Don’t leave your customer service feedback in the hands of a once-a-year survey: Find out how your customers’ satisfaction rates with every transaction.

Not that large-scale customer service feedback surveys aren’t helpful; they can bring in a wealth of information if constructed properly. But executing them can be time consuming and costly.

So save yourself some time and money. Consider the many ways you can obtain your customers’ feedback and their opinions regarding your products and services:

• Get a ranking. At the end of each customer transaction, ask your customer to rate his satisfaction on a scale of one to 10, with one being the least satisfied and 10 being the most satisfied. Then, ask him what it would take to get his satisfaction to a 10, write it down and save those notes for your next service meeting.
• Ask simple questions. Ask your customers what’s important to them about your product. Whether their answers are convenience, cost, reliability or durability, you’ll know what’s most important to your customers.
• Resurrect the suggestion box. Suggestion boxes stay empty because customers think nobody reads the cards anyway. Give your customers an incentive, such as a coupon or freebie, for filling out a feedback card and dropping it in the suggestion box.
• Pay attention. Notice which products or services aren’t flying off your shelves. Then, solicit feedback from customers on why they wouldn’t purchase that product or service. You may find that a simple cost adjustment or quality enhancement is all that’s needed to increase sales.

Tip: When soliciting customer feedback, don’t get defensive. This isn’t the time to validate or debate why your organization has certain policies or product offerings. This is your time to listen so you can find out what your customers really want.

Filed under: Customer Service Corner