Most companies will offer new employees some kind of orientation, outlining performance expectations and workplace culture. But one of the reasons behind poor customer service delivery is the absence of a clear customer service policy.
Much like the employee handbook outlines job expectations and disciplinary procedures, a customer service policy will detail how every aspect of customer interaction should be handled. Whether your business is home-based with a staff of one, or a multi-national conglomerate, you need a customer service policy that is clear and accessible to all stakeholders – employees, customers, and business partners. Here are some key issues a customer service policy should address.
How complaints should be handled.
Customers need to know where to direct their complaints. If customers are unaware of the company’s complaint procedures, their sentiments are directed at the first employee with whom they come in contact. Setting up a clear and accessible complaint procedure communicates to customers that you are willing to accept feedback even when it’s not complimentary. And this clear path will also result in speedier resolutions.
The route to resolution.
The policy must also outline the varying stages towards resolution, the member of staff responsible at each stage, if and how often the customer will be updated on the progress, and an estimated time to resolution.
Responsibilities of employees.
It’s no use having a customer service policy if: a) employees are unaware of it and, b) are unsure of their role. For instance, does the cashier know what to do when a customer has a complaint? Should it be handled on the spot, or immediately escalated to a supervisor? What should be communicated to the customer after the complaint is received? All this should be clearly outlined to ensure that staff members know exactly how to handle this situation when it arises and to prevent unauthorized employees from giving guarantees that could expose the business to liability.
How to collect and handle feedback.
The customer service policy should also address how feedback will be garnered. Will you be using a suggestion box? If so, who is responsible for checking it, at which intervals, and what action should be taken? Who responds to feedback on social media? How much authority does this individual have to resolve complaints and at what point is the issue escalated?
Depending on the size and nature of the business, there are a lot more issues the customer service policy may address. This however, is a great starting point if you don’t already have one in place. The bottomline is, if you have customers you need a customer service policy. Don’t wait until a potentially damaging situation arises to put one in place.