One of the fundamentals of great customer service is delivering on the promises you have made to your customers, be that regarding the level of service they will receive from you, the product you will deliver to their door – or both.
The current climate has seen many organisations, both large and small, review personnel and realign job specifications to ensure a leaner, more cost-efficient approach to business. What this does mean, however, is that when a larger project or new customer comes on board, the additional resource required to support this business is not always immediately to hand. Suddenly, those confident claims of the sales pitch no longer seem so wise…
In my role as a Virtual PA, I often find myself working alongside an existing customer-facing team to ensure that the promise of great customer service is delivered.
One of the first tasks I am assigned is ensuring that the specially formed project team are properly informed as to what they are delivering and to whom. Sometimes, this can take the form of a briefing paper collated by me which is then presented to the customer-facing team by the appropriate director. At this stage it’s about anticipating the questions the Customer Service team may have relating to the project and ensuring that the director in question is fully briefed in terms of how to address any concerns which may be raised.
Concurrent with this first task, I also help develop the project plan which not only identifies the resources and personnel required to deliver the project, but will also flush out potential problem areas, such as key holiday periods or a clash with other priorities in the day-to-day running of the business, e.g. quarter-end. By anticipating potential bottle-necks and challenges, my clients ensure that personnel and resources can be carefully planned so that the focus on delivering excellent service does not drift.
Linking into the importance of anticipating challenges, the third area I sometimes cover is developing the contingency plan and helping resolve issues when something goes wrong. Simply put, no matter how much you plan, certain elements of a project may not follow the agreed plan. While the customer-facing personnel focus on maintaining the relationship with the customer, I operate as an extra set of hands to help man the pumps and ensure that the pressure caused by the blip does not mean that the overall service level slips.
Customer service excellence is not simply about meeting expectations, but exceeding them. With careful planning and a little foresight new projects can be embraced with confidence. So, next time you are asked to deliver on your promises, what will you do?
Desiree Ashton – Virtual PA