Today I witnessed a customer service miracle in action. I took my son to our local fast food restaurant, so he could have some lunch and play in the indoor playground. While I was waiting for our food to be ready, a woman approached the counter with a crushed Styrofoam cup. She said, 'This cup fell off of our table and broke. I need another drink and I need someone to come clean up our table and the floor.' The tone of her voice suggested that somehow the restaurant was responsible for her broken cup. And of course, there was no, 'Hey I'm so sorry, one of my horrible children was fooling around and caused you a mess.'

It was then that right before my eyes a customer service miracle occurred. Rather than replying with the same nasty treatment they had just gotten from the customer, the staff quickly gave her a new drink. Then a man appeared with a smile and said, 'I would be glad to clean that up for you.' The staff never heard the words 'thank you' from that customer, yet they acted as if they had. All were professional and conveyed an attitude that said, 'We love having the opportunity to serve each and every person in this restaurant.'

Not surprisingly, the place is almost always busy. The restaurant is clean, the management supports our community with various school spirit fundraising nights, the food is better than most fast food, and most of all, the people that work there make you want to come back.

Watching customer service interaction is my hobby and my work, and today's experience was a living, breathing example of the 21 Rules for Excellent Retail Customer Service that we share with the participants in our courses. Most of them are not that hard to follow. However, they can be hard to follow consistently.

If you work with customers in retail, take a look at the list and ask yourself how closely you follow the rules.

1. Smile when greeting a customer in person and on the phone (and yes, they can tell if you are smiling over the telephone!).

2. Use age-appropriate greetings, and avoid referring to older customers and women as 'guys.'

3. Be proactive and ask how you may be of service.

4. Stay visible and available, but don't hover.

5. Don't turn away, walk away, start to make a phone call, or duck beneath the counter as a customer approaches. (We've all had it happen to us.)

6. The live customer standing in front of you takes precedence over someone who calls on the phone.

7. Never judge a book by its cover--all customers deserve attention regardless of their age or appearance.

8. Leave food and beverages in the break room.

9. A customer doesn't want to hear about your upcoming break.

10. Makes any personal calls when you're on a break and out of earshot.

11. The correct answer is never 'I don't know' unless you add to it, 'but I can find out for you.'

12. If a customer wants something that isn't on display, go to the stock room and try to find it.

13. If the item isn't in the stock room, offer to call another store or order it.

14. Learn to read body language to see if a customer could use some help.

15. Don't let chatty customers monopolize your time if others are waiting.

16. Call for backup support if lines are forming.

17. Be discrete if a customer's credit card is declined by asking if there is another method of payment he or she would like to use.

18. Never discuss customers in front of other customers (they'll wonder what you're saying about them once they leave).

19. Inspect merchandise before bagging it to make sure it's not defective or the wrong size.

20. Make sure customers receive everything they've paid for before they leave your store.

21. Smile as you are saying goodbye and encourage the customer to come again.

And here's one more tip: if you can, give people more than what they expect.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

At some point in our lives most of us have heard the old saying, 'The customer is always right'. This means that even when they're wrong they're right. This is the number one most important rule in giving good customer service. Implementing this rule is absolutely necessary for a business to be 100% successful.

People have communicated with each other since the world began. It's part of our everyday lives. Think about all the people that you communicate with throughout your day. You would probably be amazed at the number. How many of these people were in a, what you could call, 'Customer Service' position?

No matter what time a person starts work the chances are good that they are going to stop at a gas station, coffee shop, a fast food restaurant, or maybe even a party store to grab a cup of coffee. When you go inside or drive up to the window, the employee that is taking your order is required to give you good customer service. An employee that has been properly trained will have their focus on you, the customer, not having a food fight with their co-workers or talking on their cell phone. (The order being correct is a thumb's up from me.)

The majority of the places that you shop have a Customer Service Department. This is the place where you go if you want to return something or if you have a complaint of some kind.

Customer service over the telephone isn't much different except, you cannot see the person that you are talking to. It is important to keep your voice pleasant and to speak clearly when on the phone with a customer.

Giving good customer service is just as important to online businesses as it is to offline. It is absolutely necessary that our customers have a way to contact us. Before signing up on a website try sending them a support ticket and wait for a reply. If you receive a reply within a reasonable amount of time, then go back to the site and sign up. A reasonable amount of time would be 24-48 hours, and in some cases 72 hours. It is very frustrating to deal with a company that does not have good customer service.

There are websites on the internet that do not have any form of contact whatsoever so, please try and avoid these sites.

Doing this type of work is not always pleasant, and, can be stressful at times. I think that for the most part people are easy to deal with, but, once in a while you will have an irate customer. This is where the challenge of rule number one comes in. Keep your customers happy and not only will they come back, but they will bring their friends and family with them.

Just be friendly, speak clearly, keep you voice pleasant and smile!

As business owners we need to be certain that our employees are trained properly. Our employees are the reflection of us.

Author: Cathy Lindsay

About the author:
Easily Build A Website or Build Your Own Website Using 'Point and Click Technology' in minutes with BuildAGreatSite.com.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

Building information modeling (BIM) is the creation and use of coordinated information for design, production of high quality construction documents, predicting performance, cost estimation and construction planning. Building information modeling (BIM) is a model based technology linked with a database of project information to enable perfect communication between all stakeholders associated with the construction process.
BIM Services provides the potential for a virtual information model to be handed from Design Team (architects, surveyors, consulting engineers, and others) to contractor and Subcontractors and then to the owner, each one is adding their own additional discipline-specific knowledge and tracking of changes to the single model. The result is anticipated to greatly reduce the information loss that occurs when a new team takes the project as well as in delivering extensive information to owners of complex structures far away from that which they are currently familiar to having.
Advantages of BIM Services:
� Compress design lifecycle by increasing collaboration between owners, architects, engineers and contractors.
� High quality and accurate documentation of construction process
� BIM technology is used for the entire building life cycle, including the facility operation and maintenance
� Production of high quality accurate construction documents
� Co-Ordinate different services to avoid conflicts
� Remove clutter on the site by accurate quality take-offs
� Improving Quality of construction by enabling pre-fabrication
� Coordination with different components of the building lifecycle to recognize, analyze and eliminate conflicts.
� Minimize building lifecycle to increase interaction between architects, engineers and contractors
� Construction management
� Cutting project cost may eliminating waste of construction material.
� Improved construction management

The main and important advantage of BIM is the ability to create construction and determine whether the various design elements will work before they are included in the field. All four major producers of BIM software packages have beneficial qualities, but none is fully compatible with the others. The most logical solution - purchasing a copy of the program from each manufacturer - is expensive. The only reasonable solution is source- code sharing by the major software developers, which would create software compatibility.

