National Customer Service Week

Celebrate and Embrace Customer Service

National Customer Service Week is the first full week of October.  I always ask, “Why just a week?”  Shouldn’t we deliver and celebrate great customer service all year – year after year!  How about National Customer Service EVERY Week.

Seriously, I recognize that National Customer Service Week was created to take a short time to emphasize customer service.  Companies have pep rallies and put up signs and posters.  They do a lot.  But what happens the other 51 weeks of the year?  Hopefully more of the same.  Maybe not as a celebration, but as a continued and consistent effort to amaze every customer every time.

This year, in honor of National Customer Service Week, I’ve pulled together twenty quick tips to deliver a better customer experience.

Here they are:

1. Manage first impressions.  They set the tone.
2. Manage last impressions.  They create “lasting” impressions.
3. Show up on time.  Being late is a sign of disrespect to the people waiting.
4. Always do your best.
5. Smile.  It’s better than a frown or an expression of apathy.
6. Be accountable.  Don’t blame others and accept responsibility.
7. If a problem comes your way, you own it, even if it is not your department.
8. Even if you own the problem, and you do have to pass it on to someone else, circle back with the customer to make sure it has been resolved.
9. Show up early.
10. Stay late.
11. Do more than is expected.
12. Under promise and overdeliver.
13. Be proactive.
14. Build rapport.
15. Aim for perfection, even if it is not a reality.
16. If there is a problem, respond quickly.
17. Return calls quickly.
18. Care! Don’t just act like you care.  Really care!
19. Be enthusiastic.
20. Always say, “Thank you.”

Happy National Customer Service Week!

Note: More bonus material can be found on my YouTube Channel.  There you will find daily tips that I’ve put up for this year’s celebration, in addition to over 100 other videos that are all about customer service.  Feel free to share them with your colleagues.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.
(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)