In this new age of customer service, there are those who argue that canned “scripts” are the direct opposite of great service.   Customer service should be a conversation instead of a cold, formal and lifeless play on words.

So, one ask, how is Customer Service and Supply Chain intertwined.  With customer service the aspiration is to stand out from the crowd – surpass the competition and become indispensable.

This is where flexible responses can be quite useful.  These responses allow the customer service representatives to have an idea of what to say to customers but also allow for flexibility to adapt and add their own personality to the conversation.

The idea of customer service can be quite reassuring for those companies whose goal is to create an excellent customer service experience.   This works providing a firm understands one crucial element – standard customer service practice is not right for every customer.

Customer Service Best Practices need to be tailored to each customer’s precise needs or situation.  Let’s have a little fun now. Below are several Customer Service Practices that will most certainly drive customers and potential customers right into the arms of your competition:

1. Failure to hire employees with the correct persona. Not everyone is cut out to work face-to-face with the customer.  There are five (5) words that help define the modern customer service department – sincerity, understanding, care, cooperation and cheerfulness.
2. The thought process that customer service training is ‘One Day and Over’. Yes, a strong orientation training process is important but a company needs to commit to ongoing customer service training.
3. The failure to devote the time, effort and flexibility to see the situation from the customer’s point of view. For instance; park where the customer’s park, use the customer entrance, telephone on the customer service line and use the same e-commerce website customers engage in.   Do this and you will learn about any company problem as opposed to reading the reviews on Yelp.
4. The language barrier. It could mean two things – require a translator or language miscues.   Verbal communication needs to be gentle, kind and brand suitable….never showing your back to a customer.
5. Failure to be realistic with time. Being insensitive to your customer’s perception of time.  Bear in mind this customer service motto: a perfect product, delivered late, is a defect.
6. Meaning of money. Money means different things to each customer.  Money can mean different things to the same customer, depending on the situation.  A firm must adjust their way of thinking of money to match the particular customer’s version of money.
7. Discrimination through channels, such as gift cards that only work on the website, items that cannot be returned via UPS or FedEx but only by the customer going to the brick and mortar storefront.
8. Not realizing that customer service and your company’s reputation starts before they engage on your website or come to the establishment.

To combat these poor customer service practices good systems need to be in place.  Below you will find a few examples of these good systems that will engage your customers as opposed to losing them:

1. If you don’t know the answers say so. But say so like this – Great question, let me find out for you right now.
2. If an item is not available. To me merely say an item is unavailable at this time does not solve the customer situation or put them at ease that all is being done to meet their needs.  Instead, this is the context I would use – the product won’t be available till next month, but I can place the order for you now and ensure it is sent to you as soon as it arrives at our facility.
3. Having received a defective product is very disconcerting to a customer. Even more so is how the situation is handled.  This is where understanding, care and cheerfulness come into play.  Explain that there was a slight mistake in the manufacturing process or it was damaged in the shipping process and then offer to send a brand new product out to the customer immediately.

No doubt it is hard to arrive at a solid customer service process or processes.  Even when you think it is accomplished and things were handled flawlessly, some people simply do not want to be conciliatory.

But, never, never stop you from putting forth the best effort.

Stuart Rosenberg – sturosenberg24@gmail.com

Stuart Rosenberg is an accomplished Supply Chain Management and Operations professional with a number of years experience using outstanding communication and leadership skills to coach, mentor and motivate varied professionals in challenging environments.  As the founder, president and chief consultant of First Choice Supply Chain his reputation as a savvy Supply Chain leader is beyond reproach for delivering resourceful business strategies and customer focused solutions which improve margins.

With his work with several worldwide corporations – Johnson & Johnson, Cadbury, Reckitt Benckiser and Linde Gas, N. A. his far reaching experience in launching, managing and mentoring new programs and strategies resulted in greater customer confidence and improved business results.

He has have written numerous supply chain articles encompassing all disciplines of supply chain and a number of them have been published on several supply chain organizations.

In addition to his worldwide corporate experience Stuart Rosenberg is an adjunct professor of supply chain at two institutions of higher learning – Union County College and Hudson Community College.  Stuart also sits as an advisory board member for The Rutgers University Center for Innovative Education

He lives with his wife and son in New Jersey.