Author: James Soul

About the author:
About The Author: James Soul


URL: http://www.structuraldraftingdesign.com


Email: info@structuraldraftingdesign.com


Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

Are you opening a dollar store? If so, one of the never-ending challenges for every business is to continually locate and then motivate new prospective customers to give your business a try. The same is true for every dollar store. No matter how well your business is performing, it is critical to continually invest time and money to retain current customers and to bring new customers into your store. In this article I present 6 sources of prospective customers when opening a dollar store.

1) Current customers. Satisfied current customers are a great source of new customer traffic for your store. While you can expect some word-of-mouth advertising to come from those who feel you have a truly outstanding store it is important to make a concerted effort to motivate existing customers to help grow your customer base. This can be easily done by providing rewards to those shoppers for bringing in new clients for your business. Often existing customers will also be happy to tell others if there are rewards or discounts to those who are referred; family and friends who come in as a result of their efforts.

2) Organizations within your community. Many local organizations are in need of donations, ideas and participation. After opening a dollar store get your store noticed by selecting one or two that interest you and becoming involved. While only a small amount of time and little investment is required, you will be recognized. Don't forget to make meetings an opportunity to network with others.

3) Schools close to your store. One of the surest ways to become known in your community is through the schools. While there are a variety of options, the two most effective ways to gain attention and recognition may be the easiest. First is to offer school teachers a small discount on their purchases. Even 10% off of their purchases goes a long way toward helping when teachers purchase stickers, paper, pens and other supplies for their classroom. Donating to school functions and classroom parties costs little, but pays big dividends in good will as well.

4) Homeowners and renters within your local area. A well-written flyer mailed to those within your shopping area can mean more new traffic for your business. Include details about the benefits your store and products offer to these prospective buyers to motivate them to take action and actually come in. Don't forget to provide some sort of discount or prize for those who bring their mailers with them.

5) Charities within your community. What better way to gain new customer traffic than to help others in your community. Offering small discounts or donating needed items will gain lots of attention and recognition for your store. These donations are also very much appreciated. The word will get out about your generosity.

6) Other businesses within your shopping area. Other businesses in your area are seeking new customers as well. Why not meet your neighbors and work together to gain exposure for your businesses? Meeting your neighboring businesses should start during your investigative due diligence before opening a dollar store. Introduce yourself as you examine the neighborhood and the opportunity. After opening your store, return and start building teamwork.

To your dollar store business success!

Author: Bob Hamilton

About the author:
Find out how you can open your own dollar store business.
Bob Hamilton is an entrepreneur, author, writer, business consultant and trainer.


Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

When somebody is far away from home, the urge to talk with his realities or close ones arises. The mobile phone has emerged as the most important communication gajdget which is helping people to communicate with their dear ones.
Domestic calls do cast less than that of the international calls however, most of the users of phone complain that they get huge phone bills for which, theses users are bound to speak less on their phones, So that they get less phone bills at the end of the month. With the advantages of the internet it has become possible to make cheap international calls.
Today, most the individuals around the world are using the VOIP calls to make endless calls. This VOIP service is accessible through both personal computers as well as mobile phones. If you want to make cheap international calls then do get touch with these websites. When you visit these websites then you will be presented with the necessary information.
Today prepaid cards or cheap international calling cards are also available in the market which you can use to make international calls to your friends and relatives across the globe with the help of these world calling cards or VOIP calling services. The user can surely get minimum amount of bills.
Most of the multinational companies all over the world have taken the services to make cheap internatonal business calls.
There are so many benifets of using international calling cards rather than signing up for a long distance phone plan or racking up the minutes on a cell phone and paying the monthly bills.
There are many advantages that come with international calling cards. First of all, prepaid calling cards can be purchased and use with cell phones that don't reqire contracts to purchase. Phone card have been specially advantages for those, who often work overseas or travel frequently, as well as students and those with family abroad.
The cheap phone cards that are on the market have advanced telecommunications by making international calls easier and more affordable to make. Now long distance calling in easily accessable to every one at a low cost.

Author: Safi

About the author:
Atelecards.com , Is providing prepaid calling card services for last 5 yeas. We are managing PIN less dialing and affordable calling.
Cheap Prepaid Calling Cards
This Article is written by ' Safi Saleem'


Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

What do you do to save energy in your home? Do you shut the lights off each time you leave a room? Perhaps you make sure you buy only energy saving appliances? In the face of current environmental concerns everyone should be doing their bit to conserve energy. However, that is not the only reason why it is so important. Did you know that just by making a few small changes to the way you use your energy you could save substantial amounts on your energy bills? Take a look at these tips to help you save:

1. Turn your thermostat down. Reducing your room temperature by 1�C could cut your heating bills by up to 10 percent. If you have a programmable boiler, set your heating and hot water to come on only when necessary.

2. Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat should be set at 60�C/140�F.

3. Close your curtains at night to stop heat escaping through the windows and check for draughts around windows and doors.

4. Always turn off the lights when you leave a room.

5. Don't leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave laptops and mobile phones charging unnecessarily.

6. Fill up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher with one full load. This uses less energy than two half loads.

7. Only boil as much water as you need as this uses a lot of electricity.

8. A dripping hot water tap wastes energy and in one week wastes enough hot water to fill half a bath, so fix leaking taps and make sure they're tightly turned off.

9. Use energy saving light bulbs. They last up to 10 times longer than ordinary bulbs, and using one can save you around �45 over the lifetime of the bulb. This saving could be around �70 over its lifetime if you're replacing a high wattage incandescent bulb, or one used for more than a few hours a day.

10. Do a home energy check. By answering a few simple questions your energy provider can give you a free, impartial report telling you how to save money on your household energy bills.

Author: Lex Braxtor

About the author:
Choose British Gas over other energy suppliers and get great energy prices for your dual fuel, gas and electricity.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

LingoTrans' is a Singapore-based Professional Translation Company offering comprehensive translation services and interpretation services such as language translation, language interpretation, financial translation, subtitle translation, legal translation and technical translation services.
Translation Services Singapore
Our translation services extend to literary works translation, commercial correspondence translation, advertisements translation, brochure translation, technical manuals translation, legal documents translation, tape transcripts, standard certificates translation, website localization and e-book translation.
We are proud to translate your ideas with impeccably appropriate style and tone with a view to enhance your sales and showcase businesses in an effective way. We provide translation services for more than 25 languages including Arabic, Danish, Indonesian, Tagalog, Bengali, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Tamil, Burmese, French, Japanese, Russian, Thai, Cambodian, German, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, Chinese, Hindi, Malay, Swedish, Vietnamese and many more.
Our professional and dedicated language translators in Singapore have built up a sterling reputation for their translations and meet any demanding requests of MNCs, SMBs, advertising agencies, law firms, financial institutions and individuals with equal aplomb and punctuality.
Benefits of availing the Translation Services from Singapore Translation Company
We understand the challenges involved in starting a global business our advanced technology in providing translation services has made the world more understandable and accessible.
Lingotrans' professional translators, interpreters and typesetters cover more than twenty-five languages and are justifiably proud of their work. They will work with you as you adapt communication strategies for various markets.
We assure fast and accurate translation, interpretation and localization services to all our local and overseas clients. Our track record for our speedy and precise translations is second to none and our clients invariably return for more of the same.

