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Content about Customer service

April 18, 2013
Deliver What Your Customers Want

APPLETON, Wis. — Customers are willing to (and do) pay more for fantastic service, nearly perfect cleaning, and fair problem resolution

APPLETON, Wis. — When I was a new salesperson, one of my first bosses had a saying about the service we were selling: “You can have it on time, cheap, or right. Pick two.”

Consider having your top customer service representative (CSR) inform Mr. or Mrs. Cheapskate, “Well, certainly we will be happy to let you pay $X for dry-cleaning that designer wool blazer. It will be ready for pick up in July.” Or, “Of course we will be happy to charge you $Z and ruin the lining in the pressing process.” I’ll let you have some fun generating additional permutations.

The reason I’m bringing up the issue of cost is that my firm has complied the data from 2012 mystery shopping results from around the country. The cost of providing service is something we are hearing about from owners. For example, we have been told it’s too costly to:

April 9, 2013
No Passive Path to Increasing Profitable Sales (Part 1)

SAN FRANCISCO — With no magic bullet in sight, profitable sales require multi-pronged, sustained effort

SAN FRANCISCO — In our consulting practice, we field many questions, but the most common question has long been “How do I increase sales?”

When this question arises, we always encourage the person who is asking to modify it to “How do I increase profitable sales?”

How many of you have tried Groupon, delighted initially at the large number of respondents, but then evaluated the retention rate on those deeply discounted sales and vowed never to use it again? These promotional efforts can be used as a marketing introduction for a new service or new location, but resulting sustained sales are rare. They have the added disadvantage of training your customers to think that your service is not worth your normal price.

So what is the answer?

First, there is no silver bullet. Profitable sales require a multi-pronged, sustained effort. There is no passive path to increased profitable sales.

January 29, 2013
Perception is Reality

APPLETON, Wis. — It’s how the customer interprets someone’s actions or words

APPLETON, WIS. — Lately, I’ve heard the phrase “perception is reality” used in several different, unrelated conversations. Since she was the first person who I heard mention it, I called Diana Van Brunt of Westbank Cleaners, Austin, Texas, to ask her what she meant.

In essence, it’s how the customer interprets someone’s actions or words, she says. “If you ask someone to wash the dishes, they may choose to run the dishwasher, or wash them in the sink, or use disposable plates. It’s the perception of washing dishes.”

I’ve reviewed tens of thousands of mystery shop reports and have seen how a single experience can alter a customer’s perception.

EXPERIENCE 1A

Reality: The computers at the front counter aren’t working.

December 5, 2012
NCA Technical Training At Counter for Customer Service Reps Course

The National Cleaners Association (NCA) will present its Technical Training At Counter for Customer Service Reps Course on March 3 in Nanuet, N.Y.

For more information, call 212-967-3002 or e-mail ncaiclean@aol.com. 

December 5, 2012
NCA Technical Training At Counter for Customer Service Reps Course

The National Cleaners Association (NCA) will present its Technical Training At Counter for Customer Service Reps course on Nov. 24 in Nanuet, N.Y.

For more information, call 212-967-3002 or e-mail ncaiclean@aol.com. 

September 19, 2012
Customer Service: Roll Out the Red Carpet (Part 2 of 2)

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Nothing is more integral to a service-oriented business than pleasing customers

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Providing good customer service was a common theme among the dry cleaning professionals presenting educational sessions during the recent Fabricare convention in Southern California. And Cleaner’s Supply’s Trudy Adams, the New York-based dry cleaning supplier’s director of customer service and sales, believes nothing is more integral to the health of a service-oriented business.

MAKE A CONNECTION

Adams recently visited a dry cleaner to provide customer service training at his request. As she sat in the lobby that day, this is what she heard from the CSR working the counter: “Phone number. … When do you want it? … OK, you’re all set.”

The CSR was missing prime opportunities to connect with customers and continue to build on their relationship. “I hear this excuse all the time: ‘They’re in a hurry. They don’t want to talk to me.’ OK, maybe 95% of customers really want to stand there and talk, 5% are in a hurry. You can monitor your conversation with the pace of the customer. We train that with our reps.”

September 18, 2012
Customer Service: Roll Out the Red Carpet (Part 1 of 2)

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Nothing is more integral to a service-oriented business than pleasing customers

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Providing good customer service was a common theme among the dry cleaning professionals presenting educational sessions during the recent Fabricare convention in Southern California. And Cleaner’s Supply’s Trudy Adams, the New York-based dry cleaning supplier’s director of customer service and sales, believes nothing is more integral to the health of a service-oriented business.

She opened her presentation by asking the dry cleaning store managers and customer service representatives in the audience to raise their hands. “That’s fantastic, because I’m one of you. I don’t own a business. I am a front-line employee. Front line determines your bottom line.

“You are going to decide whether your business is a success or a failure. You are the most important people in that business when you are at the front counter. You are the face of the business.”

August 14, 2012
CLA Designs Unique Conference for ‘Top 100’ Laundry Owners

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Fall event hopes to draw self-service laundry industry’s best

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — The Coin Laundry Association (CLA) has put together an event Oct. 11-13 that it hopes will bring together the self-service laundry industry’s most successful people for unmatched educational sessions, networking, exhibits and a unique opportunity to share best practices with their peers.

The Excellence in Laundry Conference is designed specifically for those laundry industry entrepreneurs who want to grow their business and succeed, CLA says. Attendees will rub elbows with some of the most successful laundry industry professionals and learn some of their most coveted secrets to success.

The agenda includes:

June 6, 2012
Author Says FRSTeam ‘Wows Its Customers the Apple Way’

HAYWARD, Calif. — New book singles out firm for creating “goose bump” moments

HAYWARD, Calif. — A new book describes fabric restoration company FRSTeam as a franchise that “…Wows Its Customers the Apple Way.”

In The Apple Experience: The Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty, author Carmine Gallo explores the methods and practices used by Apple and other innovative service pioneers like FedEx, Disney, The Ritz Carlton and Zappos.

FRSTeam was honored to be in the company of these leaders and singled out for the brand culture that has created “goose bump” moments, FRSTeam’s internal name for its “wow” customer service experiences.

In the narrative on his first meeting with FRSTeam President Jim Nicholas, Gallo reveals a common misconception after learning that FRSTeam is a fabric restoration service brand that restores clothing and other items after a smoke, fire, or water loss.

“Don’t you just pick up the damaged goods, restore them, and return them?” Gallo asks Nicholas.

July 16, 2010
When Cost Cuts Go Too Deep

CHICAGO — When times are tough, we cut back. We cut everywhere we can. We cut where we should have cut before. We cut in places we shouldn’t cut for long-term viability, but the need for short-term cashflow forces us to do so.

When other businesses do the same thing, it’s easy to justify. Many large companies are cutting costs in customer service, and whether or not they could achieve better results for less money, we’ve been lulled into accepting poorer customer service.