There are as many definitions for customer service as there are industries. The position has to be fluid enough to cover whatever needs to be done. However, defining expectations for employees helps them meet the business’ and customer’s expectations.
Winning the heart of today’s student means showing you care about the two things: money and career.
I have never met a single person who hasn’t had a bad customer service experience. In fact, in a single month, I had five bad experiences with various companies, one of which I will never use again. Sadly, I can only think of one truly exceptional customer experience in the same time frame. Customer service is being left behind by disinterested staff and consumers aren’t happy about it.
Every business will eventually receive a complaint. Despite best intentions, a customer will walk away unhappy at one point or another. The customer might reach out to the business itself for a resolution to the problem, but with increasing odds, they are going to take their complaint to social media. Once the negative words are out on the internet, they are there forever. Managers and business owners have two choices: they can ignore the complaint or demonstrate their great customer service for the world to see.
Topics: customer service, customer experience, marketing
We talk a lot about customer service because we believe that relationships are an important part of business. Anyone can talk a good game for a short period of time when they want something, but day in and day out dedication is rare. Real connections between businesses take more than an email or single sales call, and that’s what MBS Wholesale provides. When we welcome a new partner school they become part of our family — their success is our success.
As a customer, the experience you have in stores, online and on social media reflects on the overall company. The customer experience isn’t about just mastering one of these channels, it is about providing information and support across the board. As a college store, your day-to-day interactions with students are about more than just ensuring they come back through. Positive student interactions reflect well on the entire campus community. Whether you have simplified picking up their textbooks or offer a friendly ear, you are improving the student’s overall college experience. That is what customer service is about.
Topics: customer service, college stores
Sometimes we need a sales associate’s attention, and sometimes we need to be left alone. For those in customer service, it can be tough to tell the difference, and getting it wrong can cost businesses sales and customers. As college stores seek to become campus destinations that offer memorable experiences, knowing how and when to approach a shopper is critical.
Customer service can be tricky. You want to do everything in your power to make the customer’s experience with your business pleasant, but inevitably there will be times when someone has a bad encounter. If they tell you the issue, it can be resolved. Often, though, customers don’t give voice to the complaints. Unless there has been an egregious error, most customers will just walk away disappointed or angry, which leads to a loss of customers and revenue to the store.
The Community College of Rhode Island has four bookstore locations that make servicing students their number one priority. Using their years of expertise they field questions about all aspects of college life. Throughout the day staff members are helping students understand how to use their financial aid in the store or showing a student how to find their way through the campus. Like many college stores, they are more than a bookstore — they are the heartbeat of the campus.
Topics: customer loyalty, campus store, customer service
Nearly every store and restaurant has a loyalty rewards program. Some give you a specific item for free, some give money off and others build points that you can use in specified ways. However, when everyone is running a loyalty program, it becomes harder for a programs to live up to its intended purpose: to inspire loyalty.
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