Author: Lingotrans Service

About the author:
LingoTrans Services offers translation service, interpretation service including professional service, ebook translation, website translation, technical translation, legal translation, literary works translation, advertisement translation with 25 languages from Singapore.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

What is 24-7 support?

Do you get frustrated calling a hot line for many times and still no answer whatsoever? Do you hate bringing your machine to the store and waiting for days for the service? Do you want quick response and assistance from product manufacturers? The answer is the modern 247 support service.

Many companies, especially the more established once provide 24-7-365 support service to their clients. What does this mean?

24-7-365 Support Service

This means that manufacturers or support service provides 24 hours, 7 days a week and 365 days in a year support service. It literally means there is support anytime, anywhere, any season.

How it works?

This is because product manufacturers outsource their service support with competent 24-7 support provider.

The 24-7 support provider hires skilled, competent, and well-trained staff to attend to the needs of customers, clients and they have enough knowledge of variety of products.

This ensures that if you are the customer of a product they serve, you will be taken cared of properly.

What are the services available from a 24-7 support service?

- Voice support - you have a warm body attending to you for your inquiries. Many consumers prefer this type of support service. However, if you are an irate consumer and you deal with voice support, you may not control your anger and some people regret this later on.

- Non-voice support - This is an email support where consumers can send their requests for support and receive response direct to their inbox. This enables the support and the consumer to get fast response and interaction.

- Live chat support - this is one of the most preferred support services. You chat with the support operator and get the response quick. If there is no operator available, then an automated response is provided to you.

24-7 support is a benefit of the ecommerce advent. It is therefore easy to communicate to manufacturers and your problems get attention immediately.

Finally, 24-7 support is difficult if a manufacturer is doing it on his own. It is therefore necessary that you outsource your 24-7 support service if you want to ensure that you are really serving your clients 24-7.

Avoid promising a 24-7 support if you are not outsourcing your support service. The reason is that if you are doing the support within your entity and your operators are not trained well, you may not be able to assist your customers as promised.

Now, if you outsource your 24-7 support, then you are surely backed by experienced and well-trained 24-7 customer support. You can brag about it and your customers will be able to enjoy it as well.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

Your aim in giving your customers exceptional service is to make them say 'Wow!' as soon as you disappear. You can do that if you make the following 7 tips part of your normal pattern of service.

1. Give Your Customers Plenty of Strokes. People love to be stroked. Just like domestic pets, we like it when we are fussed at, smiled at, and given gentle touches. Strokes can include any greeting, the use of people's names, and good wishes of the 'Have-a-nice-day' kind. But the best stroke you can give others is your undivided attention.

2. Surprise Them With The Unexpected. British Airways airline discovered that passenger goodwill increases when staff do unexpected extras such as spontaneous conversations or invitations to visit the flight deck. These have to remain extras and not the norm if they are to retain their surprise value.

3. Attend To The Little Things. Paying attention to the little things which don't significantly affect the main service is a way of saying: 'If we look after the little things, just think what we'll do with the big ones.' Such detail includes sparkling washrooms that you could eat your meals from and customer notices that don't talk down to people.

4. Anticipate Customers' Needs. In a survey of airport check-in staff, customers rated the best staff as those who anticipated their needs. These were staff who would routinely glance down the queue and anticipate the different needs customers had, from the grandmother needing help with her luggage to the business executive wanting a quick service.

5. Always Say 'Yes'. Great customer carers never turn down a request for help. Even if they can't do it themselves, they'll know someone who can and put you onto them. They always use positive language. Even if the answer is 'No, we're closed', it's expressed as 'Yes, we can do that first thing tomorrow for you.'

6. Treat Them The Same By Treating Them Differently. We hate to see others get better customer service than we do, for example in a restaurant. It makes us feel second-class and devalued. Equally, we don't want to be treated the same as everyone else if that means a standard, soulless response, as you sometimes get in a fast-food restaurant. The secret is to treat everyone the same by treating them differently.

7. Use Tact With Tact. Tact means using adroitness in handling other people's feelings. In awkward or embarrassing moments, tact saves everyone's blushes. It's something your customers will notice but that you should aim to go unnoticed.

Practise these 7 responses until they are as familiar to you as breathing, and you are guaranteed to have customers queueing up for your attention.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

Lots of businesses are turning to live phone answering services as a solution to attend to calls after business hours. Customers are more likely to stay on the line and leave a message when they are dealing with a real person on the other end. Answering services do not cost much as nowadays you can outsource the answering services and they are a better option than the ansafone.

These answering services can range from simply forwarding a call to a toll free number to assigning a customer service person to interact with prospective and current customers on day to day basis. You may customize your own affordable plan to maximize your business potentials.

This service will give you competitive edge over your competitor. The answering service agents use web-based platforms and interactive voice response to give best services to your customers. The customers do not have to go menu after menu to reach a warm live voice. Some services also include providing a toll free or local number without an additional fee. Bilingual services are provided for non-English speaking customers. The answering service provides a dedicated Client Service Representative for you. This single point of contact is highly knowledgeable and guarantees to meet all your needs.

The service providers offer live telephone answering service through receptionists who handle calls 24x7.Thus the service is prompt and efficient. Businesses can therefore concentrate on their core activities. You may think why not hire my own internal secretarial staff to handle my phone traffic. But the cost involved in maintaining your own call center staff will force you to decide against it. You don't just hire anybody off the street. Phone impressions are usually the first impression customers and suppliers get of your business. It is also not economically viable to train the staff for such services. The Live Telephone answering services offer highly qualified, professional individuals experienced in a high volume call center setting.

The service is provided irrespective of location. All calls coming to the office are efficiently handled through the live answering incorporated in this phone system. If you are on the move the calls will be connected to the appropriate numbers provided by you, enabling communication among answering service agents and customers any time. If the calls cannot be attended due to any reason then the phone answering directs the caller to leave a message in the voicemail boxes which can be later accessed.

Author: Randy Harmat

About the author:
Randall J. Harmat joined Ansafone in 1990 to lead the company's technological transformation from a manual telephone answering service to a state-of -the-art call center utilizing the latest Computer Telephony Interface (CTI) platform for http://ansafone.com/AnsweringServices.aspx . His company vision is to remain on the cutting edge of today's call center technology, and leverage that technology to best serve the needs of our customers and their clients.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

A lot of people wonder if they can really make web-based support work for their business. Will clients tolerate having to do everything online, waiting for replies to their tickets, wondering about the response time? Don't people just want to talk to you on the phone?

When it comes right down to it, web-based support is often simply the most cost-effective and efficient way to assist your clients. But there are some things you'll need to do to make sure that your online support center is convenient, friendly, and responsive from the client's perspective.

