Make business more personal

Customer service is key to the success of a brand, regardless of the size of your business. A vital aspect of customer service tends to get overlooked because it can be unpleasant and very hard work! Can you guess what I’m talking about here? Yes, it’s good ol’ customer complaints.

Having a plan or framework in place for dealing with complaints is key to acting quickly upon them and making the customer feel seen and heard. Of course, in certain industries, there can be the problem of complaints being made too readily, with a view to a discount or upgrade. This can be a significant problem for hotels, for instance, especially complaints about rooms not being properly cleaned. As the hotel depends greatly on keeping good reviews flowing in, one bad review can pull down the whole average. It can be tempting to challenge a guest that you suspect is not reporting a genuine problem, but the risk is that a bad review will cost the business more!

A simple way to increase great customer service and feedback, and deter false complaints, is to make business more personal! Keep customer touchpoints high and use opportunities to actually speak to customers in person. I know, shocking stuff ;) Ask for their opinions, show that you’re genuinely glad to see them and value their business, learn their names, and remember anniversaries, birthdays. Make sure all staff are properly trained in good customer service. It doesn’t need to take a lot of extra time or to cost anything. We can all remember the times in our lives when we received stellar customer service - the reason these occasions stand out for us is they are the exception, rather than the norm. Think of ways you can apply this to your own business. Everyone appreciates a little extra thoughtfulness and feeling valued!

Ballymoney beach in County Wexford by Mary Fleming