Rapid celebrates National Customer Service Week

October 7-11 is National Customer Service Week, and here at Rapid we are taking part with a full schedule of activities and events. We were finalists in the Customer Service Excellence category at the recent Essex Business Excellence Awards, and customer service is at the heart of what we do.

All this week our Customer Experience Manager Victoria Bennett will be sharing her top Customer Service tips.

VIK'S TIPS #1

"You can learn so much from listening to both customer and staff feedback. Feedback is integral to improve your customer service and journey. This can make the difference between solving a problem and stopping it happening again. To celebrate National Customer Service Week, we have added a suggestion box in our canteen and asked our employees to suggest ways we can improve the customer journey. We also have a customer feedback box in our Trade Counter for our local customers to give us insight into their experience with Rapid."

VIK'S TIPS #2

"Set a standard for your entire workforce to live and breathe by, even if they do not have direct contact with customers. Gain their feedback and give them the ability to bring the standard to life. Rapid’s Customer Charter has been created from both employee and customer feedback, to be clear about the services and standards we operate at and to ensure we put our customers at the heart of our business."

VIK'S TIPS #3

"When was the last time you thanked your teams for the great service they provide for your customers? Or thanked your customers for taking the time to give you feedback, for placing an order or for recommending your product or services to their colleague, friends or family? Saying thank you is memorable. To thank our teams at Rapid, we have created the Rapid wall of fame, adding everyone’s name to a star – as they are all our customer service super stars!"

"Do you know how much an error costs your business? Factoring in the time and number of staff it can take to resolve an error, can be very costly. We continuously review our company errors and processes to ensure that when issues occur, they are fixed quickly and efficiently. Our customer feedback is key to learning how to improve our service."

"Never be scared to say “I don’t know”. As a customer, you tend to want to deal with someone that exudes confidence when dealing with a query. However, there is nothing wrong with saying you don’t know the answer to something. If you are unsure, find out the information and go back to your customer with all the facts. Customers will appreciate your honesty and be impressed with your efforts to find out the correct answer."