A customer made me her new BFF today simply because I helped her with one of our golf prints, an anniversary gift to her husband. Apparently she placed an order elsewhere (oh no!) and after 6 weeks not receiving it, she called and they said it wasn’t going to happen! huh? And on top of that they were rude. Not the first time I’ve heard this, and I’ve experienced bad customer service plenty of times shopping online. I can’t imagine not apologizing to the customer at least, but instead they had attitude with her. This just continues to blow my mind. Are companies not aware of the demeanor of their customer service people? Do they not have rules or guidelines for courteous and helpful customer service? At a minimum, treat the customer with respect and better yet, treat them how you would like to be treated as a customer. Thanks, www___.com for the sale, and for making us look like heroes just by doing our job. Our new friend will have a very nice gift for her husband on their doorstep next week. We’re here to help!
Good customer service starts with

  1. listen to the customer
  2. understand their need or problem
  3. be fair, which means sometimes you have to bend a “company rule”
  4. notify customers about order status and tracking #s
  5. be accessible- we have a toll free number on all pages of our site
  6. be respectful and honest on what you can and can’t do
  7. follow up once they receive their product
  8. listen to and act on their feedback promptly

We want to give our customers the best product and the best service so they not only return, but they spread the word. (I guess we should keep these rules secret)