Setting your customers' expectations correctly is essential to good customer service.This aspect of customer service is so simple, yet so often overlooked. Imagine a bus company that operated a schedule without telling people when its services would depart or arrive. That's ludicrous, of course - no one would ever set up a bus company without publishing a timetable.
Why is the timetable so important? Because it sets the customers' expectations. They know the no. 31 to Notting Hill Gate will depart at 8.11am, because the timetable tells them it will. Okay, in reality it might be a little late. But it's also a benchmark against which the bus company's performance can be measured.
Exactly the same principle applies to every other aspect of business. My voice-mail does not say "Leave a message because I'll get back to you as soon as possible." Why? Because that message sets an incorrect expectation. I don't always call someone back as soon as I get their message because I don't want to, although it might be perfectly possible for me to do so.
What sort of expectations does your business or organization set for your customers? Are they realistic? Or just words that you hope to be able to deliver against?
Here are some areas where customer expectations should be set correctly:
- Delivery date for goods and services.
- What will happen next after they've made a complaint.
- How long they might have to wait before someone gets back to them.
- What guarantees they have about the product or service.
- What other services you might be able to offer them.
Customers come back to businesses they know that they can trust. That's why you don't always have to be the cheapest to succeed - you also have to offer great customer service.