1. Make it easy to find. If people can't find the link to support on your web site, they'll quickly assume you simply don't offer online support. Soon they'll be on the line with your salespeople demanding service, and getting more frustrated by the moment. It's a bad situation, and one which can generally be avoided very easily by making sure your support center is highly visible. If you look at our main site, you'll see that support is available right from the menu bar at the top of every page, and then again at the bottom of the sidebar. Don't be afraid to put links in more than one location.
2. Make sure help is available quickly. Any frequently asked questions should be available on the site with no interaction necessary. Clients will appreciate knowing that any questions they have are probably already answered on your web site, so make sure to set up a knowledge base with in-depth answers, descriptions, and pictures to make sure everyone gets the message. If you're using SupportTrio, you can even set the software up to automatically search the knowledge base for relevant articles before each ticket is submitted. You can't beat zero wait-time. Another great way to make your clients feel well-support is by offering live chat. Even if the only thing you can tell the client in chat is that 'this is a complicated issue that we'll have to look into through a support ticket,' they'll feel better knowing that there is a reason they are waiting and that they have actually made contact with someone at your company. And live chat is far more efficient than phone support, as a single operator can handle more than just a single chat at a time.
3. Make sure your clients know what to expect. Make information about the length of your queue and the average response time readily available. There is nothing worse than submitting a support request and having no way to know whether it will be answered in one hour, or one month. So make a commitment to answer tickets within a given length of time, and stick to it.
4. Exceed expectations. It's better to over-estimate your response time than to under-estimate it. No one ever got upset because the answer to their ticket came in 5 hours sooner than they had thought it would. In our own support center, for example, we promise a response from support within 1 business day. In practice, most tickets are answered within just a few hours. Be sure to pay attention to the newest tickets in your queue as well as the oldest. If someone you just responded to is asking for clarification, it'll be much more valuable to them to get an answer in 2 minutes than it would have been for someone with a more complex support request to receive an answer 2 minutes sooner.
5. Be friendly. Of course you want to maintain a level of professionalism in all of your communications with clients, but don't be so corporate that people can't understand you. Let people know that you empathize with their situation and genuinely want to help them. Don't make people feel like they are lost in a bureaucracy; they will likely find solace in the arms of your competitors.

The main thing to remember is just to approach the situation from the client's perspective. How would you want things to work if you were in their position? The idea is to offer them a support experience that, when all is said and done, will actually be better than what they could have had if they had reached you on the phone. The web is a truly robust medium for doing exactly that; you just have to put a little planning into designing the right type of experience.

Author: David Godot

About the author:
David is a copywriter and email specialist with ActiveCampaign - a leading web based software company with solutions including email marketing software, web based surveys, live chat for your web site, web based site editing, help desk software, knowledge base software, time tracking software, and more...
ActiveCampaign
Email Marketing Software


Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

Flowers have been attracting people over the years. It is really amazing to see how colorfully the nature can manifest herself. Flowers, therefore, are associated with the romantic thoughts. In fact, they represent the different shades of emotions in our life. Therefore, every occasion that we celebrate or mourn is accompanied with the flowers.

However, finding the right flower for the right occasion can be a bit tough at times. So, often we take the help of the florists of the locality for the supply of the flowers. Thus, if you are staying in Ottawa, finding a good florist Ottawa is the task that you should finish before receiving the colorful gift of the nature.

Certainly, there is more than one such florist in that region. In fact, the multiple florists have made the market very competitive. But, the best is always one; there can not be two bests at the same time. So, Ottawa too, seems to have that best florist. However, the task lies in us to find it out.

Quality is one sole important factor while choosing the best florist. You never want to decorate your house with stale flowers. So, you should make sure that the company that you are selecting takes great care to this respect. Well, freshness is certainly a very important factor, but it is not the only factor. Unfortunately, there are flowers that are defective. Only a close examination of them can mark it out. So, it will be great if the florist makes a thorough survey of the flowers that they are supplying.

Closely related to it is the question of delivery. Most of the florist flowers delivery in Ottawa is done at a slow pace. But when you think about the freshness of the flowers, this is a big no-no. The best florist is the one who delivers the flowers within 24 hours. This will ensure the quality and freshness.

After reading so far, you might be worried about the weight of your pocket. But, an excellent service does not necessarily mean an unfair price. So, you can get the service at a reasonable way. The florist can provide you with the service at a reasonable price if it deals directly with the flowers growers and farms. Since there is no middle man in such a kind of transaction, the cost of the entire deal is the minimum. As a result, the cost of the service reduces as well.

What you associate with flower is delicacy. So, whenever you order a florist, you will expect that they are taking minute care of all the little instructions that you have given. As we are talking about the best in business, the florist must have that degree of customer care as to cater to the different needs of yours.

When you consider so many things together, Rideau Florist Ottawa seems to be the best option available. They offer the best quality at the reasonable price. In fact, they are so confident with the quality that they offer an exclusive guarantee on the freshness of the flowers for five days. They also take great care for both the flowers and customers.

Author: Ottawa Florists expert

About the author:
Serge Melnychenko is author of this article on Florist in Ottawa.
Find more information about Flowers in Ottawa here.


Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

I have watched with amazement as some of the share prices of major British companies have crashed down beyond belief. One such company is British Telecom; this long established name, steeped in so much history has been having a real tough time on the stock market - but why? What has happened to our much loved BT?

Some would say that things started to go wrong for British Telecom a few years back when the competition rules changed, these people would no doubt be partially right in their thinking however I feel that there is a fundamentally much bigger reason for their demise. What was the reason that I and many other people did not jump ship to one of the cheaper deals that suddenly came on the market? Well the answer quite simply was the outstanding customer service that British Telecom were renowned for. Their customers knew that if anything were to go wrong with their telecommunication systems that one simple call to BT would soon resolve the problem. Unfortunately those days are now over��.

I was speaking to a couple of my clients recently about the subject of British Telecom; one of which stated that when he phoned them with regards problems with his BT broadband service he had been connected to an Indian call centre! He had been on the phone for over an hour and had not solved the issues when suddenly the Indian man who amazingly was called 'Ian' put the phone down on him. When my client attempted to phone back there was a message to say that the call centre had now closed! Now this is not being racist but we all know how impressive Indian call centres are - NOT! Come on BT you are British institution - surely it is time to get back to doing what you do best - top quality customer service. Hopefully then clients up and down the country will stop criticising you, hopefully then people will stop selling your shares and hopefully then your share price will start to rise once again.

You have everything going for you British Telecom; you have the name, you have the brand, you have the history and you no doubt have the skilled workers - there really is no excuse.

So in answer to the question in the article of this article, no BT are not now called IT and hopefully never will be.

Author: Steve Hill

About the author:
Steve Hill is a webmaster from Birmingham; he has interests in a number of websites including:
stuttering help
DVD duplication
stuttering

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

This week I present 26 little ideas to help you respond to complaints and difficult customers with much more ease�.the ABC's of Customer Recovery.

