By Linda Richardson
In trying to locate a vitamin, I e-mailed a query to evitamins.com. The quality of the e-mail response I received from the customer service rep was exceptional. In less than one hour, she responded not only with the answer to my question, but also with additional information she knew I would need but hadn’t asked about. Even more impressive than the information she provided was the attitude she projected. She clearly wanted to make my experience as a customer a positive one. Let’s look at the Rep’s e-mail:
Hi again Linda, (In her greeting, she recognized it was my second question to her company.)
I hope this e-mail finds you well after the long weekend. (Brief, appropriate, personalized rapport after 4th of July weekend.) [Then she provided a short paragraph with the information I needed, listed two additional alternatives, and provided me with links to them.] If there is anything else we can do please let me know. (She offered additional support.)
In good health and well being, (She used a closing very appropriate for her type of company.)(Her name, phone number, fax, and e-mail line)
I was compelled to write back and compliment her and inquire about customer service training she might have received. In response to my inquiry (whether or not she had had any customer service training or if her exceptional customer care was “natural”), she wrote back: Thank you for the compliment and for taking the time to send it … We do try to be very customer service oriented. I simply try to provide the same level of service that I would hope to receive myself. Perhaps the last line is the heart of exceptional customer care.
Linda Richardson is founder of Richardson (www.richardson.com), a leading sales training and consulting firm. Linda She is a recognized leader in the sales training industry and is credited with the movement to consultative selling. Ms. Richardson has written 9 books on selling including her most recent, The Sales Success Handbook. She has been published extensively in industry and training journals and has been featured in numerous publications.
Do Unto Others
