GPI 158 – Courtesy is a business asset – always a positive, never a loss.

You cannot be too courteous and the same goes for your employees. Do not assume all of your new hires will treat customers the same. This is the main reason you must teach your employees, at all levels of the company, how to answer the telephone at all times.

Teach your employees how to be courteous. Teach them how to be courteous regardless of how often, why or when they speak or interact with any customer. They represent the company at all times all the way down to the parking lot attendant, who assists someone to their car, takes a cart for someone or thanks a customer who returns a cart to a cart stall.

Examples of excellent customer relations and professional business courtesy:

Admitting company errors. Oh, sir, you are correct and I am wrong. That price is posted incorrectly for that item. This is one instance where I am allowed to charge the incorrect lower price for you, when it is our fault. Let me ring that up now and honor the price posted as you saw it. (It will not hurt to allow incorrect pricing errors for items under a specified small dollar amount cutoff; give your salesclerks the freedom to do this for your customers. The customers will not forget and the price errors will be offset by good customer relations.)
Product complaints. Please tell me the problem with our product and I will do what I can to resolve the problem. I appreciate the fact you came back to the store. I will make sure we get this resolved to your satisfaction while you are here. (Understand the loyalty of a customer that returns rather than going to a competitor. Realize the possible long term sales opportunities that lie waiting if you can make a customer happy by giving in a little.)
Customer assurance of full warranty. Please try this solution and if it does not work for you, bring it back in for a full refund. Ask for me, Julie. I will personally take care of it for you. There will not be any problem returning it or if you wish, exchanging it for a different selection. We will work this out for you. (Personalize the conversation; give a personal name and tell the customer ahead of time what to expect.)
Limited sales and honoring customer loyalty. Thank for your calling us about our special. Our sale ends at the close of business today. I see here in our system you have been a customer for over ten years. I do not know when the next sale might be. You know if you cannot come in today, I would be glad to go right now when I hang up and reserve one of the remaining sale items for you if you wish. You can come in over the next couple of days when you are able to pick it up. We do appreciate your business. Let me know if I can do that for you.
Helping customers. Thank you for calling ABC Company sir. I’m sorry you lost your wallet; I want to help you locate it. If you will give me some identifying marks or contents of the wallet you lost, I will check one that a customer just turned in here at “Lost and Found”. Please tell me something unique about it if you do not mind, such as color, specific marking or lettering.
Professional departments. Hello, this is Frank Smith in Quality Control. May I help you? (Identify the department and who is talking to exude customer service even within the organization)
Company greeting. Good morning! ABC Corporation. How may I help you today? (Be pleasant, identify the company and ask what you can do for them, and mean it.)
Company greeting and courtesy. Good morning, this is ABC Corp., may I put you on hold for just a moment? (Ask politely versus cutting off the caller. If this does not work, try because the lines get clogged, try this: “Good morning, this ABC Corp., please hold and I will be right with you.”)
Professional departments. Accounting, this is Donald Smith in Accounts Payable. May I help you? (Identify the department, the individual and maybe a title and then ask what you can do for the customer, always.)
Returned call. I am sorry that Mr. Adams did not answer his telephone. Would you like to leave a voicemail or if you prefer, tell me your name and telephone number and I will see to it that he calls you back concerning your complaint. What would you prefer? (Do something no other receptionist does; offer to take a personal message. This is rare and will be memorable to the customer.)
Correcting service problems. I am sorry you had problems with our service provided this morning. If you tell me what was not done to your satisfaction, I will let the crew management know and they will send a different group out to finish the job to your satisfaction. If you tell me that it is alright and acceptable to you, I will see to it they come and check with you before they leave to make sure you are satisfied with their work. This will be done at no additional cost to you. Does that seem like that will take care of your needs? (Realize when a paying customer complains, he is saying, “I am willing to give you a second chance so you have this one chance to keep my business. It is yours to lose.”)
Lobby and front desk courtesy. If you will have a seat for a few minutes, I will tell Mr. Anderson you are here to see him. If he does not get back with me in that time, I will call him again for you.
Lobby and front desk courtesy (follow-up after a short wait). Sir, I know you have been waiting for several minutes. I want you to know I have called Mr. Anderson about your appointment. I told him you arrived early and are still patiently waiting. He told me to tell you he will be with you within five minutes and he does apologize for the delay.
Delivery man courtesy. Hello, this is Derek with ABC Corporation. I am delivering your order today and I am in front of your house at 11405 White Oak Lane. It is raining right now and this is a large package wrapped in a cardboard box. I am calling you on the number you left with our customer service department phone because I wanted to be sure that I can leave this package for you on the back porch. If you wish, I can take it back to the store and you can pick it up at the store between 7 am and 7 pm, Monday through Saturday. It is your decision. What would you like?
Personal customer service. I am sorry you had problems reaching customer service. Here is another direct toll free number that generally has less traffic and if that does not work, here, also, is my direct telephone number to call if all else fails. If the other number that I give you does not work, you are welcome to call me, I will be happy to make sure it gets done for you.
Website customer service. Tell me what you were looking for on our website and I will find it for you. We make note when our customers cannot find items and will make changes when the website does not work for the benefit of the customer. Do you remember anything about the product name? (Be helpful and find out how the programming of your firm’s website is flawed, not user friendly and detrimental to your company image. Customers will tell you what is wrong and you will be glad to listen since they may only tell you once frustrated with their worthless data searches.)
Billing information/customer service. If you give me your name or account number, I will find your information in our system and check to make sure we have the correct mailing address and a good billing date if the current one is not convenient for you. I am sorry your payment envelope was returned to you; we will do whatever it takes today to get this resolved.
Customer service for customer loyalty. If you give me your name and telephone number, I will find this product in our stores and call you back to let you know if we have it in stock. If we have it in stock and you wish, we can send it to you ground-shipping. Because this is the first time you have tried to buy online according to our records, and because you have had an account with us for ten years, I will ship it overnight at no additional cost to you. May I do that for you today to show our appreciation for being a loyal customer? (Acknowledge the customer’s years of business and loyalty, one good benefit derived from maintaining clean good customer records.)
Handling customer service complaints and follow-up. Tell me who you had problems with and we will speak with that customer service representative for you. If you wish, give me your number and once I locate the representative, secure a credit for your account and ensure all new shipments are going out, I will call you. I will try to get that done today, but, that may not take place until tomorrow morning because it is already 2 p.m. Is that ok with you? (A display of courtesy, a specific goal stated in behalf of the customer and a question to ensure the proposal is agreed to by the customer all add up to great customer relations.)
Courteous delay. Good morning! I am working with another customer this minute, but I promise to return to your call in just a few moments if you will hang on for a few moments. (Immediately impress someone when they enter the building, lobby and let them know you are busy, but you will be helping them in a few moments.)