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If
you have a business that serves customers of any kind, how do
you know when or why someone is unhappy with the service they
receive? If they're like 96% of people, you'll never know
because they just won't come back. Not only that, but they’ll
tell all of their friends they were unsatisfied with your
service before they tell you. Poor customer service is one of
the biggest elements of failure for many customer-based
businesses - a factor that's often difficult to quantify.
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Angela Megasko is the secret service coming to the rescue of
customer-based businesses throughout the country. Her business,
Market Viewpoint, offers a national network of mystery shoppers
who pose as customers and evaluate businesses on crucial factors
such as politeness and demeanor of employees, quality of
service, cleanliness of facilities, conflict management, and
many elements that can dictate whether a customer is satisfied
or never uses your services again.
Just how open are
service businesses to being evaluated? "If someone is
experiencing deep insecurities, there's not a lot I can do to
conquer that," remarks Megasko. "It seems that the
best of the best, the top of the heap, are the ones interested
in doing this. And that's how they got where they are." She
assures clients up front that her reports will be balanced and
that she instructs her shoppers to look for the positive as well
as the negative. "I tell my people that they need to be
looking for the good, because the bad is going to make itself
evident right away," says Megasko. "As human beings,
we tend to focus on the negative - we're no different when we
walk into a store or business.
Megasko will sit
down with clients and discuss their needs. With the client, she
designs evaluation sheets that her shoppers use and the
standards by which the business's services and facilities will
be judged. "This helps to take the subjectivity out of the
evaluation. For example, the idea of a clean bathroom may differ
from one person to the next. We set down written characteristics
that will determine how each element rates," she explains.
In most cases,
Megasko will encourage employers to forewarn their employees
that they will be mystery shopped, though not revealing the
exact date. This keeps employees from feeling they are being
treated unfairly. She recommends that employers reward employees
who were reported as having excellent performance during the
evaluation and encourages business owners to continue such
rewards as general practice. Megasko also finds that an
evaluation from an outside party helps employers deal with
employee problems better, since the opinion is from an unbiased
source. She notices, "It's funny how employees and managers
will perk up when it's an entirely different person making the
observation." Megasko bestows awards of excellence each
quarter to clients that perform above the rest, furthering the
positive nature of the experience. And her warm demeanor,
enthusiasm, and professionalism with her clients help to make
the process of criticism a lot more comfortable. One client,
Sandra Habekost of Celestine Gifts and Books in Pennsylvania,
told her that she has a way of expressing things that inspires
fruitful change.
If you're ready
to improve your customer-based business, you can contact Market
Viewpoint in Glenmoore, Pennsylvania by calling (610) 942-7030.
Mark Reeve
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Employees take their cues from the top and this is especially true when it comes to customer service. As a business owner, manager or supervisor, you might want to ask yourself the following questions to determine if you are setting the right example for your staff:
- Do you have a customer service plan in place? Think through the various service situations that could arise and make sure that a preferred way of dealing with these issues is in place. Document the procedures and make sure they are communicated to all personnel.
- Have you trained your staff on this plan? The best way to communicate the behavioral expectation for customer service is through training. If money and time are being spent to train them on something, employees conclude that it
must be important.
- As senior or junior level management, how do you treat customers? Do you demonstrate honor and respect toward those who purchase your product or service? Employees observe how you react to customer complaints and issues. Be careful not to drop the ball at this point.
- Do you monitor and measure your customer service performance? Consider mystery shopping, customer surveys, focus groups, and suggestion boxes to help you monitor your customers’ satisfaction level.
Establishing a customer service plan, communicating it, measuring your results, and leading by example will ensure higher levels of customer satisfaction and retention for your organization. Creating satisfied customers starts with you.
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