How to get better customer service this holiday season

Shopping during the holidays can be a fun and festive time, but we’ve all experienced our share of service failures too. Huge crowds and exhausted employees can conspire to make shopping miserable if we're not prepared.

That’s why I reached out to some of my favorite customer service experts to ask them, “What can customers do to get better service during the holidays?”

Here are their terrific tips:

Celebrate!
While we're busy with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we forget that those individuals we're needing service from are at work...and it's stressful, even more during the busy holiday time. Take time to celebrate with them, wish them a happy holiday. Remembering that they're a human being too with their own holiday plans helps bring humanity and personality back into the employee/customer relationship.

- Flavio Martins. Flavio is on a mission to end bad service and writes about it on his blog, The Customer Service Manager.

Don’t Be a Jerk
The customer has almost as much to do with the success of the interaction as the worker does. Manners, energy, gratitude, patience, mutual respect, and common courtesy are all critical. Just be a good person. Please don't undermine your own service experience by being a jerk.

- Patrick Maguire. Patrick’s outstanding I’m Your Server, Not Your Servant blog discusses customer service issues from the perspective of service industry workers.

Dress Up
People still judge a book by its cover. Just because you can wear jeans down around your butt, a muffin top and crocs doesn't mean they'll respect you in the morning – or in the store. Those who spend a bit of time to dress for the occasion receive elevated service.

- Bob Phibbs. Bob writes an excellent blog on retail sales, Bob Phibbs Retail Sales Blog, and is the author of several books including The Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business.

Empathize
Retailers hire a significant number of part-time seasonal staff to meet the demands of the holiday shopping season. Many of these employees are working multiple jobs and/or going to school on top of having to prepare for the holidays. To receive better service during the bustling holiday season, heed the advice of the Greek philosopher, Plato: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

- Steve Curtin. Steve’s customer service blog has a great collection of customer service stories that all illustrate important lessons.

Touch the Heart
If you don't get a great rep, do what I teach the best to do -- touch the heart. A simple question, "how are you surviving the crunch today?" breaks through their self-focused attitude to the heart of customer service.

- Kate Nasser. Kate’s Smart SenseAbilities(TM) blog addresses the explicit and subtle moves that make customer service consistently great. She is also featured in the DVD, Customer Service USA - The Regional Differences That Make a Difference.

Use Names
Most service providers feel more connected to you if you refer to them by name. If a provider's name isn’t volunteered, consider asking for it. Make this into a friendly exchange: ask in a sociable way, and also offer your name.

- Micah Solomon. Micah Solomon is a professional business keynote speaker and the bestselling author of two bestselling business books. His website is http://www.micahsolomon.com and his blog is College of the Customer, http://www.micahsolomon.com/blog.

Compliment Outstanding Service
Let them know that you believe that outstanding customer service is rare these days and that you really appreciated their efforts. And with leaving that associate on Cloud Nine, you have certainly guaranteed that the next customer will most certainly receive the same exceptional service.

- Bill Quiseng. Bill is the Resort Manager for Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club and writes about customer service on his blog, Deliver the World’s Best Customer Experience. 

Give Companies the Opportunity to Solve Problems
During the holiday season, companies are understaffed and employees are highly stressed. Mistakes will be made, and your holiday season will be that much easier if you allow companies a chance to make good when they drop the ball. Give companies a chance to fix problems before taking away your business or sending that angry tweet.

- Adam Toporek. Check out Adam’s Customers That Stick blog where you can also receive a free e-book called 7 Secret Customer Service Techniques Every Expert Knows!

Treat People the Way You and They Want to Be Treated
If you want better service practice two rules:

The Golden Rule – You grew up learning this one. Treat people the way you would want to be treated, which is with respect, dignity and patience.

The Platinum Rule – My friend Dr. Tony Alessandra came up with this one, and it is twist on the Golden Rule, which is to treat people the way they want to be treated. Show empathy.

- Shep Hyken. Shep is the best-selling author of the Amazement Revolution, and also writes a very insightful customer service blog.

Be Patient
Crowds, loud working conditions, too much food, too over committed, too many tasks pulling you in too many directions.  Then you have to go to work and smile, be patient and provide excellent service!  When you are a customer, be kind and empathize with your service provider - you know how they feel.  Be part of making someones day better, not worse.

Wendi Brick. Wendi's company, Customer Service Advantage, Inc., specializes in helping government agencies improve service. She is also the author of The Science of Service: Six Essential Elements for Creating a Culture of Service in the Public Sector. 

Do your homework. Be informed.
Educated customers make better customers. There are so many tools and resources at our fingertips to do price comparisons, find the best deals, read product reviews, locate products and get updates on availability, read about shipping policies and deadlines, and learn about return and exchange policies.

- Annette Gleneicki. Annette writes the CX Journey blog  and leads Southern California networking events for the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA). 

Send Checks
One approach that guarantees a headache-free customer service holiday season is to avoid customer service representatives altogether. Checks are never returned or exchanged. No customer service issues involved … unless it bounces. If you're prone to bouncing checks, try money orders.

- Write The Company. The Write the Company blog features witty customer service correspondence with real companies. Read between the lines and you’ll be reminded not to take yourself too seriously.

How to get better service this holiday season

Every year I compile a list of tips for getting better customer service during the holiday season. This year, I decided to ask for tips from some of the customer service authors and bloggers I admire most. Their wonderful suggestions form a list that is sure to result in outstanding customer service.

Treat employees with respect (Patrick Maguire)
Patrick Maguire’s terrific blog, I’m Your Server Not Your Servant, highlights customer service experiences from the employees’ point of view. He reminds us that getting better service starts with treating employees with respect.

