Customer care rules

There’s a saying in education: “I don’t care how much you know, until I know how much you care.” This advice could apply to any relationship. In fact, at the heart of a good relationship between customers and representatives of an organization is that the customers feel like the company really cares about them.

When was the last time you encountered a business or government employee who you felt genuinely cared about your needs and demonstrated it by how you were served? Generally, it seems that most people do their job with a big button pinned to their shirt that says: “DILLIC?” This acronym stands for: “Do I Look Like I Care?”

Of course, the answer most of the time is a resounding “NO!”

We’re going to give you three rules to live by if you want to improve your customer care. The first one is a good customer care rule that all organizations should adopt, and it is a variation of the Golden Rule: “Treat your customers the way you want to be treated.” Do you want businesses and government offices you visit to care about your interests and needs? Then care about the customers you serve. Would you like to wait less in line, get your questions answered promptly, and know that any problems you might have will be resolved quickly? Then do the same thing for your customers.

It seems rare to find service offered by sensitive people who really care about their job and their customers. Caring means to have empathy for the people you serve, and to respond in a manner that demonstrates you understand their feelings and are responsive to their needs. Daniel Goleman referred to the empathetic understanding of others as “social radar,” and he suggests that without this empathic radar, people become blunt and inappropriate in their interactions with each other.

Consider a desk clerk who thinks that her job is to just check people in and out of a hotel. She may do it exactly as trained and according to the policies and procedures of the company—yet the guests may still be dissatisfied with their experience. Having social radar allows one to scan the situation and interpret the emotional state of customers. If a dissatisfied customer is encountered, then action can be taken to resolve the situation and transform the customer into a satisfied customer. Imagine what would happen to the bottom line if everyone in your organization had their social radar working and they were able to interact with each customer on an emotional level that demonstrated they really cared? This brings us to the second rule to improve your customer care ability. It is an even better customer care rule that organizations should live by: ”Treat your customers as if you were the customer.”

If you think about all the relationship problems that are going on in the world today, the majority of the conflict comes from people not respecting or caring about the interests or needs of other people or groups. Individuals, groups, and governments seem to care more about pushing their own agenda or interests on others. If a couple is having relationship problems it is usually because the care that was evident at the beginning of the relationship has diminished—apathy has replaced empathy.

We sadly believe that there is little genuine service anymore. This is service that is given by people who genuinely care and want to please you—not just because they expect to be compensated for the service. You are a recipient of genuine service when you feel that an employee truly understands you and cares enough to satisfy your needs. You sense that their social radar is on and functioning properly, and you feel that what they try to sell you is for your best good and not their self-interest.

This brings us to the best customer care rule. This rule comes even closer to the concept of empathy, and if you and your organization live by this rule, outstanding service will flow naturally. You will be mindful of everything you do for the customer, and your customers will know you care about them. The rule… “Treat your customers the way they want to be treated.”

This means that you must know how they want to be treated by talking to them and learning if the organization is meeting their expectations. What you want may not necessarily be what the customer wants, and when you discover their needs and treat them how they want to be treated you will discover the real secret to outstanding service.

Wow, are there organizations out there that really live by that philosophy? Yes, a few, and their biggest problem is how to maintain their high level of service as their business continues to grow rapidly. These organizations know that customer care rules!

(Rik is a business instructor at Northern Marianas College and Janel is the owner of Positively Outrageous Results. They can be contacted at: biz_results@yahoo.com)