What To Avoid When Trying To Provide Excellent Customer Service

In my previous blog, you learned how to provide excellent customer service. In this blog I will talk about some essential things that you need to avoid when providing excellent customer service. 

Tip #1 Don't Ignore Customers

If you see a customer waving you down or even looks like they need help, even if you are doing a task, it is important to ask if they need help. Far too many times customers get ignored by employees because they think their task is too important to take a minute or two to help a customer with anything they might need help with.

Tip #2 Don't Keep Customers Waiting Too Long

At Ralphs we get a lot of customers and it can get very busy, especially in the service deli during lunch time. A lot of the customers have a time they need to be back by and if we have them wait too long we get bad reviews because we should never have a customer wait. It is important to be as efficient as possible because some people are on a tight schedule.

Tip #3 Don't Say The Same Thing To Every Customer. 

It is good to have some things the same when greeting customers but when serving customers it is important to act like a real person and have real conversations. If you say the same thing people will notice and think you are just acting and aren't actually being a real and honest person with excellent customer service skills.

Tip #4 Never Come Back Empty Handed

When taking care of a customer and they ask for something, some things may be out of stock. It is normal for some things to be out of stock but it is important to provide an alternative to what they are asking for. As long as you inform them of an alternative they won't feel like you did nothing and seem like you actually want to help them.

How To Provide Excellent Customer Service

In my last blog, you discovered how important it is to have excellent customer service. In this blog I will show you how to provide excellent service. I have come up with a few tips that generally work for me and I get good feedback from supervisors, coworkers, and especially customers. 

Tip Number 1: Learn everything you can about your product.

It may seem like a waste of time, but in the long run it is essential to provide excellent customer service. Imagine going into a store where an employee couldn't even point you in the right direction of where the milk is? Frustrating right? If the employee knew everuything about his store and products, he'd be able to take you to where the milk is, have a reccomendation, and answer any questions you have about the milk.

Tip Number 2: Treat Customers The Way You'd Like To Be Treated

The way I go about this at my job is to treat every customer the way I'd like to be treated plus an extra layer of kindness. 

Tip Number 3: Acknowledge, Assist, Appreciate

With every customer, no matter how rude, I greet with a simple hello, how are you doing, ask how I may help them, if I could help them with anything else, and lastly I thank them for shopping at Ralphs and tell them to have an amazing day.

Tip Number 4: Ask For Feedback

Feedback is probably the most helpful things to ask for no matter what it is you are doing. It shows where you are weak or strong which can help you correct your weaknesses. It can mean the difference between an A or a B, but only if you are actually proactive about the feedback. 

Why is Customer Service Important?

My name is Edward Montes de Oca, I am currently attending Santa Monica College and I work in the Service Deli at Ralph's in Santa Monica.  I deal with customers  on a daily basis and more often than not, customers are rude. It is hard sometimes being nice to every individual but it is doable. I have only been working at Ralphs for about a month and a half now but believe I have excellent customer service skills. I have gotten many compliments and a lot of good feedback from my coworkers, superiors, and customers.

It's safe to assume that everyone has  experienced someone who doesn't have good customer service. When you encounter someone who lacks good customer service skills someone would most likely not want to buy the product. Customer service is the most important skill to have when it comes to a company selling a product. It can be the most desired product but if someone lacks customer service skills, the product is not likely to be bought by a customer