There’s no formula for providing great customer service. But when Northeast Ohio’s leaders came together for the World Class Customer Service Awards VIP Reception at Metro-Lexus, they shared what works for them. We spoke with them about their methods for providing an award-worthy customer experience.
Customers at Ambiance, the Store for Lovers, for example, see that service as soon as they walk in.
“First of all, we greet them with a non-businesslike greeting and we ask them questions to get a rapport with them,” says Jennifer Downey, president. “And then once we do, that’s when we start getting into what are they really shopping for today.”
But by then, Ambiance employees have already gone through 30-day training to practice responding to potential customer queries. Through that role-playing, employees learn to think like customers – TLC, as it’s called at Ambiance.
[Watch a video of Downey discussing customer service at Ambiance.]
A. Ray Dalton also gives his PartsSource employees some tools for understanding customers. It starts with different mindset for looking at what you do for them.
“We don’t wake up every morning thinking that we’re going to sell 5,500 parts or do $500,000,” says Dalton, president and CEO. “We think about lowering the cost of healthcare. We think about access to health care. We think about getting equipment up and running so that people can be treated. When you break your product down and humanize it, all of a sudden it makes it a more important job that you do.”
[Watch a video of Dalton discussing how he empowers employees at PartsSource.]
