7 Methods for Auction Customer Service
How to provide top-notch customer service through your auctions!
Courtesy of BidBoosters.com Successfully closing an auction is just the beginning of the customer relationship. What you do from this moment forward will have a lot to do with determining if your customer ever bids on one of your auctions again, the type of rating that you get, and whether or not you have a chance of selling them anything from your on-line store or printed catalog. With this much at stake, it's wise to be customer-centered in all that you do.
Treat every customer with equal respect and courtesy.
It doesn't matter if you just sold a ten dollar item, or a thousand dollar one. Your customer decided to spend their money with you. It's time to give them more than they paid for. Start with sending them a Thank You email that reminds them of what they purchased, your payment and return policy, and a warm, personalized message such as:
"In closing, I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the trust and faith that you've shown by bidding on my auction. Please let me know if there is ever anything else I can do for you. Thank you for being a customer".
By adding just that one paragraph, you will be doing more than 99% of the other auction sellers that your customer will ever encounter. Satisfied customers have a long memory. So do dissatisfied ones.
Welcome all customers complaints and handle them immediately.
When a customer actually takes the time to complaint to you, they are giving you a wonderful opportunity to not only make things right, but to make them a repeat customer as well. Put away the "company policies" and do what's right for the customer.
I used to own a mail order company. I empowered my customer service staff to refund any purchase price, including shipping, for any customer, for any reason, without having to seek permission from management. And, although we sometimes received merchandise back that we would rather not have, we quickly gained a reputation for fairness, and honesty, that surpassed any of our competitors. Customers were so impressed with our true "no hassles" return policy that they told all of their friends that they could buy from us with confidence that they would be satisfied. Know what? I never lost a penny doing this.
For some reason, people are a little bit nastier than usual when they complain by email. Have a thick skin and keep in mind that most people are used to either never hearing back from any e-commerce company when they complain, or getting blown off with some "Sorry, I can't help you" response. Don't let their tone and words anger you. Just do the right thing and make them happy. It will pay off in dividends. Even if they customer ends up never shopping with you again, they will likely tell people that you treated them fairly.
If the complaint is going to take some time to resolve, respond with an email immediately, explain the delay, and give them the name and telephone number of a real person that they can get in touch with. This will ease their concern and show them that you are a "real" company.
If you have the time, take a cue from Disney. They follow up on every customer complaint with a personal telephone call from a customer service rep, or their manager. What an amazing experience it was for me when the VP of Marketing called me to handle a complaint about them sending mail solicitations to my eight-year-old child. Not only did he take her off the list immediately, but he explained how she got on it to begin with and the steps they were taking to ensure that no minors made it on to that list in the future. Case closed and I'm still in love with Disney.
Ask open questions that put the customer in charge and encourages your customer to relate their needs.
Who knows, you might uncover a hidden need for something else that you sell. Closed questions that can be answered with a simple Yes or No discourage conversation and stop you from finding out more about the customer's needs.
For example, instead of saying "Would you like a refund?", which is almost surely going to be answered with "Yes, I would", try saying something like "You know, we have that product in other sizes and styles, and we even have a coupon where you can save 20% or get free shipping with your first order. Of course, this isn't your first order but we'll keep that our little secret".
Now obviously, you can't say any of that if it isn't true, but if you think hard you should be able to come up with something that you can offer before you resort to giving a refund. Just make sure that it has perceived value and it will make the customer happy.
Be Sorry or you'll be sorry.
Be willing to apologize when it's clear, or even a little murky, that your company is at fault. A customer needs a little sympathy and understanding to offset their being put out over a transaction gone wrong. Be sorry without admitting fault. A sincere "I am so sorry that happened" doesn't cost you a thing. However, you want to make sure that you are not admitting liability in case the complaint is followed up by a letter from the customer's lawyer.
So, if a person calls to tell you that something you sold them cut their child's finger, you don't want to say "I'm sorry, that product is clearly defective and we shouldn't have sold it to you." You might as well say "Cha-ching, sue me, I'm negligent".
Give the customer extra special treatment.
If you are reshipping a replacement for a lost or damaged product, tuck some small gift in the box as well. If you have pens with your name on it, or T-shirts, yo-yo's, whatever. Just give them a little something to make the transaction a bit easier for them to swallow. One company that I know of puts in a couple of peppermint candies and a little note that says "Thanks, you are so sweet for giving us a second chance to serve you".
Send out a "lesson learned" memo.
If you have a staff, or even if you are a family owned business, write a note to everybody that deals with customers explaining what went wrong and how it was resolved. Learn from your mistakes so you are less likely to make the same one again.
Remember what it's like to be a customer.
You interact with merchants and service providers every day. When you are wearing your "customer hat", there are certain levels and standards of service that you expect. Give more than you expect to receive and your reputation will spread far and wide. The worst thing that can happen is for a customer to stop doing business with you and never tell you why. So, when one takes the time to get in touch, don't miss the opportunity to turn it into a win-win situation.
Printed with permission of BidBoosters.com :: BidBoosters.com helps power sellers and auction newbies save money, increase sales, and boost online auction selling success with professional templates, free embedded item photos, and insightful auction selling information. ........end of article.........
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