” store. So I don’t have the overhead required to open a traditional store, or pay rental fees for a kiosk in the middle of the local shopping mall. That, in addition to the high volumes that we do, allows us to dramatically cut the prices on the phone. A lot of times, making the phones free!

And since we are an official reseller for the main carriers, you still get the great coverage and great service that you would get if you got it straight from the carrier. Your initial sale goes through us, but your service and monthly bill comes straight from them.

My own family was looking to upgrade recently, and of course I purchased them through MedCity Wireless, but I did a lot of research first. This is what we ended up getting……

We were able to get 3 high-end Android phones and 1 “slide” texting phone for $99.99. The same phones, from the same carrier that wanted to charge us $349.96 for them when we walked into the local retail shop.

So, come take a look around. I urge you to compare the prices to your local mall kiosk or retail store. I think you’ll quickly realize that MedCity Wireless is the new way to buy/upgrade your cellphone and cellphone service.

Vend The Only POS System Retail Stores Need to Use

Vend is a simple, yet comprehensive point of sale system that helps retailers attract and keep customers. It works on iPad, Mac and PC online and offline. You can use it to sell in-store and over the web, and with Vends Ecommerce tools, setting up an online store will only take minutes. Vend connects to all the latest retail pos hardware, including receipt printers, cash drawers and barcode scanners. You can also incorporate all of your business operations into one account, giving you total control over your retail business.

You can use Vend to fulfil orders, manage your inventory and analyze customer profiles. It makes every stage of the selling process fast and easy, which will keep customers returning to your store. The retail technology accepts any type of payment, including cash, checks, and gift cards. You can also accept credit and debit cards and mobile payments from leading global providers, such as PayPal and iZettle. Vend allows customers to pay deposits, make partial payments or pay on account giving you total flexibility in how you choose to sell.

Because Vend is cloud-based pos software, it is fully mobile. You can use it on the shop floor, allowing customers to avoid the queues, or even go outside of the shop to find new customers and markets. This enables you to take a personal approach to customer service, creating an environment that is conducive to engaging with individual customers.

You can also use Vend to create your own customer loyalty program. Because Vend gives you full control and flexibility, you can choose how many loyalty points to award and what incentives to offer. You can create customer groups with exclusive promotions and discounts and use groups to manage employee privileges. Vend allows you to manage all of your customers on a central database, whether they purchase online or in-store.

Product management is quick and hassle-free with Vend. You can organize your catalogue however you choose: group products by color, size or type, group into bundles or split into units. It allows you to perform bulk operations like import and export, saving you time. Adding cost and retail prices, tags and discounts is easy and you can scan existing barcodes or print new ones to speed up the checkout process.

Since Vend is cloud-based, tracking your inventory is no problem. You and your staff can see what is in stock at any given time, even across a number of stores, allowing you to deliver supreme customer service.

Vend Reporting provides you with the analytical tools needed to manage your business. You can access accurate views of sales and product performance at any time, identify trends and pinpoint areas you need to improve. Your data is always safe, secure and available whenever you want. You can also use a variety of add-ons to help you expand and improve your business. Vend offers 24-hour customer support, meaning you can rely on it to provide you with everything you need to stay in control.

Why An All Round Cleaning Company Will Be Better Than A More General One

What does your cleaning company do? Now that might sound like a bizarre question surely cleaning companies clean, dont they?

Well yes they do, but the ones which provide the best services do far more than just clean. Thats why it pays to think about the company you are using to see if you have enlisted the help of the right one for you.

If your current cleaning needs are quite basic, you might be wondering why you should even be considering hiring alternative commercial cleaners instead. The reason is simple. Every business changes and grows over time, and what is adequate for your needs now may not be right in just a few weeks or months from now.

There is also the question of services that you might only need from time to time. Lets say you have a need to move offices for example. Even if you are only moving to different offices in the same block you are in now, it isnt a simple process.

