Message from the President
Customer Service
I Heard That
The Top 10
It Starts With You
Smile
Fresh Thought
Customers Are Our Business
"No chairs make for short meetings." - Erik Larsen
"Your worst decision will be the one you never made."
- D.B. Cooper
"The best job security is to be worth more than you are paid." - Bill Gates
"Honestly earned money is something you need never be ashamed of."
- Mike Tyson
"What worked so well yesterday may be a bust today." - Austin Powers
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Attitude is crucial in any customer interaction. I'm reminded of a point that brings this home! Ask yourself how many people were at the last funeral you attended? The last wedding? Most of us would say around 200. Think about it. When you are not your best with any client or prospect, how many people do you think are aware of it?
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The Top 10 things customers want from their office furniture dealer
- Expertise: Customers look not so much for product as they do solutions!
- Accountability: Claim ownership and just figure out how to make it right!
- Options: Provide them, and the more a customer will want to do business with you.
- Proactiveness: Customers want suppliers who look past present situations and plan for future needs.
- Adaptability/
Innovation: Furniture procurement is not a static process, customers want a dealer who remains flexible.
- Communication: This is where trust is built. Customers want dealers who ask questions and stay in touch.
- Quality of Product: Customers want dealers who choose product that will enhance their ability to deliver the best service.
- Value: Customers want a dealer who understands price and that it is just one aspect of value.
- Reality checks: Customers need a dealer who will challenge their decisions, use their expertise.
- Great service: Someone you can count on. Customers require and deserve a dealer that delivers what is promised.
The furniture dealer that possesses the qualities outlined above will be one who is in the position to keep all of their customers satisfied.
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Success comes in
Cans...
Not in Cannots!"
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This issue of our newsletter talks about "customer service", what this really means, and how important it really is in any company's long-term successful future. Our newsletter itself is a product of our customer service efforts. Staying in touch and sharing useful and fun information with our clients and community, provides communication, the foundation of any successful relationship. With that in mind, we would be very happy to hear your thoughts. What would you like to see discussed in future issues? We are always enthusiastic when we hear from you. Email us at webinquiries@seattleofficefurniture.com and let us know, what's "NEWS" with you! It is the first and most important step in our unending quest for total customer satisfaction.
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Choice: Customers choose you because you and your staff are friendly, helpful and attentive. Your extra efforts are appreciated.
Understanding: Customer's time and money are precious. Don't waste either of them.
Statistics: Customers are not just statistics. They are human beings who want to be treated with dignity.
Treatment: Customers are not always right, but you should treat them as if they are. If there is a misunderstanding, resolve it quickly and positively.
Obligation: Customers are not olbigated to buy from you. They do so because they trust you. Honor that trust.
Money: Customers give you money in exchange for goods. Without it, you would not be in business.
Employees: Customers must be valued by all your staff. Employees' attitudes must be open and responsive.
Respect: Customers who feel a mutual respect will return again and again. It all comes back to repeat business.
Satisfaction: Customers who receive satisfaction from your ethical business practices not only return, but create new customers. They are your best source of advertising. Great service makes the difference.
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Customer Service that results in total customer satisfaction is very much a reflection and extension of the internal health of your work environment. How do your departments work together to solve customer questions and problems?
Total customer satisfaction can be brought right back to how well employees in a company communicate and have a "seamless philosophy" towards each customer interaction. Total customer satisfaction grows from this environment, when employees in your company truly work "as each others customers."
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The Unending Quest For Customer Satisfaction
Keeping customers satisfied will be any company's greatest competitive advantage. Customers are demanding ever more of their suppliers. Keeping them satisfied while building loyalty will assume new levels of importance. For many of us, it already has become a strategic priority. Those companies that fail to satisfy their customer's needs through total performance will lose out to those who do. A company's responsiveness to its customers will determine its stability, growth and long term success. Recent research has led to the following general conclusion about achieving customer satisfaction.
- Customer satisfaction is a matter of corporate survival
- Customer satisfaction will take time to implement throughout an organization
- Customer satisfaction will require strict measurement of performance from your customer's perspective
The ultimate question every supplier must ask and continue to answer is, how can I satisfy my customers' ever changing expectations?
Four key criteria that most buyers use when evaluating their suppliers, in order of importance, weighted by percentage are:
- Your committment to the customer (32%). This factor deals with your company's stability, responsiveness, price/performance, and execution.
- Product performance and quality (29%). How well do your products and services perform compared to your competitors?
- Knowledge of the customer's business by your sales and service department (21%). This factor centers on how well your sales/service organizations are trained, how well they understand the customer and your industry, and how well integrity is part of all transactions.
- Service organizations quality(19%). This describes your perceived service technician's credibility with your customer, their ability to solve problems, and their reliability.
I found this survey very interesting. The intangibles contingent on human performance (sales and service)actually rate higher than the tangibles (product quality). This makes it clear that sales and service performance to a large extent determine the degree of customer satisfaction.
The following credo is outstanding for all of us who are providers of any product or service. In the beginning and in the end, delivering consistent customer satisfaction comes down to doing the little things with perfection!
- Quality will be prized as a precious possession.
- Performance will continue to outsell promises.
- Know-how will surpass guess-how.
- Trust, not tricks, will keep customers loyal.
- Enthusiasm will be as contagious as ever.
- Business will continue to go where invited and remain where appreciated
- People will prefer to do business with friends.
- Reputations will continue to be made by many acts and lost by one.
What customers really want is superior service from motivated vendor to employees. To remain competitive, the undending quest for customer satisfaction will never again be an option.
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