A ct as if every lost customer's sales come out of your paycheck.

Believe the best of customers. Don't make the mistake of assuming most customers are out to simply get something for nothing. The truth is, less than 1% of customers contact companies with ulterior motives in mind.

C ommunicate with diplomacy and tact when you final answer is 'no' and when explaining company policy.

D on't tell a customer she is wrong. Telling a customer they are wrong never makes them want to agree with you. It only pushes them more forcefully into their original position.

E mpathize with unhappy customers and allow this empathy to season your responses.

F ind a way to say 'yes' to customers. Instead of saying 'no' or telling the customer what you can't do, think critically about what you actually can do.

G ive a token item such a coupon as a concrete form of apology.

H ave a sense of urgency. Demonstrate with your words and speed of response that getting to the bottom of the problem is just as important to you as it is to your customer.

I nvolve customers in the problem resolution process. Sometimes it's very helpful to simply ask, 'How do you see us resolving this?'

Jot down the customer's name and details of the problem they are describing so you don't have to ask the customer to repeat information.

K eep customers apprised of your timetable and progress toward resolving their problems.

L isten with the intent to truly understand your customer, not with the intent to interrupt, reply, or correct.

M onitor your customer service calls to ensure your tone is friendly, helpful and willing.

N egotiate resolutions that balance both the interests of your company and your customer.

Open the door with unhappy customers with open-ended questions. Make your questions demonstrate a sincere interest in better understanding the customer's problem or experience.

P ut yourself in the customer's shoes. How would you feel if the exact same problem happened to you?

Q uickly apologize. Apologize both when the company is at fault and even when the customer is responsible for the error. An apology goes a long way in creating calm, diffusing anger and regaining goodwill.

R ecognize that the issue is not the issue. The way the issue is handled becomes the real issue.

S ay 'no' diplomatically and without causing resentment. The best way to do this is to start out by telling the customer what you can do.

T hank customers for their feedback.

U p-Service your customers by suggesting products or services that enhance the value of their current purchase.

View the customer as the reason for your work---not as an interruption to your work.

W OW customers.

Ex amine the root cause of problems and work to eliminating problems at the root.

Y ou are the company to each customer. Never underestimate your power to influence the customer's future buying decisions.

Zero in on the customer's needs and wants.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

Before hiring a moving company, it is wise to get at least three to four quotes. A moving quote is an estimate that provided by a company that will tell you what your job will cost. Acquiring a moving quote will give you key pieces of information about the credibility of a company, not just help plan the moving budget. Before shopping for estimates, however, be aware of the following four important factors about the nature of the quote and how they relate to the moving companies that provide them.

Is it Binding and Non-Binding?

Binding quotes are those that are legal contracts and cannot be changed unless extra services are added. Binding quotes almost always involve a representative coming to your home for a visual inspection of the home contents. This type of estimate that is set in writing is legally binding. As such, you are guaranteed to pay the rate you are quoted unless other services are negotiated.

Non-binding moving quotes are not considered legal contracts and do not have to be honored by the service provider. Typically, the moving service operator does not pay a visit to the home for a visual inspection, and sometimes the quote is low and designed to bait a prospective customer with a low price. In many cases with non-binding moving quotes, customers of these companies end up paying far more than the quoted price.

Be as careful with low moving quotes as much as the high quotes. If you don't want any surprises, get your quote in writing and make it a binding quote.

The Bait and Switch

If a quote is far lower than the average quote, and it is provided strictly over the phone, it may be a 'low ball' quote designed to get a commitment from the buyer. Or, perhaps it is a great deal. In the case of an abnormally low moving quote, get it in writing. Federal agencies fine hundreds of moving companies every year for bad business practices. Many victims have reported companies that will offer you very low moving estimate and then raise price up by more than double before your goods are delivered. In some, more egregious cases, the moving company puts the furniture in the truck and then hits the customer with double or triple the cost of the original estimate.

Check the Service Inclusions

When a binding quote is acquired, it is important to review the specific services that are included in the move. Estimates that might seem high could include additional services that are valuable but not specifically listed in the moving quote. Try to ask as many questions as possible about your moving quotes and request maximum details from your prospective movers. In some cases, moving company operators fail to disclose all of the additional services they will provide. Also, you may not want all the packing services that the moving company assumes you will need. For example, perhaps you want to pack a good portion of your personal belongings. By doing this work, you can shave down your cost and moving quote.
Communication and Common Sense

When seeking a quote from a professional moving company, do not underestimate your moving needs. If your garage is filled with three tons of miscellaneous books, then it will be an important factor in the cost of moving. Use good communication and common sense when contracting with a moving provider. Moving is not something we do every day, it is expensive, and very stressful. By paying attention to detail when hiring a moving company, everybody wins, and your move can will be far less stressful than it already is.

Author: SeoDonna

About the author:
Sydney Welkinson is a writer and consumer advocate currently investigating Los Angeles Movers and recording his personal LA Movers on his blog.


Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

When you open a dollar store you soon discover there are so many different, yet important aspects to the business. There are so many responsibilities that must be dealt with on a daily basis that it can be very difficult to get them all covered. Still other duties might come up weekly or monthly. Yet they are often just as important. One of the most critical responsibilities you face is customer service. This is a 24x7 duty that cannot be forgotten even for a moment. In fact it is among the most critical responsibilities you are charged with handling.

When you open a dollar store, success in the customer service arena involves not just your performance, but also that of every employee. In this article I will present 4 critical questions to ask as a test of your overall customer service performance. So let's get started.

1. How skilled and competent are you and your employees at providing memorable service to each and every customer? It is important to offer every new employee customer service training during their initial job orientation. Be sure to set clear expectations regarding customer service at the same time. Experienced employees should receive periodic reminders, updates and reinforcement through daily feedback and in writing on their performance reviews. .

2. Is there true commitment, caring and satisfaction associated link to your business? One of the real keys to becoming successful at customer service revolves around having a commitment and caring about the job, company and your work. No matter how hard you try, if you or your employees are unhappy it will be reflected in the overall quality and success of your customer service.

3. Do you and your employees take deep pride in providing outstanding professional customer service at all times? As mentioned above, when you open a dollar store with plans for success, you are committing to providing only the best of customer service. Be sure to reward those employees who role model exactly the customer service you wish for your business. Don't forget there is great power in you role modeling outstanding customer service at all times as well

4. Let's finish with the most important question of all. How well do you and your employees meet the responsibility of providing outstanding customer service? It is critical that each and every customer who comes in contact with your business receive the same high-quality customer service. If there is less than top-quality customer service provided, overall satisfaction is jeopardized.

