Customer Service Online….It’s Even More Important Now

 

It’s easy to complain about customer service departments for clubs: they always seem to be less service and more of an annoyance and sometimes are even non-existent. But with so many venues struggling to keep hold of customers, I’m left wondering if they realize their customer service departments are a huge part of the problem. In this economy, you must put your best feet forward on all customer-facing fronts. Today we’ll look at some best practices for customer service, along with some good and bad examples.

 

Make Your Contact Information Easy to Find

Some venues make it notoriously difficult for users to find their contact information. Don’t be afraid of your customers: make your customer service phone number easy to find.

 

Have Someone who picks up the Phone

Nothing is more frustrating than calling a venue to find out information and nobody picks up.  Imagine how many reservations you’ve missed, how many opportunities to make the sale that you’ve lost.  Customer services is more than responding to someone who has a credit card dispute, it’s about the client knowing that they can contact you whenever they want to find out information.

 

Operate a Multichannel Customer Service Center

Customers want convenience. This means letting them contact you through whatever channels they want. This might mean the telephone, but other channels may be more preferable, such as e-mail or online contact forms.  If you are going to have channels that are more convenient for customers, they must be available at convenient times for your customers.  If you accept e-mail, respond to it in a timely manner, and make it clear to the user what that timeframe is.

 

Many companies are actually doing customer service right.  But most are not.  It might not be in your budget to hire someone to be your customer service rep, so that might mean that you will have to play the role.  Yes, I’m talking to venue owners and marketers.  In this economy, customer loyalty is imperative and customer service is a vital part of that.

 

Questions, thoughts, comments? Leave a note below!

 

I look forward to your comments.

 

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