Anne Williamson, founder and owner of Lucrative Marketing, one of our Boost & Co members, considers the importance of customer service during the festive period.
Christmas is a wonderful time of year for businesses and customers alike. Gearing up for it and getting through the busy Christmas trade brings its own brand of thrill and excitement. For your customer the build up to Christmas, the late night shopping and the mulled wine on a cold winter’s evening is all part of the excitement. Of course, during this busy time of year, your customers’ expectations of service are higher than ever.
If there’s any time to be ready to deliver top notch customer service it’s Christmas. For many high street services such as retail and hospitality, over a quarter of the years trade will come in December. It’s not just about having enough staff in place to cope with demand but having your staff well trained in your company’s customer service policies. Here we look at some human touches that have encouraged customers to come back for more.
A few years ago a man ordered an iPad online shortly after its release. Having received the item he almost immediately returned it with a post-it note saying “Wife said no”. This must have caused quite a stir at Apple as, not long after, the customer received a full refund plus a package which contained an iPad complete with a post-it note saying “Apple said yes”.
In May 2011, three year old Lily Robinson had visited Sainsbury’s with her family who purchased some Tiger bread. When they got home however Lily questioned the name of Tiger bread, insisting that the distinctive markings looked more like those of a giraffe. With the help of her parents Lily wrote to Sainsbury’s to highlight her discovery and to everyone’s shock they agreed.
Lily was sent a gift voucher for making the suggestion and Sainsbury’s promptly decided to change the name of Tiger bread to Giraffe bread. At this, the busiest time of year, those businesses that are busy will have one eye on the tills and one on the customer. For most customers their expectations of good customer service will only be met with standard delivery. Think about your own business.
Are you and your team ready to deliver a miracle of magical customer service when the opportunity arises this Christmas? How can you ensure that the customer experience you provide creates a customer for life?
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