There will be furniture to move, boxes to pack and then unpack at the other end, and cleaning to do when you leave your old premises behind. There might possibly even be cleaning that needs to be done before you can move in to your new location.

Could your current office cleaners achieve all that for you?

The chances are they wouldnt. That means you would have to put in the effort to find and shortlist a number of new and unknown companies long before the move itself takes place. You would then have to decide who to opt for and get to know them to a certain extent before the big move took place.

Can you see how awkward this could be? Wouldnt it be so much easier if you could simply get in touch with your contact at your existing cleaning company to ask them to give you a hand?

An all round cleaning company would be able to do this quite easily. They would have the resources, the staff and the experience to organise such a move and handle all the cleaning as well.

You can probably see that with a moving company and a cleaning company involved, you would have staff from separate companies tripping over themselves to try and get the job done. Whereas if you only rely on the one company that you know and you are familiar with, you can rest assured that everything will go smoothly.

There is no doubt that a versatile company has many more benefits than one which concentrates only on cleaning. You can probably think of many other things right now that could be done by just the one all round company. Wouldnt it be easier if you had one point of contact instead of several at a number of different companies?

So if you are thinking of changing companies in the near future, bear in mind what an all round cleaning outfit can do for you.

The Many Uses of Call Centers

Call centers are the kind of business that tend to get placed into very narrow categories. However, these versatile service providers actually offer a wide gamut of options including those of an answering service, appointment setting, virtual assistant, call forwarding and inbound/outbound calling options. Telemarketing is no longer the sole focus of call centers. Instead, the answering service model has moved away from its origins enough to make them a more comprehensive and multipurpose provider. Businesses that need call center support can now find all of the options they may require under one very convenient banner. Let us take a look at some of the services that todays call centers commonly offer.

Answering service The answering service is one of the most convenient offerings with which modern call centers have come up. Businesses tend to hire call centers to take over the answering of their phones after hours or during heavy traffic periods. The overflow calls will be redirected to the call center, where the agents will respond using the companys name and will be able to either direct calls to the proper department or person. In some cases the agents are trained to provide customer support services.

Virtual Assistant The virtual assistant is a practical service that can help small businesses or executives who travel a lot to stay organised. The virtual assistant will take appointments, field calls and even do light administrative work depending on the kind of contract that is signed with the call center. Virtual assistants will also send faxes and take care of sending out mail and packages by courier when executives are on the road and need help in a pinch. Generally, the company must have an account with the call center in another city in order to be able to use the virtual assistant service while travelling.

Inbound calls Answering in-bound sales calls means that a call center agent will take calls directed to a business. The agent will be trained to answer client queries and give them more information on the product or service that they desire. In some instances agents will be able to set meetings with sales people and the client so that the sales team can close the deal. Generally, inbound calls are the result of a customers interest in the business, product or service being offered.

Outbound calling Outbound calling is the most reminiscent of the telemarketing model of yesteryear. However, there is a significant difference todays outbound calls are placed to customers who have expressed an interest in the product or service. Through some action taken on their part whether it was filling out a flyer for more information, entering a contest, signing up online or purchasing a product or service from the company in question during the last 18 months.

Lead generation Possibly the most important service offered by call centers is that lead generation. What this means is that agents talk to the customer they call to assess their interest in the product or service being sold and find out what they want. Using the information gathered during this process, companies can better tailor their products to please their customers.

Call centers have come a long way over the last few years and they are far more useful and productive today than they have ever been.

Building Real Customer Relationships with Custom Social Network Sites

Many decry the loss of community, suggesting we’ve all lost touch with each other in a world of cell phones, video games, and other electronically based distractions; in reality, though, community is more important now than ever. People still seek the security and understanding inherent in close communities. What has changed is the appearance: instead of reaching out over the fence or sitting around a table, we reach out over continents and time zones. Our “neighbors” may be a world away, but the concept of community is still strong as evidenced by the rise of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Instead of being connected by geography, millions are linked by interests, profession, and other defining factors.

