Teryl @ Work

Retaining and gaining customers has become increasingly challenging.  As customers we have abundant choice and it is so easy to comparative shop. We talk about great service We talk about the extra mile We talk about the attitude We talk about customer perception We talk about customer expectation We talk about meeting customer needs We talk about the tangible vs intangible We talk about the client experience So what makes a customer feel that they have received outstanding service?   What makes it a soft skill, rather than a science, is that we are all so different and people in services and sales need to read each situation and act accordingly. In a restaurant, if my chair is constantly bumped by the waitrons going past, no matter how great the food, my perception is negative.  My family don’t even notice the bumps.. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to visit Greece and Turkey. In Istanbul, we were wandering around one of the many fan...

Service in South Africa is less than consistent.   Every day, we have to deal with people who have little or no interest in providing a great customer experience. So how do you raise your happiness level and get better service most of the time.   I have been conducting a personal survey into this and have found the following: Shout, bully and demand and, under certain circumstances, you get faster service, not necessarily better, but you move up the ladder Wait to be served, and you will wait a long time Polite and assertive behaviour, on balance, gets the best results Sometimes, I feel that the power has shifted.   In other words, as a consumer, it seems to be up to me to greet the service provider first, be absolutely charming, ask nicely for whatever it is I want, and thank them graciously after receiving unfriendly service. The counter of this is that when I receive great service, I keep going back, even if the product is not as good! Under promise and ov...