Customer Service Tips for Safety People
OHS professionals have many customers-Their boss, managers, supervisors, workers, unions, employer associations, regulators, contractors, visitors and fellow professionals. You must adjust your mind-set to these people being customers and seek to satisfy their needs.
Customer service
The customer is king and you are stuffed without them. Always treat your customer like a king or queen or your competitors will.
There will be times when your customer is disorganised and a pain in the bum, when this occurs refer to the above.
I advise most people in organisations, regardless of how lowly their position, to think of themselves as an internal consultant. Their “customers” are their boss, their boss’s boss and everyone else they interact with and who rely on them, even though it may be in a small manner. Your success and future advancement relies very heavily on these people being satisfied customers.
The saying that “The customer is always right” is often wrong in my experience. Customers often have only a superficial understanding of their needs and frequently confuse wants with needs. A core skill of any consultant is to help customers define their needs and scope the work they want you to do for them. If you do not do this you can do what they think they want done and you run the risk of getting the blame when it does not get the desired results.
The following tips are given on customer service-
- People always remember the person who served them better than the product
- Remember your example will affect others
- Remember people’s names
- Be visible
- Go the extra mile for a good customer
- Never try to win an argument with a customer
- Ask for regular feedback
- What you do speaks louder than what you say
- Always answer the phone personally
- Keep promises
- Listen to your customers
- Be helpful even when there is no immediate profit
- Always throw in something extra free