By: Beth Evarts
Customer Service is the art of human contact on many levels. It is about recognizing another human being, providing a positive exchange between two people and embracing the impact you have on that other person. Human interaction with others can be life altering at home and at work if you just take the time to consider your actions and how you deliver them.
Ask yourself who you are! Just a simple gesture of saying hello with a genuine smile can be enough. Take time to make a simple gesture like this every day. Each time take it a step further, because the more contact you challenge yourself to, the more comfortable you become at it.
It is often said that a person who works in customer service either has the skills to handle the position or they don’t. But if you really think about it, we all have the skills inside of us. It is just a matter of how we deal with life and human interactions.
Listening and Hearing
One of the most important aspects to customer service is about listening and hearing what others have to say. 
It’s important to remember that customer service is a two way street and involves delivery on both ends.
As a customer, be prepared with the information needed. Think about your issue and what information is needed to research and resolve the issue. That alone saves time for all parties concerned. Once you provide the information, ask if there is anything else needed to resolve your issue. As staff, be sure you have all the tools you need to solve the issue and keep the customer happy.
Being prepared in advance is time saving for all parties concerned. If both parties come in prepared, than the interaction will be short, sweet and both parties walk away with resolution in a timely fashion.
Understand and Resolve
Understanding exactly what the customer wants and needs is important. Once you understand their problem then the next step is how to resolve their needs. Utilize the customer service skills and knowledge that your company has provided to resolve the customers concerns while keeping them happy.
Also ask yourself if this problem has occurred for one person, will it happen for others? Understanding how, when and why a problem occurred then putting measures into place will ensure the issue will not arise again is important. Putting measures in place to reduce the same problem from happening again can also lower your incoming call volume which in turn allows you to handle other calls in a more timely fashion.
Follow Up and Bring Closure
A few days after you have helped resolve the customers concerns, you need to follow up and 
bring closure to the issue. Follow up is the final act of human contact to say we truly care about your needs, we thank you for your input and as a result we have put measures into place so that this does not happen to someone else.
To ensure complete closure, do not be afraid to ask if the person needs have been met.
Go that extra mile and offer them a small token of appreciation to keep them happy, especially if the person had a truly bad experience.
Impact of Great Customer Service
The impact from offering great customer service through one call that resulted in a good resolution can be amazing. Consumer satisfaction is met and you can rest assured that any word of mouth will be positive. Customer praise is not something you can buy but something you can earn by having positive human interactions and offering great customer service.
Always think about how you approach customer service and try a few of these suggestions to enhance your approach. You may see a difference with at least one person or one company and you might even save yourself time in the end. Time is money and how you choose to spend your money is up to you!!!
