Good customer service vital to business survival

CEBU, Philippines - “If you want to be on top of the game, focus on customer service,” a company consultant said.

AGF Consulting Group Philippines Senior Consultant and Trainer Reubena Frias considered customer service as an integral part of the business.

With the presence of competitors in the business arena, she added that companies should provide trainings on standardized excellent customer service intended for their employees and implement related policies at the same time.

“Before, business is traditional. It doesn’t matter. But now, you should consider your customer’s needs. It’s everything to a business. The existence of the company relies on its customer service since the business is dependent to its customers. Now if you want to be competitive, be a customer-centric company,” she said.

She further noted that no company can generate a 100% satisfaction rate in the sense that there are no complaints at all but companies could still strive to meet customer needs and exceed the latter’s expectations if the former strives for excellence.

Citing that negative feedbacks can be dangerous for a company due to the emergence of influencers, Frias said that it is still possible to turn customer complaints into customer compliments.

 “Customer service starts from the first contact with the customer. Once satisfied, then the customer is yours forever. Positive feedback is what we aim for. But in terms of negative feedback, you lose not just one customer but you also lose his family and friends. It spreads 10 times faster compared to positive ones,’ she added.

She also said that a business can succeed in the beginning without customer service but noted that it will not last long since people come back for experience.

Moreover, she said that excellent customer service thus enables the company to attract more customers, stay longer in the business and keep its buyers.

Frias then advised companies specifically those who aim to be ISO –certified to focus more on customer-centric policies and strictly conduct consistent trainings among employees since customer service is part of the ISO accreditation process in establishing quality management systems.

She also recommended the implementation of the Code of Practice for Customer Service by the British Standard Institution which is primarily aimed at dealing with internal and external customers regardless of the size or nature of the business.

It is also designed to establish effective customer service mechanisms, improve competitiveness and differentiate offerings via innovative customer services.

Frias served as the speaker of one of the free public seminars conducted by AGF – Philippines that was attended by managers, department heads and front liners of companies in Cebu held on June 20 – 21 at Sacred Heart Center.  (FREEMAN)