By Nancy Friedman, Customer Service Speaker; President, Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training

8 out of 10 people will never do business with you again and won’t tell you. You’ll never know why. They just go away. 8 out of 10 people will tell 11 others how bad you are and only 1 out of 10 will tell others how good you are. Sad!

No one aspires to be mediocre, so we need to learn how to soar above it. We need to keep our customers coming back and singing our praises.

How do you create a customer service experience that will put you on the customer service map?

What so many folks tend to forget is it’s the first 15 seconds that count; be it a phone call or an in person visit. That’s all the time you get to make that first great impression. So, in a few words, “Ya gotta be quick.”

I’m going on vacation, but I wouldn’t leave you hanging without leaving some tips on how to raise the bar.

If you know me, you’re probably familiar with these tips. And even if you don’t know me, you may be familiar with them. Point being do you make them part of your hiring process? Do you make them part of your ongoing training. Do you even have ‘ongoing’ training? When folks tell me they ‘had a customer service program a while back,’ it’s like telling me “I brushed my teeth last month.”

Here’s An OLDIE but GOODIE: Repetition is the mother of learning.

Here are three tips towards becoming an Island of Excellence in an Ocean of Mediocrity.

* Welcoming someone on the phone or in person without a smile is a huge set back. Some folks don’t ‘feel’ like smiling. Well too bad. That’s how the game is played.

* Stay focused. We cannot do two things ‘well’ at once. Yes, most of us can all do two things at once. But one of those things will suffer. Put what you’re doing away. Focus on the customer. Everything else will wait. Not so with the customers.

* Use your CARE GENE. We all have one. Remember, the customer doesn’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. (Another oldie but goodie.)

Yes, there’s more. However, let’s get these down pat. And I shall return.

Have a great week.

Please share with folks so they can get out of the ‘grey mass of average’. It’s the little things that count.