Here Is A Sample From Customer Service For Frontline Employees!

Why do Customers Leave?

            Customers will cease doing business with a company once they perceive that they are not getting the proper value for their patronage.  This means that the customer will go to your competition if the customer does not feel they are getting enough service or a competitive price from you.

            It is important that you understand that very often customers consider both price and service when making their decision to buy from you or not. Service and price go hand in hand when it comes to giving a customer the most value for their business. Fail to deliver what the customer expects on either of these areas and you run the risk of losing a customer.

            Take a moment to think about how different businesses portray themselves. If you look at their advertising closely, you will see that the well known companies have stressed either price or service in their ads. In some cases, you will see both areas stressed. Depending on the products or services sold, one area may be more important than the other.

            Take your local warehouse clubs. These businesses stress low prices. Their appeal lies with low prices and volume purchases. Service is not a major issue. They don't accept coupons, have no sales force to assist you, and you sometimes have to put up with long lines to pay for your purchases. In these cases, the focus is on price only, not service.

            Other companies will focus on the reliability of their products. Just about everyone has seen the commercials about the lonely washing machine repairman that works on one common brand of washing machine. This commercial, and the company's print advertising, stresses reliability and quality, not price. Service is the focus in these cases, not price.

            The reality of the situation is that both price and service factor into just about every consumer or business decision. Failure to at least consider price and service related issues will often result in the failure of a product or business. In order to have the highest chance of success, it is crucial that both price and service issues are evaluated constantly.

            You will often see both factors addressed in print and media advertising. A perfect example is automobile sales. It doesn't make any difference which dealer you buy your car from. The car will be made in the same factory, by the same workers. What will influence your decision? Both price and service!

            When you buy a car from a dealer, you are not tied to that dealer for service. You can go to any dealer you want when you have a problem. Because of this, price becomes a greater part of your decision. You will go to a few dealers and see who will give you the best price. When you have a problem, you go to the dealer with the best service reputation.

            Since the dealer will usually make more profit on the service of the vehicle, it is important to the dealer that you come back to his dealership when you need service. Since most people return to the dealer where they purchased the car, it is smart to focus on both price and service when promoting your business.

            Whenever a business fails in it's attempts to give a customer what he or she wants, they run the risk of that customer taking their business elsewhere. Millions of dollars are spent every year getting people to buy a certain product or brand of product over the competition. Once the purchase is made, how the company responds to that customer will carry more weight than even the best advertising campaign.

            The basic key to understanding why customers leave is that you must address all the customers needs and expectations because........

Customers Have Choices & Freedom!

            It's never ceases to amaze me that some people never grasp the concept that customers have choices as to where they spend their money! When we get our paychecks every week, we are not told where we must buy our food, clothing, or other purchases. We are left to decide where we want to purchase certain things. We have the right to patronize our local merchants or buy mail order. We can purchase American-made products or buy foreign products. The only restrictions we have is the amount of money we have to spend and the amount of inconvenience we will put up with.

            Living in a country where this kind of freedom exists places a wealth of opportunity and choices in front of the average consumer. It also gives the consumer a tremendous amount of power over the companies that produce the goods and services they purchase. If a consumer does not feel appreciated at a specific store, they can go elsewhere! It's as simple as that!

            Even when people are under a contract to do business with a certain company for a certain period of time, they are free to go to someone else after that contract expires. They may even have legal grounds to have their contracts ruled invalid.

            The important thing to remember is that every customer has the right to do business with whom they choose, for however long they choose, and that they can change their mind at any time for any reason!

            This may seem basic and sort of common sense to you but it is a very important concept that you should understand completely if you are to have a future in customer service.

            The key to building and sustaining a profitable business is to give the customer what they want, when they want it, and at a price they feel is fair and that you can make a profit! It's a simple sentence that is difficult to fulfill!

            Your business can only survive if you keep your existing customers happy and coming back as you try to bring new customers into your store. The only way you can do that is by addressing their needs and by giving them no reasons to look at your competition!

            Now that we understand the necessity of keeping our existing customers happy, and the value they represent to us, we need to start working on........

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