Establishing Customer Loyalty: How to Render Exceptional Customer Service

Understandably, customers may not return to an eating establishment or other public business enterprise if they’ve received poor customer service in the past.  Not only will they refuse to return but they can deter others from patronizing your business as well.  In order for your business to grow you will need the support of loyal customers.
Learn how to render exceptional customer service so that you can secure continued customer loyalty. Just follow these practical guidelines to find out how.
Hire a competent staff
1. First and foremost you will need to put the right people in place.  Bear in mind, your employees represent the company and they are an integral component in the success of your business. You should be very particular about who you let work for you. Work closely with your human resources department to ensure that they hire the best employees for your business.
Provide adequate training for employees
2. Next, you will need to make sure that your employees receive adequate training and have the necessary tools needed to perform their task effectively.  Train your employees to treat every customer with respect and to provide exceptional service to the customers consistently.
Open your doors on time
3. It’s imperative that you keep the hours that you say your business opens and closes. For example; if you advertise to the public that your business opens at 8:00 a.m., Monday through Friday…make sure that you are there before 8:00 and be ready to service your customers by 8.00 am.  Habitual lateness is just plain tacky and very unprofessional.
You should also keep your doors open up until the time your business is scheduled to close. The point being…you should never inconvenience your customers.
Get to know your customers
4. You should get to know your customers, especially those who frequent your business regularly.  Let them know that you value them as customers and appreciate their business.  Find out the wants and needs of your customers and make the proper adjustments to fulfill their request.
Go above and beyond
5. Sometimes you will need to go above and beyond the call of duty just to satisfy your customers. After you have properly serviced your customers you should make it a practice to ask them if you could be of further service to them.  The bottom line…you should make every effort to make your customers happy.
Provide prompt and efficient service
6. And finally, you should set reasonable time frames for how long it should take your employees to service your customers. Don’t keep your customers waiting too long but provide prompt and efficient service.  In the event of a delay in servicing your customers promptly, you should at least acknowledge their presence and apologize for the delay. Perhaps a free soda or a customer discount will compensate for their inconvenience. 

More Tips:
*Greet every customer with a smile
*Always thank your customers for supporting your business
*Set goals and standards for you employees to achieve
*Establish a code of conduct for your employees and enforce it
*Meet regularly with your employees to render and receive feedback