Social Networks Are Less Confining Than Ever

The social networking site phenomenon also extends to businesses and marketing, specifically how businesses can build their brand without selling. These sites, which have been used with tremendous success, are based on a small business model. Small businesses typically cannot afford expensive television ads and aggressive marketing campaigns. Instead, they rely on word of mouth, repeat customers, customer referrals, and the like. Custom social networking sites do much the same thing for businesses of any size and have become one of the most effective brand marketing tools in the industry.

Why Custom Social Networking?

The goal of custom SNS is to build relationships. While it is true that the ultimate goal of any business is to sell a product or service, the objective of unique social networks is to establish a relationship between customers and the brand, and even between customer and customer. In other words, the goal here is not to sell. Through a custom social network, a company appeals to the sense of community that may tie their target audience together. By taking their interests to heart and by providing a resource through which consumers may communicate, a relationship – and trust – is founded. A by-product of that trust is sales. But again, the key to efficacy is focusing on community, not selling.

Existing social networks have been used by companies, especially nonprofits, to reach out to targeted consumer bases. A nonprofit, for instance, may have a profile on a popular SNS in order to encourage volunteers, raise support for a particular cause, or raise funds. The difference is that custom SNS are built by an organization specifically for the purpose of allowing their targeted audiences to communicate. These SNS are designed for a particular organization based on key factors, such as profession, age, or shared interests. Developing a successful unique social network is predicated upon knowing your audience, being willing to know them further, and motivating them to share their thoughts, feelings, and opinions.

What do custom social networking sites allow consumers to do? It, of course, depends on the site, but they should allow individuals to post text, images, audio, video, join existing communities on the site, and create their own. They should be designed around the organization’s particular niche, and above all, should be audience-based. To do this, various options are available, including wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, polls, ratings, forums, widgets, chat, message boards, friendly interface, and much more. To develop the most user-friendly, interactive, and effective SNS, it is crucial that consumers have access to the tools they want and need. They need to both be able to take from the site and to give back to it. This is the essence of community.

The advantages of developing a custom social networking site are myriad but the key benefit is that businesses can reach out the community in a way that allows the community to reach back. A relationship is developed, and the trust that we normally see with neighborhood mom and pops can be built by Fortune 500 companies or small start-ups.

The concept of community is fundamentally unchanged. We still search for connections – though those connections may be thousands of miles away. Building a brand through custom social networks benefits both the organization and the consumer because all are given a place and a voice. A faceless company can no longer expect to thrive in today’s business atmosphere; by creating a unique SNS, you give your organization – and your consumers – a face.

Online car servicing market in UK

Its not just car insurance and road tax that motorists buy online nowadays, but car service too because of ease and savings that comes with it.

Many are happy online car servicing fits around their lifestyle and they dont have to make multiple trips to different garages and main dealers to get the best price for their car service. Motorists also dont have to drop their car off to get their car to it serviced itself. Free collection and delivery of the vehicle is offered on the day of the car service, giving customers huge convenience. Indeed motorists in the UK are gradually starting to book their car service online.

Evolution:
The “Block Exemption” Law which came in to force in 2003 had a big impact on the Automobile Aftermarket Industry. Ever since, car owners have been able to have their vehicles serviced and repaired by independent garages without affecting the cars warranty. When servicing a vehicle, the cars warranty isnt affected providing the parts used match the original manufactures specification and the manufacturer’s service schedule is followed. Companies like Servicing Stop, having over 1000 independent garages on their network have benefited from new rules following the Block Exemption. Now, car manufacturers are required to provide technical information to independent garages as they do for their franchise dealers already. Companies like Servicing Stop use advance internet technology to deliver top class customer service. Customers can easily book their car service though user friendly websites. Quotes specific to each model will be shown beforehand.

