What is free, easy to implement and will help your business boom? The answer is great customer service. Here is a look at a couple local small businesses that understand the importance of customer service, as well as some useful tips to jumpstart your own program.
Runners Soul and MOJO Reprographics are two local businesses that define what good customer service looks like.
If you stop by Runners Soul, you’ll be greeted by a smiling face and someone wanting to know how they can specifically help you. Shoes are more than just a product to Curt Kinghorn, Owner of Runners Soul. They are a relationship tool.
“First and foremost we have passion for the business we are in,” Kinghorn said. “Everyone who works here runs. The people who come in also share that passion for running, so we want to make sure that the people who come in we keep healthy so they continue to run. Because we are so sold on keeping them healthy, we build a relationship that way.”
Because they take the time to invest in each customer as they come into the store, or run into at an event, business has boomed and Runners Soul has been able to expand because of the success.
At MOJO Reprographics, you will immediately discover the secret to its customer service success. Every employee, regardless of title, has the power to make decisions related to the customer’s satisfaction. By localizing the power, clients who come into MOJO Reprographics have a staff member who can help them from the beginning of the project to the end, taking responsibility from the moment the project starts.
“If I can’t train someone to do customer service the way I want it, then I have shot myself in the foot,” said Oliver Jones, Owner of MOJO Reprographics. “I want someone to take care of me, from the beginning to the end.”
These are just two examples of how businesses design and implement a customer service base that works for them. Remember: without the customer, your business will always fail.
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS TIPS
“Have a friend come to your business with a problem and do an internal audit, like a ‘secret shopper’ and see what happens. See what they come back with. It will give you an honest answer with what some hold ups were. “
Oliver Jones, Owner of Reprographics
“You just have to be patient. A lot of people, as business becomes impacted by the economy, start to panic and change the whole operation of their business. Be patient and work through things, you just can’t get in a hurry and stray away from what you have always done. I would also suggest you can’t get so stuck on the little things that you overlook the growth and potential of that single interaction.”
Curt Kinghorn, Owner of Runners Soul
