Devoted to customer service and the principles of exceptional customer services

Heather Ledeboer wrote a great article titled Exceeding Your Customer’s Needs and Expectations Every Time in which she asks us to focus on this acronym of Y.O.U. when taking care of customers.  Y.O.U. stands for:

“Y”=Your customer is your life-blood.
“O”=Others decide how good you are.
“U”=Until you sacrifice, you will not succeed.

Here is one part that I especially think is important to remember:

"You must be willing to sacrifice some of your immediate profits to make customers happy. Offer a refund if they are not satisfied, a discount if you make a mistake and give gift certificates toward future orders to keep them coming back for more. The profits you will “lose” by doing this is simply an investment in the long term health and growth of your business."

It's real interesting to see a customer service rep argue with a customer over a $10 item.  I'm sure you've either experienced this or seen it happen as well.  Even if it's an $800 item, it's in the best interest of the company to give an unsatisfied customer a refund whether or not it's the customers fault.  That statement may make some of you cringe, but think about how much money the company would lose if that unsatisfied customer goes ballistic on you!