This document provides over 100 tips for improving customer service. Some key tips include: meeting and greeting customers with respect; ensuring staff are knowledgeable about products; smiling and communicating confidently with customers; making it easy for customers to purchase products by eliminating obstacles; following up with customers to strengthen relationships; dealing with complaints respectfully and having a solution; and monitoring customer service to ensure a consistent, positive experience. The overall message is that customer service should be a priority through small thoughtful gestures, knowledgeable and friendly staff, and removing barriers to customers.

1. 17 To meet and greet first impressions last
18 Treat your customers with respect
19 Appearances count
20 Take care with personal hygiene
21 Communicate confidently with customers
61 Keep a pen and paper by every phone
Promotional material
customers point of view
63 Answer the most commonly asked questions
64 Avoid using technical jargon
65 Make it professionalinspire confidence
66 Make your contact details easy to find and easy to read
67 Keep text to a minimumstick to the facts
22 Ensure that your staff are knowledgeable about the products they are selling
23 Smile
24 The basics are no longer basicstart at the beginning
25 Take your staff to your competitors businesses
26 Take your staff to a business that you admire
27 Have regular brainstorming sessions
28 Debrief staff after good and bad experiences
29 Encourage your customers to tell you if your staff give outstanding service

2. 30 Reward staff for outstanding customer service
31 Ask a customer to come in and talk to your staff
32 Give your staff experience in other areas of your business
33 Teach your staff how to sell
Making it easy for your customers to buy from you
34 Offer the right products
35 Make sure that your pricing is correct
36 Make it easy for customers to pay you
37 Eliminate all obstacles to making a purchase
38 Are your trading hours customerfriendly?
39 If necessary go to them
The personal touch
40 The sweetest sound is your own name
41 Reward customers for coming back
42 Be one step ahead of your customers
43 Show that you are proud of your business
44 Remember important dates
45 Make a visit to your business memorable
46 Start a VIP club
47 Be patient and courteous with your customers
Facetoface customer service

3. 48 Be welcoming
49 Be organised
50 Be prepared to make a recommendation
51 Talk to the customer not through the customer
52 Do something unexpected
53 Remember to say thank you
Telephone customer service
userfriendly
55 Answer the phone with a positive attitude
56 Speak clearly ask questions and give useful answers
57 Change recorded messages frequently
58 Keep background noise to a minimum
59 Ensure that messages are passed on
60 Eliminate the need for callers to have to repeat themselves
Customer service and the Internet
73 Make automated responses simple
Following up on a sale is good customer
81 Contact customers that you may have lost
85 Give your customers a contact number
88 Be consistent in all you do
89 Read books and magazines to look for ideas

4. 90 Look at other successful businesses for ideas
91 Dont discuss politics
92 Know when to take a break
When things go wrong
93 Have a clear and concise policy but be flexible
94 Dealing with telephone complaints
95 Dealing with written complaints
96 Dealing with a third party complaint
97 Always have a solution
98 You just cant please some people
99 The importance of following up a complaint
100 Get it right the first time
101 Make one person responsible for monitoring customer service
Bonus section20 more customer service tips
102 Be aware of cultural differences
103 Always think about your customers
104 Visit your customersbusinesses
105 Embrace new technologies
106 Invite good customers to special exclusive events
107 Keep databases accurate
108 Package so as to be remembered

5. 109 The little things make the difference
110 If you go to the customers home clean up after yourself
111 Run an outrageous promotion
per cent satisfactionguaranteed
113 Avoid being overly familiar with customers
114 Avoid the biggest mistakenot delivering on time
115 Go shopping at the competition
116 Set up a customer hotline
117 Simplify your paperwork
118 Using reply paid mail
Blank forms that may come in handy
Customer satisfaction survey 203
A final note from the author