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Extra Features and Video Online FloristsReview.com R E A D O N L I N E 57 Take time to focus on recurring tasks, whether monthly, quarterly or yearly, and create short checklists or processes for the trickier ones. While you're doing this, make a note of any recurring problems and find a way to fix them; then put those steps on your checklist. Once you've set up a process, follow it. Checklist processes are very powerful. If you miss something, you see it instantly and can fix it before it gets to your customers. Later, if you discover you've forgotten a step, or if you find a way to make the process run more smoothly, you can always modify and improve the checklists. "I recently worked with a major online flower company," Hyken shares. "What was interesting to me is that 25 percent of all transactions have some customer service issue related to them. at doesn't mean the customer called to complain; in some of the cases, the customers were never aware of the problems because they were fixed before the customers found out." e florist "nipped it in the bud," as it were. Creating Instant Gratification for Customers "One of the things we teach is 'Be like Jimmy John's,'" Hyken informs. "We want to return all emails and calls freaky fast." Instant gratification is another part of "five-star" customer service. If a customer calls, answer within 10 seconds. Find a way to keep the customer from being transferred here and there and everywhere—and resolve his or her complaint on the first call. Send the customer email notifications, with photos, when an arrangement is designed and again when it's delivered. Also, look into all the times you contact a customer. Are these interactions working as they should? Create "customer journey maps" to show all the interactions (a.k.a. touch-points) that your business has with your customers. You might need to create more than one map for each journey, to cover each department and how each one impacts the customer experience. "Mistakes are going to be made, and problems are going to happen," Hyken acknowledges. "But if you have a good process, with checks and balances along the way, you're golden." Dealing with Reviews and Customer Complaints Good reviews are fantastic, but one bad review can feel like the end of the world. Would you believe that one- star reviews are good for business? ink about it: If you see a business with nothing but five-star reviews, you're instantly skeptical, right? You're not the only one. Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill., conducted a study, the results of which show that bad reviews actually boost sales—because most consumers are suspicious of anything that's too good to be true. An average rating for a company or product between 4.2 and 4.5 is most likely to influence sales because consumers see those ratings as being authentic. Should you respond to customer reviews online? Yes, if you can, even if you just say, "ank you so much" or "We're so glad to have you as a customer." If your company gets thousands of reviews, it will be difficult to respond to every one without sounding like a broken record. To save your sanity, respond only to those who put a lot of effort into their reviews. On the other hand, you should respond quickly to negative reviews— ideally within 24 hours, if possible— but not in a defensive way. You want to fix the problem, so contact the customer directly if you can, apologize sincerely for what happened, and find a way to resolve the issue to the customer's satisfaction—and then do something extra, above and beyond—regardless of whether you lose money. Once you resolve the issue, come back to the review and write, "I'm glad we had a chance to correct the problem. We've sent you another … "—or whatever solution you provided—"and thank you for bringing this to our attention and enabling us to rectify the problem (or 'our mistake,' to take ownership)." Sometimes, if you ask this as a favor of a customer, he or she will revise the review. He or she doesn't need to take the review down, but by getting it updated by the customer, you can post a thank you and a short rundown about how the problem was solved. en, other consumers will see how you've followed up to make things right. "We like when a client posts a bad review because that give us an opportunity to fix the problem," Hyken says. "It shows the world that we care, and it's a beautiful thing." ese are but a few ways to deliver "five-star" customer service. To discover more, visit hyken.com and thecustomerfocus.com.

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