only there for a paycheck, but as the owner, it is your duty to see that your employees are nice to the customers.

Several times, I have called wholesale companies with the intent of purchasing some items from the distributor and the person on the other end of the line did not seem like they really cared if I purchased anything or not. To them, I was an inconvenience; I don’t know how they were paid, but if they were paid a commission, they did not get any more of my money unless I could not fi

Many years ago when I first graduated college, I looked for a good used car to purchase. Like most graduates, I had student loans to pay, I had to find a good job and I couldn’t afford to purchase a new automobile. I went to a used car dealership and saw a Datsun 240Z. The dealer told me that it had just come in and he didn’t know anything about it. It looked pretty good; the engine was clean and it had a few paint chips on the side, but overall it looked okay. I drove the car home that day.

We lived in the country and many of the roads were chert and had potholes. I turned into my parent’s driveway about a week later, hit a pothole and all of a sudden the car quit running. I looked under the hood and yep there was an engine in there. I looked under the car and to my surprise, the frame had broken and the engine was leaning down. Although I had purchased the car with no warranty, I called the dealership.

After the owner quit laughing at me, he told me he would come and look at the car. He did. After he couldn’t find another body for the motor, he called me and told me to come pick out any car that I wanted in that price range. I was extremely grateful to him.

After I had signed the papers to purchase the other car, I asked him why he was so willing to work with me. He said, “If I had not helped you out, you would have told everyone what a terrible business man I was and it would have hurt my business more than taking a car back.” He was right. Now, even though he passed away several years ago, I continue to tell this story about a man that knew what customer service meant.

Customer service is the key to return visits. Whether you are in a new business or an established one, you need to be aware of the way that you treat customers. How many times have you been to a business and when you left thought that the workers were not friendly? Many times I have commented to others that the service was terrible in certain businesses. I know that many workers are only there for a paycheck, but as the owner, it is your duty to see that your employees are nice to the customers.

Several times, I have called wholesale companies with the intent of purchasing some items from the distributor and the person on the other end of the line did not seem like they really cared if I purchased anything or not. To them, I was an inconvenience; I don’t know how they were paid, but if they were paid a commission, they did not get any more of my money unless I could not fi

>We lived in the country and many of the roads were chert and had potholes. I turned into my parent’s driveway about a week later, hit a pothole and all of a sudden the car quit running. I looked under the hood and yep there was an engine in there. I looked under the car and to my surprise, the frame had broken and the engine was leaning down. Although I had purchased the car with no warranty, I called the dealership.

After the owner quit laughing at me, he told me he would come and look at the car. He did. After he couldn’t find another body for the motor, he called me and told me to come pick out any car that I wanted in that price range. I was extremely grateful to him.

After I had signed the papers to purchase the other car, I asked him why he was so willing to work with me. He said, “If I had not helped you out, you would have told everyone what a terrible business man I was and it would have hurt my business more than taking a car back.” He was right. Now, even though he passed away several years ago, I continue to tell this story about a man that knew what customer service meant.

Customer service is the key to return visits. Whether you are in a new business or an established one, you need to be aware of the way that you treat customers. How many times have you been to a business and when you left thought that the workers were not friendly? Many times I have commented to others that the service was terrible in certain businesses. I know that many workers are only there for a paycheck, but as the owner, it is your duty to see that your employees are nice to the customers.

Several times, I have called wholesale companies with the intent of purchasing some items from the distributor and the person on the other end of the line did not seem like they really cared if I purchased anything or not. To them, I was an inconvenience; I don’t know how they were paid, but if they were paid a commission, they did not get any more of my money unless I could not fi

he car. He did. After he couldn’t find another body for the motor, he called me and told me to come pick out any car that I wanted in that price range. I was extremely grateful to him.

After I had signed the papers to purchase the other car, I asked him why he was so willing to work with me. He said, “If I had not helped you out, you would have told everyone what a terrible business man I was and it would have hurt my business more than taking a car back.” He was right. Now, even though he passed away several years ago, I continue to tell this story about a man that knew what customer service meant.

Customer service is the key to return visits. Whether you are in a new business or an established one, you need to be aware of the way that you treat customers. How many times have you been to a business and when you left thought that the workers were not friendly? Many times I have commented to others that the service was terrible in certain businesses. I know that many workers are only there for a paycheck, but as the owner, it is your duty to see that your employees are nice to the customers.

Several times, I have called wholesale companies with the intent of purchasing some items from the distributor and the person on the other end of the line did not seem like they really cared if I purchased anything or not. To them, I was an inconvenience; I don’t know how they were paid, but if they were paid a commission, they did not get any more of my money unless I could not fi

passed away several years ago, I continue to tell this story about a man that knew what customer service meant.

Customer service is the key to return visits. Whether you are in a new business or an established one, you need to be aware of the way that you treat customers. How many times have you been to a business and when you left thought that the workers were not friendly? Many times I have commented to others that the service was terrible in certain businesses. I know that many workers are only there for a paycheck, but as the owner, it is your duty to see that your employees are nice to the customers.

Several times, I have called wholesale companies with the intent of purchasing some items from the distributor and the person on the other end of the line did not seem like they really cared if I purchased anything or not. To them, I was an inconvenience; I don’t know how they were paid, but if they were paid a commission, they did not get any more of my money unless I could not fi

only there for a paycheck, but as the owner, it is your duty to see that your employees are nice to the customers.

Several times, I have called wholesale companies with the intent of purchasing some items from the distributor and the person on the other end of the line did not seem like they really cared if I purchased anything or not. To them, I was an inconvenience; I don’t know how they were paid, but if they were paid a commission, they did not get any more of my money unless I could not find the items anywhere else. Sometimes price alone is not the determining factor when making a purchase.

Although there are several aspects of customer service, making a customer feel that he or she matters is of paramount importance. Even when handling customer complaints, if the customer believes that you tried to resolve their problem whether it was the way that they wanted or not will have a big impact on whether they will return or not.

The value of a customer is not in a one-time purchase. The value of a customer is how much they spend over the course of their lifetime. Once you have them in your business, you want them to continue to come back. If they are satisfied with their experience on the first visit, they will continue to utilize your business for their purchases. However, if they find that you or your employees seem not to care whether they shop there or not, more than likely, they will not come back.

At the beginning of the article I told you a story of good customer service. Now is the time for an example of bad customer service. Recently my wife and I were looking for a new mattress. When we went into one store, the employee was using the phone. He never acknowledged that we were there until we had lain on just about every mattress there. Finally, when he did come over to us, I would not have bought one from him if it were half price. If customer service in the store were that bad, what if I had a problem with a mattress I purchased there, how would it be? I just could not imagine that his handling a problem would be any better. And I tell everyone that I know not to shop there. And by the way, I went somewhere else and spent $900 on a mattress similar to what he had.

If you consider that a customer may spend thousands of dollars at your business over the course of their life, one mistake could cost you a lot of money.