Investing in employee training to improve customer service standards can do as much to boost your business as perfecting the quality of your product or service. You can have the best product or service out there, but if you do not treat your customers well, they will not come back. According to Kim Goff, communications director of United Way of York, the three common pet peeves of customers when dealing with any type of business are: waiting for a long period of time, being ignored by employees, and not feeling appreciated as a customer. Goff recommends these tips to ensure excellent customer service standards:

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• Let your staff know that customers come first. When your employees understand the importance of customers to the business, they’ll start to understand how important their role is as well.

• Never make customers wait. Greet your customers as soon as they walk in the door. If a customer calls, answer the phone by the second ring. If you are busy with another customer, do not make your new customer wait a long period of time. Be sure to give them an estimated wait time, and if they cannot wait, ask them if they would like to make an appointment. Always ask customers, immediately, how you can help them.

• Never ignore a customer. Greeting your customers is a good start, but you still have to give them your attention. Always check back to make sure they have what they need or offer your assistance. Customers will walk out if they feel ignored.

• Be professional. Being a business professional means looking, acting, and saying things in a certain way. No matter what industry you are in, it’s important to watch what you wear, just as it’s important to pay attention to what you say and how you say it.

• Show appreciation for your customers’ patronage. This is one of the major factors customers consider when returning to a business. Showing customers how much you appreciate their business can turn them into regular clients. The most obvious way to show this is by verbally telling them, “Thank you for your business. We hope to see you again.”

• Remember your “regular” customers. Once you learn a customer’s name, always address him or her personally. The more you can start to personalize service for your regulars, the more appreciated they will feel. Your goal is to make every customer a regular client, but personalizing service for your already-established clients will make them lifelong customers.

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