Current eMessage > Client Relations News > September 2018

Client Relations News

Good customer service is crucial yet hard to define

by Joelle Kesling, Director of Client Services

I just had someone ask me “What does giving good customer service mean to you?”

If you are reading this article, I am going to assume you are in some way related to customer service – whether you are in “customer service,” a technician, an executive assistant, a front office manager, or a customer yourself, we’ve all been part of the “customer service experience.”

An article I read recently stated when it comes to making a purchase, 64% of people find their customer service experience more important than price. This same article indicated 66% of adults feel valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do to provide a positive customer experience. Time and money; money and time; money, time, and communication.

In my opinion, “good customer service” is dependent on the situation.

What I mean by this is if I am going to Scheels to make a purchase for my son in the hunting department, I need a specialist to work with me and explain things to me because I don’t know anything about hunting stuff. However, if I am at the grocery store, I don’t want someone following me around asking me a bunch of questions because I know where everything is and I know what I need.

But how do these businesses know this if I don’t communicate my needs? I can’t be irritated with the people at Scheels who don’t help me if I don’t ask for it, and I can’t be mad at the people at the grocery store who follow me around if I don’t tell them I don’t need help. And we are all different in what our expectation of customer service is.

The point I’m trying to make is Customer Service = Good Communication. As a customer service provider, we want to communicate with you – but you need to tell us what works best. The method we use, the frequency of the communication, and what your expectations are. Here’s a fun fact: from July 30 – August 27, 2018, in Client Services, our Software Support Teams answered the following:

Accounting Master

• 174 phone calls
• 58 voicemails
• 541 e-mails
• 82 upgrades to Accounting Master 18.1

Customer Master

• 659 phone calls
• 101 voicemails
• 561 e-mails
• 134 upgrades to Customer Master 18.1

So, as you are calling, leaving voicemails, or sending us e-mails – let us know what we can do to work with you to make your day-to-day work life easier and more efficient! We realize that without you, we wouldn’t be here – so thank you!

We can’t wait to see you all at MBTC soon!