by Kris Kennedy

Created on: March 12, 2009   Last Updated: September 17, 2009

Developing Customer Service Guidelines

Employees spend so much time at work so the workplace should reflect a home atmosphere. In a home, there is the family and the employees are symbolic family members. The regular customers are the friends and the occasional customers are guests. Reflecting on these relationship employees can respond with proper behavior while meeting the needs of employees and customers

Family Members as Employees

With the time spent at work, many develop a tie with the workers. They might have their problems, but they work together. The teamwork of a well functioning family offers a model that provides for good customer service. A well functioning family wants the family life to be well for each other. The bad day of one member of the family, causes the other members to pitch in and help. Most employers would like to see this happen. Every employee has days of challenge that assistance would help and prevent diminished customer service. Customers win because they do not experience the bad day of other employees. We might understand, but a negative image remains filed in the memory. Every family has moments of disagreement and sometimes must fight these out. The challenges come from the providing confidentiality of family members from general exposure as in a workplace family. The family selects who views these fights. We all wonder if we witness a disagreement whether this is an everyday occurrence. If we wonder in a business during an argument, we might not visit that business again. A regular customer may be trusted and be comfortable with an occasional disagreement and understand the family dynamics.

Regular Customers

A comparison of the regular customer as a friend promotes customer service that provides more personal customer service and more accommodation from the customer. If you know in general that, the business will provide good customer service on the majority of circumstance; the employee will take pride in his/her piece as part of the business environment and view the success as helpful to their own business or life.

New Customers

Some homes have that room that has the best or the more delicate furniture. The family stays out of the room on most occasions but new guests or people the family wants to impress are entertained in this room. New customers start out as these guests. We are on guard to protect their experience so the news of their experience will travel through their contacts. As we get to know the customer, we realize what their needs and they move along the spectrum of customers. We need to provide a comfortable atmosphere at first so we can find the mutual tie that can develop. We will soon learn whether they will be an occasional customer of our business or that once or occasional that we do not want passing on negative recommendation. I hope that the customer will move up the atmosphere and might move into the area of regular customer or might even approve of personal family members or friend joining our team when needed.

Positive networking and good customer service comes from setting boundary much as family members learn in house.

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