Who are the best and worst companies for customer service? New research from Which? shows who is delivering a great service - we look at what you can learn from them.
In other news, there’s some worrying statistics about fraudulent job references and some better news about small business confidence.
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Is your customer service up to scratch?
A Which? survey has identified the companies offering the best customer service - and those who are lagging. So, who is doing well and what can small businesses learn from them?
The top 10
|
Position |
Company |
Rating |
|
1 |
First Direct |
87% |
|
2 |
Lush |
86% |
|
3= |
John Lewis |
83% |
|
3= |
Lakeland |
83% |
|
3= |
Waitrose |
83% |
|
6 |
Specsavers |
82% |
|
7 |
Waterstones |
81% |
|
8 |
Green Flag |
80% |
|
9= |
Amazon |
79% |
|
9= |
American Express |
79% |
|
9= |
Game |
79% |
|
9= |
Lloyds Pharmacy |
79% |
|
9= |
Marks & Spencer |
79% |
The bottom 10
|
Position |
Company |
Rating |
|
91= |
Co-operative Food |
66% |
|
91= |
TK Maxx |
66% |
|
93 |
99p Stores |
65% |
|
94= |
BT |
64% |
|
94= |
EE |
64% |
|
94= |
SSE |
64% |
|
97 |
TalkTalk |
63% |
|
98 |
Ryanair |
59% |
|
99 |
Scottish Power |
58% |
|
100 |
Npower |
57% |
So, what can you learn from those companies who are well ranked? Here’s our top tips for delivering excellent customer service.
Put yourself in your customers’ position
Your customers are the most important part of your business - as Henry Ford said, “It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages.”
Providing an excellent customer service needs to start before any issues arise. Your customers and their needs should be embedded into your business. You need to understand them to give them what they need.
Make sure you speak to your customers. Stay in touch with any feedback - whether it’s received in person, in writing or by phone. Think about what you’d want and ask people about their needs. By understanding expectations you’ll be better placed to meet or exceed them.
Make sure you’re listening
Customers don’t always complain in person or by contacting you directly. Now that social media is so common, customers will often take to Facebook and Twitter to express their concerns.
Make sure you’re monitoring these sites to see any mention of your business and make sure you’re prompt in addressing any issues, answering questions or responding to any praise.
If you don’t, your competitors may do so instead. Here’s an example from rivals EE and O2. An EE customer contacted them on social media because they hadn’t contacted her.
19 hours later, EE hadn’t responded so she tweeted again to express her frustration and mentioned O2 in the tweet:
O2 responded:
In case you’re wondering, O2 is 46th on the list. EE is 94th=.
Invest in your staff
Your staff are your front line - they’re the people who deliver excellent customer service. We could talk about ensuring they’re trained, that they know the products or services, and that they have the power to deal with situations. And those are important factors.
But don’t forget that if your staff are happy in their work, that’s more likely to come through in everything they do. It’s that which helps deliver excellent customer service.
Have the right policies
Make sure you have clear policies in place so staff and customers know how any issues will be handled.
You’ll need to ensure that you’re following legislation. But in some circumstances, it can be worth seeing if you can go further. Exceeding customer expectations can dramatically influence how they feel about your business. Weigh up the cost of going beyond the letter of the law with the benefits of continued custom and great word of mouth.
Don’t be afraid to apologise
If you think an apology shows you as weak or undermines your business, think again. If you’ve made a mistake, acknowledge this and say you’re sorry. The customer already knows this and by apologising, you can start to diffuse the situation. Make sure the apology is:
- Honest and straightforward
- Acknowledges how you made the customer feel
- Explains what happened (without blaming your employees)
You can then move on to rectifying the mistake.