Significance:
Many consumers were discouraged by the considerable costs of having a car service through a franchised dealer. Customers did this without knowing that reputable independent serving centres can deliver the same or a better service at a fraction of the cost. UK motorists are already using sophisticated online booking systems to book their car service online.

Types:
There are many different types of online car servicing networks. Some may give the details of the local garage which then requires the customer to take their car to the respective garage. The parts needed for car servicing are delivered to the garage directly. The other type of service is that of companies providing free delivery and collection from either the customers home or office. All contact and issues would go through the car servicing company. Many would find the second type most convenient and hassle free.

Considerations:
Cars are complex machines both mechanically and electronically, therefore specific manufactures documentation is needed a lot of the times. Settings that apply to particular models wont necessarily apply to other models. The garages in the network must be able to easily obtain model specific technical information in order to complete all the jobs correctly. Under the current regulations car manufacturers are not permitted to restrict access to information necessary to allow independent garages to repair the vehicle.

Are You Boring Your Customers

The business world is changing and your company must catch up. Consumers are driving the quest for information and personality. Customers are demanding to trade their hard earned cash for prompt, reliable, trust worthy and friendly services. Clients yearn for the days when a company took care of them.

Is your company doing all it can to establish a regular, consistent, focused, friendly relationship with each and every customer? Are you delivering powerful content and information to your clients? Are you providing answers to their concerns and questions before they have to ask? Are you doing all of this through old-fashioned, out-dated and ineffective marketing techniques?

Forget about the postcards that remind your customers to get their oil changed or the weekly sales circular. That is not innovation. In today’s business world those techniques are considered par. Your company should be doing something similar already.

However, your company needs an innovative, never-ending marketing campaign that leverages your database to its fullest potential. Your company needs to become the leader in your field; you must set yourself apart from all the others. You must put your company in front of your customer’s eyes every single chance you get. Your company must thrive on customer service and attention.

Your client sees your competitors every single day. They get the same sales letter from 15 different stores. They hear the same jingles and the same promises. In fact, your clients are getting tired of it. Your marketing campaign could be back firing on you! Think about it. You could be losing money because you current marketing campaign is stale and boring. It’s nothing special or spectacular. Are you spending tons of money just to be average?

Your company needs a fresh customer service campaign that delivers new and repeat business. It needs to be a lead generating machine and it needs to educate your current customers about your company and your services. You do not need to pay thousands of dollars to do this. You do not need to hire the world’s foremost marketing firms and you certainly do not need to spend all of your time creating new ideas.

It’s time businesses realize what their customers really want. They want honest answers from you. They want you to solve their problem. They want you to be the expert in your field. They want to trust you. They want to know that you have their best interest in mind and will do whatever it takes to make them happy.

The most successful businesses are taking advantage of the Internet revolution. They are building content focused websites for their current company, or they are starting brand new companies to fill a current market void.

You can create a targeted, lead generating, consumer focused website that delivers the goods for less than the cost of one yellow pages ad. These days you do not even have to learn HTML or some other seemingly foreign language. The web is exploding with do-it-yourself websites. The trick is finding one the produces results for your company.

Skye Bank Customer Alert – Beware Of Hackers

One of the features of online/Mobile banking is SMS banking services which are operated using both push and pull messages. Push messages are those that the bank chooses to send out to a customer’s mobile phone without the customer initiating a request for the information. For example push messages could be either Mobile marketing messages or messages alerting an event which happens in the customer’s bank account, such as a withdrawal of funds from the ATM or a payment using the customer’s credit card, etc.

Pull messages are those that are initiated by the customer, using a mobile phone, for obtaining information or performing a transaction in the bank account. Examples of pull messages for information include an account balance enquiry, or requests for current information like currency exchange rates and deposit interest rates, as published and updated by the bank.

