Posted on August 20, 2009 - by Janet Smith

The problem is not being in trouble, the problem is not knowing it

There is only one way to know what your customers think of your customer service and the overall experience you offer and that is to ask.  Most people are flattered that you care enough about their opinion to ask.  But be careful of the medium, many customer surveys generate negative reactions.  If one a scale of 1 to 5 is part of your verbal survey, I’d reconsider.

Personal touch matters to long-term relationships.  Even big businesses can call their big clients and garner meaningful feedback.  It’s always easy to find other priorities, but that’s why marketing plans have specific tasks to be done and measured on monthly basis. Asking what your customers think should be done on a monthly basis, a little at a time gives continuous feedback.

The best answer you can get is not, “Everything’s perfect!”  The best answer you can get is a problem to work on.  Be inviting and easy in your questions.  Make it a pleasant open conversation.  Once you’ve gotten some direct feedback from people, spend some time thinking about how you will change your service to satisfy their needs.  Sometimes the answers will surprise you, don’t get defensive.  You asked.  Nothing sells a business like a business owner or a department head.  But, if you are not comfortable asking the questions, then hire a marketing or public relations firm to do this for you, or search out someone you trust to represent your business well.

You may be shocked by the dialog open-ended questions generate. The following is an example of a telephone script that I have used successfully to solicit feedback for my clients from their customers.  Although this is very general, if you have a specific issue you want to understand ask a specific open ended question!

The problem is not being in trouble, the problem is not knowing it.

“ABC Corp. are so dedicated to improving their customer service, they have hired 5D Marketing to understand your thoughts and expectations.  Is now a good time?  This can take as little as 5 minutes or as long as you like.  Great, thank you for your time.  ABC set out to achieve exceptional customer service.  Did they meet or exceed your expectations, why or why not?  I see you had a <service> from Trudy.  Is there anything that you can think of that would improve your overall service> experience?  Have you tried any of ABC’s other services?  Why or Why not?  I see you recommended Sue Friend and Mary Lamb to ABC.  Would you be willing to recommend ABC’s services again?”

You may think that giving a thank you for a referral in the form of a free service or a discount to your customers who refer you is a great idea.  Be careful.  In some states like Texas, rewarding an individual for referring a client by giving a free session, etc., is considered a kickback and is illegal for health care providers.  Generally, people do not expect to be paid for a referral, but a personal handwritten thank you note or quick phone call is always well received.

Some people may not be comfortable giving verbal feedback, or feedback that isn’t completely anonymous, while others may feel intruded upon by receiving a phone call.  You’ll know right way, so move on.  Given these restrictions, you can also consider alternative methods.