Inspirational Tips On Customer Service Being Quite Like Takeaway Coffee



It is very important to have a first-class customer service plan whenever you set yourself up as a virtual assistant. Existing clients will be so pleased with what they get that they will come back again and again and will tell everybody else how good your service is, leading to more clients who will, in turn, be very impressed right from the beginning.

So, how do we achieve such fantastic customer service? Here is what I always use; it’s my “Takeaway Coffee Principle!” It sounds a little strange I know, but shortly you will discover what customer service has in common with Starbucks!:

Strong

Customer support really does need to be strong. People must have very good reason to trust you (you do of course have to be trustworthy too!), so you need to know exactly what you’re talking about, understand your business and always deliver the goods when you respond to support and service requests. Read this comment made by a client, concerning Virtual Miss Friday’s customer service.

“I’m so excited to be working with this team again, thank you. Your work is always first-class and your customer service incomparable.”

Clients need to remember the customer service they receive from you; it’s not enough to just perform tasks well… delivering strong customer service support is paramount to your long term business success, be memorable.

Black and White

Customer service should be black and white. Don’t come up with difficult-to-understand clauses or complex jargon, just think Janet and John! Get to the point, keep it simple and straightforward. Explain in detail where you have to, but always keep it simple to understand and easy for the client or customer to digest.

Be Warm

You have to be friendly at all times when dealing with customer service, even in the worst situations when somebody is annoyed or angry. Stay impartial, always start with an opening greeting such as:

“I will definitely be happy to help you with this situation.”

Or this…

“I appreciate your questions, let’s look at them each, in turn.”

… and close with something like this:

“I hope this answers your question, however if there is anything else I can help you with, please let me know.”

Or perhaps…

“Hopefully this helps, but if I can do anything else at all, please get in touch with me right away.”

Fast!

Your response time to answer should ideally be within 24 – 48 hours, at the most – but of course the sooner the better in any case. If the answer is particularly complicated and you need to request assistance, this is of course fine, but reply immediately and tell the client or customer that this is what you’re doing, and don’t ever leave them hanging, wondering when they will hear from you. An autoresponder system is a good way of ensuring that your customer is informed that you know about the situation and will get back to them.

When it comes to providing this high level of customer service in a business with virtual assistants, consistency is truly essential. Set your standards, create your templates – and hold to them, without fail. You will need to refine things over time, for sure and have to adapt to clients in your virtual assistance business as your relationships grow, but always keep the principles in the front of your mind and you will end up seeing a very positive outcome.