Differentiating with service

Here are a few essential keys to customer service execution that will differentiate your business from the competition:

- Excellent customer service begins with good people. Hire the best people you can. They're worth the investment.

- Excellent customer service doesn't just happen on its own. For every minute of product/technical/pricing training you give your people, give them two minutes on customer service.

- Customers return to where they feel welcome. Require team members to learn and use the names of customers.

- Customers return to where they believe their concerns are taken seriously. Empower your people to be able to make decisions that solve customer service issues quickly.