Turning Setbacks into Setups for Success

By Brittany Davies

Finding a way to set your company’s customer service experience apart from others probably seems a bit daunting at first, but the solutions may lie in two actions that could make a noticeable difference: choice and research.

In James C. Collins’ book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t, he states that, “You absolutely cannot make a series of good decisions without first confronting the brutal facts.” In what ways is your company lacking, and in what ways are you great?  What is your competitor doing, right or wrong, that you could learn from and turn their weakness into your greatest strength?

Here are a few golden nuggets that Planet Depos has recognized to be game changers when it comes to setting the PD experience apart from its competitors.

Response time can make all the difference in our industry. Do employees immediately respond to an email, or do they let clients sit there and sweat it out a little bit? In the litigation support world, time is of the essence. There are due dates and strict timelines set, so quickly acknowledging the needs of the client instantly puts their mind to rest.

The Planet Depos Scheduling Department often encounters difficulty when working with a well-known hospitality company. The process is frustrating and tedious –from having to talk to a machine at first to being transferred to as many as six people to, hopefully, finding a workable solution. It’s this type of unpleasant, time-consuming experience that drives the decision to take business elsewhere.

Everyone has an attitude, but whether it’s good or bad is what will keep clients and customers coming back. When a client calls, emails, or posts to social media with a complaint, how is the situation handled? Is your team empathetic and attentive, or are they defensive and interruptive? A client or witness is having a bad day and is taking their frustrations out on everyone around them.  Is it better to bite back, or smile and find a way to resolve a problem and make their day better?  Consider saving the energy it takes to have a bad attitude and putting it toward a kinder, more positive approach.

If you’re on time, you’re late. The importance of punctuality cannot be adequately stressed. Arriving early to appointments shows not only that one is responsible, but that one of the client’s most valuable assets is respected: their time.

And lastly, a proactive approach can set a good company apart from a great company. Companies that anticipate the client’s needs before the client even knows they have a need seem to find success a lot more quickly and easily than those who wait for the need to surface.

In the end, it’s the little things that add up to make a noticeable difference in keeping your clients coming back.