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Private Duty Today
Welcome to Private Duty Today,
the bi-weekly electronic newsletter for Private Duty Home Care Leaders
from Leading Home Care ...a Tweed Jeffries company.
I'm Jason Tweed, Director of Business Development for
Leading Home Care, and Editor of Private
Duty Today.
Private Duty Today is published every
other Wednesday, and currently goes to over 7000 subscribers.
Private Duty Today is
a permission-based newsletter.
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In home care we have lots of customers. Your
clients, their families, and a wide array of referral sources come to
you for service. Regardless of who receives care and who pays the
bill, they are all customers. Here are 9 things you can do
to radically improve your service to these customers.
1. Start
at the Top -- As CEO, your attitude toward customer
service is the primary determinant of the quality of your company's
customer service. If you speak as if customers are a pain, that
attitude will permeate your company.
2. Give
the Customer Control -- Enable your employees to solve
problems. Rather than setting standards for your employees to
follow, allow employees to make decisions that empower customers.
If necessary, reevaluate these decisions after the fact.
Employees and customers can work together to solve problems.
3. Take
the Blame -- Sometimes you make mistakes. Make
sure that your company acknowledges when it does. Demonstrate
that you are owning up to the responsibility of fixing the problem and
preventing a repeat performance. Most of the time your customer
knows who is to blame. Taking away the responsibility of proving
it will actually enhance your reputation.
4. Don't
Point a Finger -- How many times have you called for
service for technical support and the company blames it on a vendor,
third-party software, or some outside influence? When you aren't
to blame for an issue, don't point fingers, just solve problems.
5.
Don't Blame the Finger Pointer -- Sometimes the blame
is directed your way. Whether it's justified or not, fix the
problem. You will win more customers fixing problems than
you ever will deflecting blame.
6. Don't
be Paranoid -- Don't fall into the trap of "What
if every customer did this?" Some customers will take
advantage of your goodwill, but most won't. Believe in the good
in your customers, and they will reciprocate.
7. Hire
the Right People -- You're going to have "people
people" in your organization. Make sure they are responsible
for customer service. You're going to have other people who are
valuable, but definitely shouldn't be managing customer issues.
I'm a big believer of putting the most charming person on the phone,
even if it's the CEO.
8. Exceed
Customer Expectation -- Before your promise anything to
your customer, make sure you know what you can deliver. Tell your
customers what to expect, then make sure you exceed their
expectation. Never over promise, never under deliver.
9. Everyone
is Customer Service -- Make sure that everyone in your
company knows they are a customer service rep. Some people will
be charged with handling customer problems and exceeding expectations,
but every person in your company who speaks to a customer is a customer
service representative. Caregivers, CEOs, Accounts Receivable,
schedulers, administrative assistants and salespeople all need to know
that customer service is their job.
In the home care industry many of our clients report that over half of
their business is a direct result of word-of-mouth. If your
clients love you, if their families love you, if your referral sources
love you, and even the people writing checks love you, word-of-mouth
marketing is extremely easy.
 Props -- One of my favorite business writers is Guy
Kawasaki.
This article was inspired to a large degree by a column by Guy Kawasaki
that appears in the August 2007 issue of Entrepreneur. Guy
Kawasaki writes for entrepreneurs, particularly in the tech
industry. Guy operates a great website, www.alltop.com check it out.
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 Looking for inspiration for my
customer service issue, I perused one of my favorite customer service
books, The Customer Service Companion by our friend, Leslie
Charles.
On page 24 starts
a brief chapter called "Forcing a Smile". I love this
little tidbit because it's amazing how well it works. When you
smile it actually affects your psychology and physiology.
Here's an
excerpt. "Are
you aware that smiling and lowers your blood pressure, releases
muscular tension, increases metabolism, produces endorphins
(painkilling hormones) and reduces stress?"
Leslie goes on to
say that people who resist smiling do so because it just doesn't
"feel right". Simply stretching your cheeks is in
direct conflict to a bad mood.
Did you know you
can even hear a smile over the telephone? Try it sometime.
I spent much of my day on the telephone, and I do a gigantic fake smile
before I answer the phone. It changes the tonal quality of your
voice, ever so slightly. You sound happier and more at ease.
"The
point?", says Leslie, "If you want a simple way to enhance
relationships with coworkers and customers, smile more. Everyone
around you will benefit, and so will you."
This article was
just two pages out of more than 200 in The Customer Service
Companion. If you'd like your own copy, we have them in
stock. Order of The Customer Service Companion
by C. Leslie Charles today. It's 14 bucks worth of pure gold, and I'll even
pay the shipping!
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Connect to Jason and Stephen
on the Web
I recommend you check out the following websites and set up an
account. All you need is an e-mail address.
After you set up these accounts, connect with Stephen and
Jason Tweed. The following links will help you get started.
http://twitter.com/sctweed
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