David Krichmar
By David Krichmar
Is your customer service best for you or your clients? Think about that question for a moment. Obviously, great customer service is not what is easiest for you. In most situations, it is about going above and beyond. Maybe even inconveniencing you.
I recently read a great article by Rebekah Radice, “The Simple Truth Behind Customer Service,” and the comments that people left got me thinking: Your customer service should be what the client expects, not what is easiest for you. So here are my random thoughts on providing great customer service:
- Everyone wants attention now!! We all do. When we have a question, we want an answer. So when possible, answer NOW!!! Whether it be by phone, email, text, or smoke signals.
- “I return all phone calls after 5 p.m.” HUH???? Cell phones: They are amazing because you can actually leave the office/land-line and still have a conversation.
- “I return emails by the end of the business day.” What does that mean? To me it says emails are not important. By now you should have a phone that has email coming to you so you can return them immediately. Continue reading »
Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
In a recent post here at the YPN Lounge, Jessica Hickok encouraged us to avoid becoming the “Real Turd” who can’t separate his or her work life from anything else. She offered some great tips for managing our daily lives so that we don’t stand out as “that guy” or “that girl” with the annoying Bluetooth thingy and the loud phone screaming all the time.
What I came away wondering, however, was whether there wasn’t another angle to be considered here…the online component of being a REALTOR® in a world where the consumer isn’t willing to wait anymore to be served. According to the most recent survey conducted by the California Association of REALTORS®, 96 percent of Internet home buyers expected contact from an agent within 4 hours of their initial request, while 31 percent of them expected an IMMEDIATE response if they were going to have a relationship going forward.
So how can we offer immediate response AND be the ideal spouse/friend/restaurant patron? Here are some tips I think will help, along with a few things I am pretty sure will just get in your way.
1) Give more information, not less: I know our industry thrived for generations on making sure we were the “keepers of the keys” but now it is time to make sure those consumers who come to us are not just coming because they can’t find our info online.
2) Maximize the power of text messaging: You have a form where people can ask you a question, why not ask them for their cell phone number? Then when you get the info transmitted to you, even if it is in the middle of dinner, you can reply with the classic 140 character retort. My opinion here, but if you text the person back and tell them you are sharing an important family event but that you will either 1) forward their request or 2) get back to them as soon as you are finished they will stay with you…so long as you live up to your word. Continue reading »
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