If you plan to open a dollar store know the quality of your customer service helps to determine your overall success. The measure of customer service includes many metrics. Customer complaints and how they are handled is certainly to be included. More positive measurements include customer retention, average sale size, sales volume, the number of sales transactions and frequency of customer visits. Don't forget to examine word-of-mouth referrals from existing customers as well. These and others metrics provide the numbers to support your overall level of customer service performance.

To your dollar store business success!

Author: Bob Hamilton

About the author:
Find out how you can open your own dollar store business.
Bob Hamilton is an entrepreneur, author, writer, business consultant and trainer.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

The million dollar question is how you can build a business by keeping all your existing customers and clients happy as you grow your business instrumentally. A great example is Starbucks. They do an excellent job developing a positive customer experience for their 'cronies.' Their customers come back time and time again for a coffee or drink that often costs double that of other coffee houses. Why is it that they have developed such a devoted following amongst their followers? I believe their culture, their environment, their customer service, and 'their experience' drives a devoted following.

In the fitness business, building a clientele often takes a lot of time, energy, and money. Because most trainers, studios, and health clubs typically don't have large marketing advertising budgets, it is even more important that we focus on retaining clients once we have them also. There are several measures to help improve value to our clients so that we can consistently deliver an excellent client experience and have loyal clients for a long-time. By adhering to the following suggestions, it will help develop a unique culture and extraordinary customer experience. Here are some suggestions to enhance your business and keep happy clients coming back for more and more:

� Develop & know your unique culture; What is it?

a. Friendly

b. Fun

c. Professional

d. Personal

e. Non-intimidating

f. Service-oriented

g. Clean & pristine

h. Energetic & Positive

� Create 'Great' sessions every time; whether it's a client's first session, 18th session, or their 40th session in a package of 48, make every session count. Ways you can do this include:

1. Keep your energy in tune with your client(s) at all times

2. Be a great listener; listen to your clients needs

3. Never bring a 'bad' day outside of the office into your sessions

4. Assess your clients and measure periodically

5. Set goals with your clients (if they are open to being held
accountable)

6. Prepare for all your sessions and be ready for each of them

7. Meet & exceed client expectations

8. Educate, motivate, and inspire your clients

9. Challenge your clients

10. Manually stretch your clients when finish

� Connect with clients more frequently than your scheduled sessions. You can do this by:

1. Develop a newsletter (ie. 1 x per week, 1 x per month, or 1 x per quarter); Keep it simple in the beginning and deliver great content (education & motivation)

2. Email your clients periodically; CONNECT with them

3. Spot check your clients with random phone calls occasionally

� Communicate to your clients

1. YOU communicate to your clients if you have a change in your schedule. You take ownership of any changes and don't expect front desk or management to handle it for you.

2. YOU communicate to your clients if you are going on vacation, having another trainer cover one of your sessions, you are changing your schedule, your rates, etc. You take ownership of any changes and don't expect front desk or management to handle it for you.

3. If a client's sessions are up, YOU MUST communicate this to them. If you are uncomfortable with speaking finances to them for some reason (You NEED to work on this), than hand them a nice note in an envelope and let them know there sessions are up and it is time to renew.

4. Ask for feedback from your clients periodically. Feedback is the breakfast of champions. To simply ask 'Is there anything I can be doing differently to help you' goes a long way in letting clients know that you are genuinely interested in helping them.

� Great Customer Service:


1. Always be on time for a session. Don't have clients waiting for you!

2. Greet your clients by name every time

3. Develop a referral system to track when your clients refer in friends or family

4. Thank your clients

5. Send hand-written birthday cards

6. 'Feature Clients' in your newsletter or on bulletin board. We all like to be acknowledged!

7. The customer isn't always right. Just make them feel that way!

8. Don't call your clients and try to juggle around their schedules based on your convenience the day of a session. That means if you have a 3 hour break in the day, than you have a 3 hour break. It's about THEM, not YOU. Without clients, no business! Utilize your 'down' time and take advantage of gaps in your schedule.

9. If you have only one session on the books for the day, make it the BEST session ever. I still hear of trainers and massage therapists that 'don't want to come in for just 1 session.' By golly, thank God you have 1 session and use it as an opportunity to get more sessions.

10. Provide clients with educational handouts periodically

11. Treat every client like you would treat your mother

12. 'Pamper' them; I am not saying baby them. I am saying spoil them with great customer service.

� Make your Business a 'Home away from Home'; You can attain this by doing things such as

1. Offer social activities (i.e. Softball games, hiking, ski trips,
retreats, trips, etc.)

2. Mixers or Parties (Grand-opening party, anniversary of business, etc.)

3. Make the environment comfortable, clean, and encourage socialization.

Remember the costs of trying to trying to find new clients isn't cheap. It's far less expensive and far more powerful to focus on internal marketing and use your existing clientele to help build your business. Although you most likely have external marketing campaigns going on (i.e., newspapers, websites, TV, radio, direct mail, etc.), internal marketing is so effective as it will help use your clients to become your own 'marketeers.' Think about it, when was the last time you saw a Starbucks ad or saw them advertise anything outside of their doors? Never!!!

Make your fitness business the talk of the town. Focus on internal
marketing strategies to not only retain existing clients, but to grow your business from their raving to your community. It is said that 20% of your clients do 80% of your business. Keep 100% focus on your clients and never take an experience with them for granted. Your existing clientele is way too valuable and you can't afford to lose one of them. Treat every one of them as they were your first or your last client ever in your business. With consistent, superior customer service, a positive culture that elicits great energy, solid communication with your clients and staff, and genuine passion and concern for one's health and fitness, you can be assured of delivering a great customer experience. And with a great customer experience, you can build a great brand.

Author: Todd Durkin

About the author:
Todd Durkin, MA, CSCS, is a personal trainer & massage therapist who motivates, educates, and inspires people world-wide. He is the owner of Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, CA. You can sign up for his FREE award-winning Ezine newsletter, the 'TD TIMES', at www.FitnessQuest10.com or www.ToddDurkin.com.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

Promotional videos are currently enjoying a lot of buzz.

They are used by sales executives and marketing managers who aim to increase the market share of their particular brand.

Video presentations help them:

> communicate effectively with customers

> influence their decisions

> lead to increased sales.

As a result of this market upswing, numerous promotional video production companies have emerged, each promising to deliver effective promotional videos for their clients.

If you're looking for a video production corporate, ensure that it includes the following features:

Ability to determine the needs of customers

Promotional video is a marketing tool that is used to generate increased sales.

For this, a promotional video production company must carry out thorough market research to determine your target audience and their needs and expectations from a particular product or service.

This ensures the promotional video has a credible and persuasive message.

Sharpen your competitive edge

A good Video presentation company is one that helps you win an edge over your competitors.

For this, they will try to assess your competitors' offerings, which will enable them to present your product in a superior manner that simultaneously blocks the competition's benefits.

Your promotional video should highlight the unique features of your product or service.

Make use of the latest and best methods

You must look for a promotional video production company that is fundamentally creative in its approach.

