Improve Customer Service Quality to Become Referable

When your business demands word-of-mouth advertising to grow and thrive, it makes sense to improve customer service quality. Technical competence alone does not make you “referable,” no matter how good you are.

My friend Treva recently experienced a car breakdown in Los Angeles. Her vehicle was towed to a nearby service station where the manager put her at ease with his comfortable style and obvious expertise. He promised to call her the next morning with an evaluation and an estimate.

She took the bus home. The next morning, he did not call. She called him in the afternoon. He apologized and agreed to call her back by the end of the day. But he didn’t. She reached him again the next morning. This time he promised to call back within 45 minutes. Two hours later, he still had not called. Clearly, the manager has a need to improve customer service quality.

In the end, Treva’s car was very well repaired. The manager gave her a clear explanation of what had gone wrong and charged her a very reasonable price. Still, his business could benefit from steps to improve customer service quality.

I asked if she would take her car to this person in the future. She paused and replied, “Yes. I can trust him to take good care of my car. But I won’t refer him to anyone else. I can’t trust him to take good care of my friends or my colleagues.”

Key learning point to improve customer service quality

Being technically competent is not enough to build a growing business. You may be a terrific lawyer, doctor, accountant, broker, supplier, programmer, manufacturer or car mechanic, but if you don’t keep your promises in every way, you just won’t be referred. Improve customer service quality to gain the referrals you need to grow.

Action steps to improve customer service quality

Promises are the foundation of reputation. Make them, and keep them.

Copyright, Ron Kaufman. Used with permission. Ron Kaufman is the world’s leading educator and motivator for upgrading customer service and uplifting service culture. He is author of the bestselling “UP! Your Service” books and founder of UP! Your Service. To enjoy more customer service training and service culture articles, visit UpYourService.com.

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net