We need to remember that human workers are not the same as self-checkout stations, and that workers should be treated with the same mutual respect that we would expect if we were doing their jobs. If you treat workers with common courtesy and make a sincere effort to have some fun and make a genuine connection with them, your chances of receiving excellent service will improve dramatically.

Be engaging (Steve Curtin)
Visit Steve Curtin’s customer service blog and you’ll see a picture of him holding a pineapple. Why a pineapple? The pineapple is a universal symbol of hospitality. (Seriously, who could get upset when there is a pineapple involved?) Naturally, he recommends being a more hospitable customer.

When a customer glances at an employee’s name tag and uses her name at the beginning of the interaction along with a smile and eye contact, it has a disarming effect that quickly breaks the ice. The customer may also ask, “How is your day?” or compliment the employee by saying, “You look like the one in charge...” Just as employees tend to reflect the dispositions of their supervisors (for better or worse), they can also reflect the dispositions of the customers they serve.

Be reasonable (Shep Hyken)
Shep Hyken, best-selling author of the Amazement Revolution, also writes a very insightful customer service blog. One of his suggestions is that a reasonable customer will almost always get better service.

Let’s start with a confrontational situation to illustrate the point. There is an old story that goes something like this:

A passenger approached the airline representative about his lost luggage. Obviously upset, he more than complained. He yelled and made derogatory remarks about the airline. The airline employee’s response was simple. “Sir, I can see you’re upset. Right now there are only two people who care about your lost luggage and you are starting to make one of them upset.”

The moral of the story is that as a customer, you can’t get what you want by being unreasonable. If there is a problem, a level headed approach with reasonable suggestions will always win over confrontational arguments.

Place your irritability on hold before complaining (Guy Winch)
Sometimes, we have customer service complaints that need to be resolved. Who better to give advice on complaint resolution than Guy Winch, a psychotherapist who literally wrote the book on how to complain the right way (check out The Squeaky Wheel)? Here are complaint tips from an article he wrote for Psychology Today on how to resolve Christmas shopping complaints.

Complaint in person: “We should arm ourselves with receipts, patience, civility, and authentic smiles.”

Complaint via toll-free hotline: “We should place our irritability on hold (even if we are placed there too), remain calm and present the facts simply.”

Complaint via Twitter: “If you do tweet a complaint about a company, be fair, especially if you have oodles of followers. Remember, frustration fades but tweets are forever.

Don’t take yourself too seriously (Write the Company)
Write the Company’s blog features witty customer service correspondence with real companies. Read between the lines and you’ll realize that his tip is a great reminder to not take ourselves too seriously.

Getting better customer service during the holidays requires a secret weapon. This should not be confused with producing a concealed weapon, which has also proven to be very effective in getting the full attention of service personnel. One secret weapon to consider is sympathy. Not for the service representative, for yourself. You'll be amazed by how much faster and more compassionately you'll be treated by simply taping a slightly soiled white gauze pad over an eye or applying fake blood under your nose with even more on a tissue. Holidays are a crazy time to be a customer, so go crazy!

Enjoy the holidays and good luck getting outstanding customer service this holiday season!

10 ways to get better service during the holidays

It's time again to share my annual list of ways you, the beleagured holiday shopper, can get better customer service this holiday season. Why should you be miserable while wading through crowds at the mall, firing off emails to track your online order, or waiting on hold for 20 minutes? These are the happy holidays, right?! I'm pretty sure the following aren't the only good ideas in the universe, so please leave a comment with your own suggestions for getting outstanding service.

Idea #1: Make the first move. Go out of your way to greet the people who serve you. Yeah, they are supposed to come to you since you are the customer, but why waste time being upset if they don't? You are more likely to get cheerful service if you initiate cheerful contact.

Idea #2: Use names. Calling someone by name is a great way to establish a personal connection. Service providers are more likely to give a little extra effort if they feel a bit of rapport.

Idea #3: Give positive feedback. If you've never worked retail during the holiday season, let me sum it up for you. Long hours, low pay, and pushy people. Ode to joy. Say "thank you" or compliment someone serving you and watch them get magically re-energized.

Idea #4: Plan ahead. We feel stress when we are pressed for time and stressful people tend to be difficult to serve. Give yourself a little extra time and you'll be less likely to get upset at the slightest service transgression.

Idea #5: Don't follow the crowd. Do your shopping on weekdays or in the morning when the crowds are smaller. Fewer shoppers generally equals more attentive service.

Idea #6: Enlist their help. The people who work there know all the secrets, so tell them what you are looking for and ask for their suggestions. People love to be experts, so you are likely to get a little extra help if you ask for their opinion.

Idea #7: Don't be THAT person. The teenager working their first job at Toys R Us DID NOT ruin your Christmas because the store was out of stock of that toy little Johnny just had to have. When I worked retail (in stores and in a call center) during the holidays, it was only human nature to try a little less when the Grinch or Mrs. Scrooge started screaming and fist pounding. If you need help, ask for it calmly and politely. And, if they don't have what you want, ask for options (see #6).

Idea #8: Focus on the solution you want. Problems can and do occur, but it's always best to focus on solutions. Getting upset or playing the blame game will make it less likely for your service provider to go above and beyond to help you out. Instead, propose a clear and reasonable solution.

Idea #9: Never lie or exaggerate. It's well known that customers tend to lie or exaggerate when they get upset so their anger can seem more justifiable. Try the opposite approach and be honest. I once booked a flight for the wrong day during the holidays and admitted my mistake to the Southwest employee. Lo and behold, he was able to waive some fees and find me a seat. (I'm quite sure that seat wouldn't have materialized if I blamed him for my error.)

Idea #10: Be merry! It's the holiday season, so be happy damn it! Spread some holiday cheer yourself and you'll like find others will return it.

So, what are your ideas for getting terrific service? Please leave your comments!