Service with a Few Smiles
Customer service, always the heart of independent retail, only becomes more crucial in a tight economic climate. Check out these titles to help yourself and your employees hold the bar high.
Customer Service in an Instant: 60 Ways to Win Customers and Keep Them Coming Back, by Keith Bailey and Karen Leland, helps troubleshoot common problems in customer service, including a language barrier and complaining customers – including those who don’t complain but go away dissatisfied. It also offers advice on dealing with conflict between co-workers and how to give employees negative feedback, as well as how to handle stress and burnout.
What to Say to a Porcupine: 20 Humorous Tales That Get to the Heart of Customer Service by Richard S. Gallagher. This book combines brief anecdotes with simple, spelled-out morals. My favorite? #17: “You don’t have to be perky to give great service.” Sometimes hokey, but definitely memorable, each comes with discussion questions to turn them into a training activity. Also look for Award-Winning Customer Service: 101 Ways to Guarantee Great Performance, by Renée Evenson, and Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service by Chip R. Bell and Ron Zemke, from the same publisher.
1,001 Ways to Keep Customers Coming Back: Wow Ideas that Make Customers Happy and Will Increase Your Bottom Line, by Donna Greiner and Theodore B. Kinni, is full of quick real-world examples of each concept introduced, from bundles to incentives to consumer rewards. While national and international brands form the majority, independent specialty retailers such as bookseller Wild Rumpus are not forgotten.