The bank’s customer is empowered with the capability to select the list of activities (or alerts) that he/she needs to be informed. This functionality to choose activities can be done either by integrating to the internet banking channel or through the bank’s customer service call centre.
It is however sad to note that fraudsters and internet hackers have capitalized on this laudable innovation to rip people off their money. So it is important that as a bank account holder or intending holder you should be aware of this trend and choose the right bank to bank with where your money will be properly secured through adequate online security tips.

Skye bank as a customer friendly bank knows about the activities of these fraudstars and has developed security measures to protect its customers finances. If you are a Skye bank account holder, you might receive emails that seem to emanate from the bank.The mail might even carry the names of Skye bank top Management staff or Director. Some of them may require you to send in information on your Bank details, Pin codes and even your personal information as contained in the bank’s database of you. They might also claim to have access to large sums of ($)US dollars for you domiciled with the bank. Please note that these are scam mails and you should be very careful to avoid being a victim to fraudsters.

As part of its commitment to online security, Skye bank has developed some security tips for all its customers to recognize when they receive emails or letters from potential fraudsters.

Please note that Skye Bank would never ask you to disclose your account number or Pin code on the internet. Also Skye Bank would never ask you to disclose personal information on the internet.

You should also note that Skye Bank site would always carry a security certificate which would be visible on access to the bank’s site and be sure that the site you are on is a genuine Skye Bank site.

In addition Customers should not open attachments or follow Web links in unsolicited emails from unknown parties or from parties with whom you do not normally communicate, or that appear to be known but are suspicious or otherwise unusual.

The official Skye Bank web address is www.skyebankng.com. If you are still in doubt, please get in touch with your nearest branch or call us on (000 234 1) 8531655, 8948103, 07028390633-5

What To Do When The Customer Says Can I Try it for a Few Days

Can I Take This Home For A few Days And Try It?”

“What If I Take It Home And Dont Like It?”

Have you ever had those questions?

Heres why the answers to these questions are so important. When the questions are asked, your answer makes or breaks the sale. Almost every time.

When the customer asks if they can take the product home for a few days to try it, they are asking for a few reasons; Lets say you sell vacuum cleaners; They may want to simply use your machine & bring it back without paying anything (Im sure this is the rarest case), they may want to be sure it will work for them at home the same as it does here, or they may simply want to defer making a decision. This question is usually asked if they want to take home the product without paying for it first.

When the customer asks if they can return it if they dont like it, they have generally seen and tried out the product in your store. They usually ask this question if they are paying up front for the product.

Have you seen ads in the Newspaper and Magazines that say “Try Free For 30 Days”?

Do you know why they make that offer? Because it works. It generates more sales than it generates returns. But the BIG reason the “Free Trial” is used is that the customer cant see the product. They cant touch and try out the product before they buy. If theres no “free look” the customer usually wont buy. In these cases the buyer has paid up front for the product. But the offer is “Risk Free”. Meaning, a refund is easily obtained.

In a retail store, they can see, feel, try out, & test the product to their hearts content.

In our store, when a customer asks if they can return it if they dont like it (this is on non-returnable products), I ask “If it works as well at home as it works here, will you be happy with it?”

The answer is invariably “Yes”. I say “Thats why we have a warranty, If the vacuum cleaner (or whatever) doesnt work as well as it does here, were here to service it so that it does. Fair enough?”

The answer is almost always “yes”. Had I just said “No, you cant take it home and try it”, any reason I gave would have sounded bad to the customer.

On vacuum cleaners that we will let them take home and bring back (just one brand), we say “Well do better than a few days. Well give you a full two weeks to use it in your home. If you dont like it for any reason, well exchange or give you a refund. Your choice. Fair enough?”

Why do I give two weeks, when they only asked for a few days? Because they are far more likely to keep the product if they dont feel the daily pressure to make a decision. Giving 30 days is equally valuable.

We wont let the customer “Borrow” a vacuum cleaner to use in their home. We have heard from several retailers that swear that they make sales by letting customers “try out” the vacuum cleaner before money changes hands. My thought is that the people who bought would have paid up front if asked.