Importance of Customer Service

Have you ever been frustrated by a bad experience at a store? Grumbled about the way you were treated by the cashier or clerk? Ever told anyone about how you felt during one of these difficult times?

Nothing spreads faster than someone who has had a bad experience and wants to tell everyone they know about it.  With social media today, these accusations and misunderstandings can spread quickly. While we often think these experiences are only limited to businesses, schools need to understand the importance of a quality customer care program as a part of the service they provide.

The competition for education today is increasing.  Parents and kids have many choices as to where they want to receive their educational support.  A frustrated parent is what often leads them to start looking at new options in the first place.  Here are a few tips for enhancing your customer service experience for your customers.

• Take Responsibility – One of my favorite lines that I learned from a Walt Disney session on customer service is “It may not be your fault, but it is your problem.” You or your staff may not have caused whatever issue you are dealing with, but it has landed in your lap and you have to find a way to make it work.  Sometimes just saying “I understand” can be a great first step to identifying a solution.
• Process Matters – You are never going to please everyone.  Sometimes the specific outcome that is necessary for the larger group can upset individuals.  You can’t say yes all the time. But you can explain your process and why you made the decision you did.  Some people may still be upset with the final decision, but they can get to a point where they understand and respect the process for getting there.  
• Who has the answer – You are not expected to have all the answers.  However, if you don’t know, find out who can help and get the frustrated person in the right area.  Often this includes telling them, “I don’t know the answer to your question, but I’m going to find someone who can help.  If you could please give me your contact information, I’ll get the right person for this issue and have them contact you.”  
• Follow-up – If someone leaves you a message, email or voicemail, be sure to follow-up.  Obviously urgent items, meetings and other important things creep up in our schedules.  But ignoring someone who is already frustrated only makes the initial problem worse. Even if the message you are sending is to say, “I received your message and thanks for your inquiry.  I’ll be in touch with you within 48 hours and look forward to helping in any way I can.”
• Smile – A simple smile or a friendly voice can go a long way to de-escalating any situation. Someone has come to you upset with something and sometimes their frustrations are not expressed in the best manner.  However, responding to them with rude or unkind behavior only escalates the issue to a higher level. A kind word, a soothing tone and a friendly smile can go a long way to putting things back on the right path.
• Monitor – In today’s world, customer service complaints aren’t all shared via a phone call or email.  Often times people share their frustrations through social media and websites. Be sure to monitor public websites and social media feeds to make sure you are aware of issues or complaints being made against your school.