{"id":124903,"date":"2025-03-10T20:21:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T20:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/agriculture\/what-is-your-businesss-customer-service-philosophy\/"},"modified":"2025-03-10T20:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T20:21:09","slug":"what-is-your-businesss-customer-service-philosophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=124903","title":{"rendered":"What Is Your Business’s Customer Service Philosophy?"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\nAlthough we
\ngive and receive customer service almost every day, we rarely take time to stop
\nand think about what customer service means. Customer service does not come
\neasily or naturally for most people. Providing good customer service is a skill
\nthat involves product knowledge, concern or empathy for the customer, readiness
\nto help the customer, and knowing where to go to find answers. John Berry<\/a>,
\nExtension Educator in Lehigh County reinforces these ideas with a four step
\nprocess for providing excellent customer service:<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Be sure your employees know about the product they are selling.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\u2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Know the Product<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/h4>\n

\n\u2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Get Help<\/span>

\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\nCustomer service affects a business\u2019s
\nbottom line when there are many competitors. The fewer competitors, the less
\ncustomer service matters, such as in the telephone and internet service
\nprovider industry. The more competitors, the more customer service matters, which
\nis the case in the food industry<\/strong>. <\/span>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff<\/p>\n

\nAnother benefit to providing good
\ncustomer service is the cost savings associated with customer retention. Losing
\none customer can have a domino effect on a business. The business from this
\ncustomer is lost, but so is the business they could have brought to you, as
\nwell as the opportunity to change something that was not working well in your
\nbusiness. Remember these two rules of thumb: attracting new customers costs 5
\ntimes more than keeping existing customers, and 80% of your sales come from 20%
\nof your customers. <\/span><\/div>\n

\n\ufeff<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Taylor’s Farm Market<\/a> (which I recently visited on our Are You Crazy Retail Farm Market Bus Tour) in Inwood, West Virginia\u00a0shares their\u00a0customer service philosophy. <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nYou may have protocols in place for
\nhandling returns, or complaints, but it\u2019s the customer service philosophy that
\nis portrayed in these actions. Consider what script(s) you want your employees
\nto follow when providing good customer service. For example, Sue Miller of
\nBirchrun Hills Farm<\/a> in Chester County, PA told me that for her, marketing is
\nabout having good relationships and providing good customer service.\u00a0 <\/span>She says she enjoys trying to guess what the
\ncustomer wants. She believes that people don\u2019t want to take advantage of you. She
\nbelieves in treating people the way she would want to be treated. Sue says that if a customer is ever dissatisfied with her products, she is happy to exchange the product for a new one. <\/span><\/div>\n

\nBelow are some questions that can help start the customer
\nservice conversation at your business. I filled in some of my own reflections to get you started. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n1. What is your business\u2019s
\ncustomer service philosophy?<\/span><\/b><\/span>
We want people to feel that we care about them and their health by shopping with us. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n<\/span><\/span>2. What makes implementing
\nthis philosophy challenging? <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

\nLack of sleep, not being able to relate to the customer-who
\nmay not have much awareness about agriculture, who may be from another culture,
\nmay make more money than I do, etc….
<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\nNot taking criticisms personally, offering services such as
\ncarrying heavy items, being honest…
<\/span><\/p>\n

\nApologizing when\u00a0I don\u2019t mean it…<\/span><\/p>\n

\n5. What kind of customer
\nservice do you enjoy when shopping?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

\nI like when the sales person is knowledgeable about the
\nproduct, I also like when the sales person is not overly aggressive about making
\nsales… <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n6. Does your business have
\na customer service training plan in place? Circle one.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nYes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/b>No<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nUseful Books &
\nVideos:
<\/b>Carlaw, P. and Deming, V.
\nThe Big Book of Customer Service Training Games. McGraw-Hill. New York, NY.
\n1999. <\/span>(This book is cheap to buy and has fun and educational training games that you could play with your employees)<\/span> <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nWicks, Judy.
\nGood Morning, Beautiful Business. Chelsea Green Publishing. White River
\nJunction, VT. 2013. (This book was featured at the Pennsylvania Women in Ag Network’s<\/a> Annual Symposium in 2013. Judy Wicks spoke about her inspiring business and customer service philosophy.)<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nTelephone Doctor\u00ae CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING,
\n30 Hollenberg Ct. St. Louis, MO 63044,(314) 291-1012, Fax: (314) 291-3710, E-mail:
\n<\/span><\/span>nancy@telephonedoctor.com<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <\/span><\/span>www.telephonedoctor.com<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0(Purchasing these tools is not cheap but there are some sample materials on YouTube which are entertaining and educational)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThe Learning Service, Ltd., 2800 Market
\nAvenue North Canton, Ohio 44714, Phone: (330) 456-2422, Fax:(330) 456-8944,
\nE-mail: <\/span><\/span>learningservice@aol.com<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <\/span><\/span>www.thelearningservice.com<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0(This company has published several books on customer service which are listed on their website)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although we give and receive customer service almost every day, we rarely take time to stop and think about what customer service means. Customer service does not come easily or naturally for most people. 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