They should use a combination of several techniques and props to give you the best promotional video.

For example, your promotional video should probably have use catchy animated slogans, voiceover, a cast of actors, a good music score, a customer testimonial, or a famous personality to lead marketing promotion.

It is better to have variety in the mix, than following a single house style for producing promotional video.

Capability to determine the right Customer Touch Points

No matter how well prepared your promotional video is, if it is not used at the right place, it won't work for you.

Your promotional video presentation company must therefore take into account whether your video is to be used at:

> conferences
> seminars
> trade meetings
> exhibitions
> sales meetings
> webinars
> or included for direct mailing.

Wherever it is used, it must fit the location, and deliver on its objectives.

Understand the value of your money

Video presentations cost a lot, so you need to choose the promotional video production company that respects your budget.
They must be able to decide when to spend more money, and when to hold back. They should advice, and help you budget your marketing expenses accurately.

One video production corporate that has all the above mentioned features is Rossiter & Co. They can provide you the best promotional video to improve your business prospects.

Author: Kevin Rossiter

About the author:
Rossiter and company has all features to be a good Promotional Video Production company since it uses a combination of several techniques to give you a good promotional video and respects your budget involved in creating Video presentations.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

There are various wheels that keep the so-called vehicle of business running smoothly. 'Sales' is the one wheel which can either make the business run, or come to a standstill.

We all understand fact that if a business is unable to sell its products or services to end consumers, it can't survive. It's a fact of life.

There would be nil income generated, profits would fall, and slowly the production process would stop.

Obviously it's crucial to ensure continuous and increased sales of products.

Against this background of business survival, the need for a sales presentation can be easily understood.

It is a tool that enables sales people, marketing executives, and other business executives to lay down the foundation of a successful business.

It includes product description and other unique features of your brand.

It may also educate the audience about the benefits of using a particular product. For this, it can include customer testimonials.

By building on such information points, a sales presentation helps companies persuade target customers.

They are compelled to think about your particular brand and compare it with those of your competitors. A sales presentation can include a video presentation as well.

Video presentations can include slides that make use of attractive images, catchy headings, voiceover, music background, and other elements that not only help enhance the visual experience, but also make it more educational.

A video presentation can also include famous personalities and celebs promoting your product, which can further improve the credibility of your company.

Taking all this together, we can see how sales presentations help create a impressive image of your company in front of prospective buyers, and create the potential for greater business opportunities.

You can use your sales presentation at numerous customer touch points, such as:

> exhibitions

> seminars

> conferences

> sales meetings

> corporate account presentations.

Your sales presentation can also be used for direct mailing or be shown on your company's website.

For the best results, it is important to ensure the sales presentation is suitable for the location.

For example, a product sales presentation that contains a sales drama by actors is no use at exhibitions where you're not allowed to play sound and music.

Over and above, you need to keep certain things in mind when preparing your sales presentation:

> keep it short

> don't over crowd it with loads of information

> try to make it interesting

> always think from the buyer's perspective.

Only then will you be able to make your sales presentation convincing.

For the best sales presentation, you can visit our web site. We're a a renowned company that can help you in preparing professional sales presentations, business plan presentations, promotional video presentations, and much more, enabling you to communicate with your customers in an effective manner.

We can also help you make an effective sales training video for your sales force.

Author: Kevin Rossiter

About the author:
Rossiter and company is one of the renowned companies that helps you in preparing professional sales presentations, business plan presentations, promotional video presentations and much more enabling you to communicate effectively with your customers.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

With the UK expected to slide further into recession this year, many of us are looking for innovative ways to reduce our expenditure - and one of the best ways to cut monthly outlays while improving your environmental record is to consider alternative forms of home heating. Here are some of the options available to those on a budget.

The good old-fashioned method

It wasn't long ago that most homes in the UK were heated only through log-burning fireplaces. If you live in a milder area of the country and are keen to save cash, consider using your fireplace to supplement your central heating system. Increase the amount of heat that your fire gives out by adding fireplace inserts to improve efficiency, and minimise your environmental impact by buying from an urban harvester.

Use a wood stove

More effective than a fireplace due to its design and centralised position, wood stoves can be used as a low-cost method of heating small homes. If you're keen to avoid high installation costs, go for a cheaper option such as a pellet stove.

Consider a radiant heating system

If your goal is to save more money in the long term then think about radiant heating. One of the greenest and most economical systems of home heating on the market, this can save you up to forty per cent on your heating bills once installed. Be aware, however, that the installation process is neither cheap nor hassle free.

Go green

In general, the greenest ways of heating your home are also the cheapest in the long run. Popular green methods include biodiesel heating, ground source heat pumps and solar heating systems. If you're thinking about installing an environmentally friendly heating system then you may be able to request a grant from the government, and you will almost certainly save money in the long run.

Small savers

There are plenty of ways to save on your utilities without changing your heating system altogether. Consider insulating and inserting reflective panels behind your radiators, as well as turning down your thermostat and wearing warmer clothing in the house. You could even consider shopping around for cheaper deals on your utility bills - check out price comparison websites and review the plans offered by major electricity companies like British Gas.

Author: Lex Braxtor

About the author:
British Gas offers a range of gas boilers and designer radiators with great looks and performance to match.


Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

Today, people across the world are looking for better opportunities. Employees working in the in companies are looking for better job offers, businessmen and women are looking for better monetary deals and students are looking for chances to study at better educational institutions to perform well in the exams. Today, billions of people are traveling from one corner of the world to another for better career opportunities and students are enrolling their names in reputed international schools and colleges. But how are they getting informed about the scopes and vacancies available in companies and educational institutions? Well, the answer is by searching the net.

Thanks to rapid progress of technology, getting information about the world is no more a difficult task. You are just one 'click' away from getting the information you require while sitting in front of the internet. All necessary information on all kinds of topics are readily available on the internet. What you just need to do is to search properly. Today internet is like a window through which one can see the whole world. By clicking on the websites one can get informed about things happening all over the world, which apart from providing required data, helps in the mental growth.

The benefits of net searching for students are manifold. By searching the net, students can now get to know about all current affairs. Besides, internet is helping them in their studying too. There are thousands of websites from where students can get access to information that are helpful for them to perform better in exams. Today students can download high standard study materials for preparing their notes for exams simply by searching the net. There is no need to buy books from stores or borrow from the library. Just search for the desired topic in the net and you can get all data sitting at your home.

Billions of students in all corners of the world dream of pursuing higher studies in reputed international schools and colleges . In the past, their dreams used to remain as dreams but today internet is helping them to turn their dreams into realities. There are hundreds of educational institutions that that offer online degree courses on various subjects. This is a huge benefit for students who cannot afford to travel abroad and arrange for lodging to pursue higher education in international schools and colleges. Today you can pursue a degree course on your desired topic from a reputed institution simply by sitting at your home. You don't even need to buy books or study materials from the stores. Everything is readily available on the websites of these institutions. You can simply download them and study. This is a major reason behind the increasing popularity of 'distant learning courses' all over the world.

