Now hear this:
The customer is your paycheck. And that includes the teachers and everyone from the studio maintenance worker all the way up to you! Here are some of the things that todays customers are:
Smarter More price-conscious Bombarded by advertising More demanding Less forgiving Tougher to please Less loyal Harder to figure out Needing more of your time Oh, is that all? I can hear you thinking. Well, now that I have your attention, here we go.
When a business mentions good customer service, it is always about how they care about their customers. The truth is, if you dont, someone else will. Here is the tricky part. Most peoples expectation of how they want to be treated is so overblown that it becomes harder and harder to please them. The old saying The more you do, the more they want seems more applicable today than ever before. But before you throw your hands up in disgust, remember that your customers are also your biggest assetonce you build their loyalty. The Focus Of Your Attention As much as wed all like to, we know its impossible to answer every last expectation of every last customer. But by paying to the following areas, you can provide an exceptional level of customer service that will leave your competitors in your wake.
Value. In dance, we can show the very visible benefits of lessons and how this study will enhance a childs life. If you charge more than your competitor, you will need to give more. But a cheap price is not what everyone, especially the clients you want to get, are looking for. Communication. In dance schools this can often be one of the most difficult aspects of customer service if you are not careful. You teach and work with one group (the students), but you must communicate with another group (the parents) who pay the bills and get the students to and from class, rehearsals and shows. One thing we try to avoid is having the child communicate a message from us either verbally or through any hand-delivered letters to their parents. It is always better to communicate directly with the parent.
Reliability. If you cancel classes unexpectedly or people come for classes and the studio isnt open, that is not setting a good tone. Be consistent and always do what you say you are going to do. ALWAYS! Attitude. Be friendly and have your faculty and staff on the same page with you. No one wants to deal with an unhappy and unhelpful person. Put yourself in the place of your customer, and think about the last time you walked into a business and were greeted by someone like that. Make your studio a welcoming place so that everyone looks forward to coming into your building.
Exceptional service. People dont consider this anything extra anymore. If you dont provide it, they will leave and go somewhere else when you least expect it. Here is the good news. If you give exceptional service and create WOW moments, they will tell everyone they know, and that positive word of mouth advertising is worth its weight in gold! Can you keep everyone happy? Well, you probably cant and dont kill yourself trying, but you can sure try like crazy to please. You may not want to do business with some very difficult parents and thats fine, but its better if that type of person is few and far between. When in doubt, side with the customer, especially if they are mad.
Heres our approach: Get all the details, dont argue, and come to some type of agreement on the best way to move forward. While I dont always like hearing it, I do like to find out what we are doing wrong. If a customer takes the time to tell you something that they feel can be done better, I recommend that you listen carefully and see if it has any merit. After all, if you think you are always doing everything right, how can you ever get any better?
