Many organizations approach customer service by encouraging their employees to speak with a smile. Be polite. Never lose your cool. But isn’t that a bit like closing the barn door after the horses have left? Good customer service should be about a good customer experience with your product. This starts with the relationship your company cultivates with a customer.

This relationship will be tested by the entire buyer-seller relationship process.

1. The images and promises of the marketing campaign

People begin to form opinions about your company and products from the messages they receive before they even buy your product. Often times, they receive these images even before they have thought to buy. Will your images match the experience?

2. The ease of ordering / purchasing the product.

Once someone has decided to buy your products or services, how easy does it make it for them? Is there someone answering the phones or will you get a voicemail message? In fact, many companies lose sales this way. Some people, who want to act now, will just hang up and go to the next company to answer their call. Also, many potential clients are not followed up. A message is left, but no one responds. When the buyer contacts you, do your systems exist to make the buying process as simple as possible? Buyers want to feel like they have made the right decision when choosing your product. By creating a simple ordering process, you help them feel confident in their decision.

3. How well does the product meet marketing expectations?

Your customer now has your product in their possession. Will it live up to the hype used in the marketing campaign? Or will there be a disappointment when the actual product does not meet expectations? Marketing is a powerful force. It will create expectations that the product must meet. When it isn’t, it can create customer satisfaction issues. Make sure your product matches expectations.

4. To what extent will the product live up to the customer’s expectations?

In addition to the marketing message, a customer generally forms his own expectations based on past experiences with similar products, observations, and conversations with others. Will this add to the experience or create disappointment? The product must meet or exceed expectations. Anything less will create a potential customer service problem.

5. When something goes wrong, how do you fix it?

Do you recognize that problems can arise? Have you decided how to satisfy customers? Have you analyzed the financial ramifications of your solutions? Better yet, look at the product itself. If you find many customers with similar products, it may be more appropriate to address the weaknesses of the product itself.

6. What are the procedures?

Even with the best products, problems can arise. It is better to address these issues beforehand. Decide what processes will be used to satisfy your customers. Think about the replacement, and its cost, discounts, etc. If you are replacing a product, how quickly can you get it to someone? As a replacement, it should take priority over new orders. Customers will tell more people when they had a bad experience and later when they had a good experience. Solving customer problems affects not only that specific customer, but many other people as well.

7. Can your organization be easily reached or is the process frustrating for most?

Everyone has frustrating stories to tell about voice prompts that go nowhere. They don’t cover up your problem and continually return to the system without a way to speak to a live operator. Make it easy for people to talk to someone. Test your systems thoroughly. Automation can be of great help and cost savings for organizations, but it should be used wisely.

8. Can the customer service representative really help?

Customer service representatives must be trained to solve problems. They should be able to do more than empathize and smile. Nothing is more frustrating than a good customer service representative who can’t solve your problem. Provide your staff with the right information and training. Let them have responsibility and accountability for their actions. Employees tend to rise to the level expected of them.

Good customer service requires continual scrutiny of methods. The questions discussed above will start the thought process necessary to truly provide world-class service.