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The Oakville Beaver, W ednesday O cto b e r 23, 2002 - B3 c i s t ii me ns m m s wri te Customer Service a "natural" in local business L ocal business ow ners are infam ous when it com es to cu s tom er service. It's w hat m akes each business unique. G ood custom er service is a com plicated concept and not always easy to m easure. S uccessful lo cal b u sin ess operators agree that delivering personalized service and prod ucts on a tim ely and friendly basis, are hallm arks o f good custom er service. By nature, sm all, local busi ness is best suited to m eet the custom er service challenge S m all-scale o p eration s are flexible enough to support the increased dem and for personal ized atten tio n by d esig n in g products and services fo r niche m arkets. T hey are in daily contact w ith em ployees, custom ers and suppliers, and as a sm all busi ness, m ust be resp o n siv e to their needs to survive. Som e com m on tips from local m an agers for successful custom er service include: Be resp e ctfu l, frien d ly and polite tow ard staff, cus to m e rs, and su p p liers. R em em ber that a sm ile is a valuable sales tool for sm all businesses. R e co g n ize y o u r c u s tom ers. E specially you r M V Cs (M ost V aluable C u sto m ers). R ew ard them w ith custom iz able p ro m o tio n a l p ro d u cts, such as pens and g o lf balls, to help keep your busin ess' nam e front and centre. P erso n al to u ch . Your em ployees can really m ake a difference by offering attentive, p e rso n a liz e d se rv ic e, m o st tim es on a first-nam e basis. G o one step further and individual ize correspondence w ith your custom ers w henever possible. T re at y o u r em p lo y ees well. T hey are the front line o f your business and their appreci ation o f you as an em ployer w ill translate into the service they provide your custom ers. P roduct quality. Q uality is vital! C ustom ers w on't return for a bad product, so m ake your product at least as good as w hat your com petition has to offer. E nsuring com plete satisfaction is a great w ay to please your cu sto m ers - an d keep them com ing back! F eedback. U se custom er co m m en ts an d fee d b ack to show your custom ers you care ab o u t th e ir b u sin ess. Im p le m en t th e ir su g g e stio n s w henever possible to dem on strate you are resp o n siv e to their needs and appreciate their interest in im proving your busi ness. Helping Oakville See More Clearly One Customer at a Time D e« N ic fy , c n: " * - * *> . for yo -- eyo; d; ' " r o n ' g o i " * c U s to n ie rs e -- . rV'a rha' tr " ' r g o * Th^ Y ou°T d h 1 ,n ' Th^ k You< WOndef^ £ £ ? z r * f^ ly h z s m d SVery fair' M made ' Wonder Want to keep your customers? Ask some questions (NC)-- C ustom er loyalty is vital to the future o f your busi ness . . . do you know w hat your custom ers feel about you? Are they loyal? And w hat does it take to earn that loyalty? If you think that sim ply `sat isfy in g ' your custom ers is enough . . .think again. As m any as 90% o f `satis fie d ' custom ers-- custom ers with no com plaints about either product or service-- are still not loyal. Your loyal custom ers are those that are not ju st `satisfied', but rather fit into w hat m ost sur veys classify as `very satisfied'. Put another way, satisfaction is w hat custom ers feel today; loyalty is how they act tom or row. They expect more than ju st the basics-- they're looking for added value by way o f know l edge and expertise. You have to not only deliver, but also m eet or exceed your promises. Plus, they expect you to value their busi ness. A nd if there's a problem , they w ant you to com m unicate and tell them you are w illing to fix it. So how do you find out what your custom ers think about you? You do som e research! But it doesn't have to be expensive. Start by getting input from current and past custom ers. A quick call-- "ju st checking"-- will help you find out w hat cus tom ers are thinking. If you want to go a little deeper, try a simple questionnaire: W hat do you like about us? W hat don't you like? How can we serve you bet ter? Leave room for people to com m ent---you w ant both the good new s and the bad. There are num erous articles on this topic on the Internet, with m any q u oting actual survey results. W hy spend good m oney w hen you can likely find several exam ples o f custom er loyalty already defined for your type of business? All it takes is a little tim e for you or an associate to track dow n the information. The bottom line? It costs you six to ten tim es more to get a new custom er than to keep a custom er satisfied. Loyal cus tom ers don't switch. A nd they're key to the survival o f your b u si ness. -- News Canada 1P I K Top B ra n d Nam es All Fra m e s S to re w id e with purchase of your Rx lenses · Large selection of frames · Doctor's appointm ent arranged · We accept all vision care program s Space Optical invites you to come in and see all the new latest styles of eyeglasses. Visit us for personal and prompt service. 842-2821 Trafalgar Village 125 Cross Ave. Mon. 9 - 6 · Tues., Wed., Thurs. & Fri. 9 - 8 pm · Sat 9:30 - 5 pm JB j C5tm o t Dear Murron's Cabinetree I havej u maU o r a e and had to write to let y - y o u 'v e done it a g a in . s t ^ ^ m t o t o g u e Kitchens These are only two reasons we were voted It just doesn't get any better! D e a r "C a n a c K itch en s I w o u ld like to express how C h r is tm a s Best Kitchen & Bath Store in Oakville! L etter to o n e o f o u r D esigners: T h a n k y o u so m u c h for m a k in g this ren o v atio n a success. W e c o m m e n d you especially, an d C an ac for y o u r efficient service, know ledge an d professionalism . W e c o u ld n 't have p u lled it to g e th er w ith o u t you. happy 1 am wlth my nTM J c h e n .T h e le v e lo f s e r v .e e was s p e c ta c u la r, p articu larly the installer & in stallatio n . I T h a n k you, C an ac K itchens! e x p e rie n c e each year at this time. We P ^ ^ f ^ T s a y your many y e a r s , a m c a t a lo g u e is a h a n y or F.D. B u rlin g to n , O n t. i n d e e d . (I e v e n f o u n d a n two for m y s e lf!) P.M . O akville, O n t. A FEW FACTS ABOUT CANAC: e've been in business since 1966. Our kitchens start as low as $2,500 installed with counters. We are typically 10-20% less expensive than big box stores or building centres on comparable product! We have the widest selection of door styles and colours. Free in-home design service. All of our cabinets are manufactured in Canada. H U R R O flS CABINETREE 2 1 5 Lakeshore Road E., D ow ntown O akville 9 0 5 -3 3 8 -6 6 6 8 490 Speers Rd. (1/4 mile west of Dorval Rd.) Oakville (905) 842-5222 410 Lewis Rd. Stoney Creek Decor Centre (905)573-6030