What customers really - really – want, and what will make them loyal to your business and say wonderful things about you to other people are:

1. Warm and friendly responses - When customers make contact with you face to face or over the telephone, they want a warm response. It can still be businesslike but you need to look and sound - friendly and likeable.

(This may all sound like common sense to you but think about these factors the next time you're a customer and ask yourself if they're happening to you. Then ask yourself if your customers or clients are experiencing this from you and your staff).

2. They want to feel important - They know you have lots of other customers / clients but they just love it when you make them feel special.

3. They want to be listened to - Customers often get the impression that the person dealing with them is not really listening. You must keep working on your listening skills. Keep good eye contact with people and concentrate on what they're saying. Keep an open mind and resist the temptation to jump in with an answer.

4. Someone to know their name - A persons name is one of the sweetest sounds they'll ever hear. If you use a customer's name when you talk to them, it indicates that you recognise them as an individual. Don't use it too often as it can become irritating, but definitely at the start and the end of a conversation.

5. Flexibility - Customers hate to hear the word "No" or "it can't be done." It's not always possible to say, "Yes" to a customer or do exactly what they want; however, it is important to be as flexible as you can. Tell customers what you can do - not what you can't.

6. Recovery - When things go wrong, customers want you to solve their problems quickly. They don't want to hear excuses or who's to blame or why it happened, they just want it fixed fast.

Customers will often judge the quality of your service by the way you recover. They will even forgive your mistakes if you recover well. Don't be afraid when something does go wrong; it's often a great opportunity to show customers just how great your service really is.

Overall, customers just want to feel good. They want to feel better after they've dealt with you or anyone in your business, than they did before. If you can create that feeling, then you're well on the way to giving customers what they really really want.

When not arrange for one of our mystery shoppers to call or visit one of your units, they can check whether or not your team are simply going through motions, or trying their best.

MCE Team.