Benefit of net searching for professionals is also huge. Today people can get informed about availability of different kinds of jobs by searching on the job portals. There are hundreds of job portals where updated information on job vacancies in different fields are regularly updated. One just need to search for the required information. The days of waiting for the weekly 'jobs' pages in the newspapers are gone. Today you can get to know about job vacancies in companies across the world in every minute. People allover the world are doing just that. They are simply putting their queries on the search engine and the window to the world is getting opened in front of them within seconds.

Besides, searching the net is also helping professionals or jobseekers to know about the current trends of the job market. Today one can get an idea about the rise and fall of demand of workers in some particular fields and can decide the kind of job they would apply for. Today net searching is also helping students to choose their fields of specialization so that they can get stable and high-paying jobs. So the role of internet in the lives of students and careerists is huge. In fact, today it is a tool without which you are helpless. And when you are searching the net, be sure that you are just a 'click' away from getting the information you are looking for.

Author: Probir das

About the author:
seo person

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

In today's business environment, companies have had to put in place procedures for how the business will continue to function in the event of a disaster such as a natural disaster like fire and flood or a temporary power or phone outage that could cause the business to close temporarily. When disaster strikes, business does not stop.

Phone calls should still be able to be answered and important functions like order taking and order processing and customer service should still continue despite the disaster. That is why many businesses turn to a telephone answering service that can provide disaster recovery solutions and insure that their phones are still being answered no matter what the circumstances are.

The effect of a fire, flood, hurricane or power outage can be substantial to a business that relies on having their phones covered during these events. Businesses that have heavy phone traffic due to customer service and order processing operations rely on these operations as profit centers. When they engage the services of a phone answering service, it's important that the service offer disaster recovery solutions so that the operations of the business can continue to function despite the circumstances.

Many businesses have already done this with their IT functions by creating redundant computer resources at a remote location so they can continue to operate during a natural disaster. The same principle applies to having phone coverage. Having redundant phone coverage through a call center that can answer the phones during times of a disaster is smart business practice and a way for you to insure that important phone calls are covered and that you get important messages and that order taking and customer service can still continue during these times of disaster.

When you have a call answering service that provides disaster recovery solutions, your business is in good hands. Their call center is prepared to meet any possible challenge. They have redundant phone providers should there be a phone outage so they can still answer your phones and answer customer queries. They will also be prepared for a power outage with power backup systems that can sustain any power outage. The operators are trained to answer your phones and inform customers about any temporary closings and answer any queries and relay messages to your business that are vitally important. Disaster recovery solutions insure the continuity of business no matter what the disaster may be and can insure that no vital business will be lost and that business functions remain intact no matter what the contingency.

Author: Kurt Duncan

About the author:
TeleMessagingUSA provides professional answering services to companies looking to improve their customer communications. TeleMessaging USA has been providing telemessaging and business answering services to businesses for more than 15 years and provides after hours, weekends, holiday and peak answering services.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

Last week I made an early morning trip to a seminar/book promo breakfast to promote my web site. After putting out flyers all over the place I took a moment to step in to the facility and caught a few moments of a morning with Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE.

As I stepped through the door, a question and answer session was in progress. A woman stepped up to the microphone and asked 'Is the customer always right?'

Jack smiled and said, 'You might not think so, and they may believe so, but if you don't make it so, you're dead!'

Jack, that is a pretty strong consequence. Dead. But let's face it. Who will come to do business with you again after you argue with them about their dissatisfaction? I think most people will just go somewhere else.

Isn't is just common sense that we let our customer complain and then make it right? Well for the business owner, we usually just grin and say ' what would it take to make you happy today?' but what about our employees?

If we have not taken the time to train our employees how to deal with an unhappy customer, how will they react when one attacks them with ' the food was cold and tasted like crap!' or 'I only had it for three days and the wheel fell off!'

It is important that as part of training any employee who has contact with the customer they have training on dealing with complaints as well as how to work the register or take the order. As a business owner you probably have already thought of that. Is there a piece of this puzzle missing?

The missing piece might be empowerment. The employee can be trained how to be calm and not take complaints personally. But what if they are not empowered to take action and correct the problem immediately themselves? What if you have instructed them to get you if there is a problem and you are on your way to the bank to make a deposit?

In most cases an angry consumer will not wait for you to return.

This would mean that if your employee is not empowered to make a correction or offer a compromise to make the customer happy, you would lose their business forever. How much does it cost to get a new customer? How much does it cost to make them happy when they are dissatisfied? The difference on paper is staggering.

Therefore, as part of the training of a new employee, it should be taught what is possible to do to make a customer happy when they are complaining. A quick response to a problem is appreciated almost more than the actual solution in most cases.

You see in life, we are all customers at some time or other, and I don't know about you, but when I am an upset customer, I am always right!

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.

The last thing we want to hear during our work day is complaints from customers. However, it does come with the territory. Here are a few tips on how to turn your customer's complaint into a positive.

1. Listen

When a customer comes to you with a complaint about one of your products or services, listen to them. Listen to what they are telling you, and take notes if at all possible.

The number one thing a customer wants when they have a problem is for someone to listen to them.

Allow them to vent, let them get it all out. Once they have explained their problem in full, begin to ask any questions you may have to get a full handle on the situation.

While you are listening, body language is very important. Make sure you maintain eye contact. This sends your customer a message that you are taking them seriously.

2. Be Empathetic

When the customer is done explaining their problem, show sincerity by telling them that you understand how they feel. Apologize on behalf of the company that they feel the way they do, and tell them that you are committed to resolving their issue within the guidelines of your company.

By becoming defensive in this situation, you are taking a bad situation and making it worse.

By having an understanding of where your customer is coming from on the situation, and speaking in a calm tone of voice, you can clearly defuse the situation.

You don't by any means want your customer to become angry and cause a scene.

3. Offer a Solution.

We have all heard the expression 'the customer is always right.'

I don't necessarily agree with this, but it is important to work toward finding a solution, even if the customer is in the wrong. For instance, you might try meeting them half way.

You will know wether or not your customer is a repeat offender, and you can handle the situation accordingly.

For customers who have a legitimate complaint, it is best to rectify the situation right then and there. Wether it is giving them their money back, or replacing their product.

Always leave your customer with your business card and tell them if they should ever have a problem again, they should not hesitate to contact you immediately. This will help them regain their confidence in you and your company.


The main goal when a customer has a complaint is to not allow the problem to snowball. Your objective should be to defuse the situation and retain your customer.

By handling tough situations such as these in a professional manner, you will find your once complaining customers satisfied that you resolved their issue, and a new found respect for you.

This article may be reproduced by anyone at any time, as long as the authors name and reference links are kept in tact and active.

Article source: Free Customer Service Articles.