Customer Service, Italian Style

Nowadays, we complain nearly all of the time about how few businesses remember how to provide quality service to their customers. But a recent trip to Italy not only reminded me that the art of service is not dead, but that providing outstanding service is the key to almost any successful business. Here are a few well-worn but important principles that I was reminded of during that trip:

The Customer Always Comes First: When you patronize a retail store or restaurant in Italy, it is almost always the owner of the business that takes care of you. It's not that there aren't other employees; other staff members are usually busy straightening inventory or dealing with deliveries. But dealing with customers is simply too important a task to be delegated.

Product Knowledge Is King: Remember your last retail shopping experience, where you had to ask three different sales people to get an answer to a simple question about a product? Not in Italy. Every salesperson we dealt with was a product expert, whether it was about the kind of material used in a garment, the amount of warmth that various types of glove leather would provide, or how a piece of gold jewelry was crafted.

Be Proud Of What You Offer: Retail specialty stores in Italy typically offer goods in a wide range of prices to suit every budget. But you'll never catch a shop owner steering you toward their expensive wares by denigrating the quality of their less expensive merchandise. If it's good enough for them to sell, it's good enough for you to buy.

No Job Is Too Small Or Unimportant: Every morning, the streets of Florence were filled with shopkeepers sweeping their sidewalks, or polishing their doorways or cleaning their display windows. And, when there aren't customers to serve, there are shelves to be organized, merchandise to be tidied and stock to be added. These are important tasks that, no matter how menial they appear, help to create a positive business image with the customer.

Competitors Are Not Your Enemies: More than once, we were referred to another shop when the one that we were visiting did not have what we were looking for. More interested in building a long-term relationship than in making a quick sale, shopkeepers in Italy readily refer customers to competitors who can better meet an immediate need, knowing that the best customers will remember who referred them.

Running A Business Should Be A Joy, Not A Job: Retailers in Italy work hours comparable to their U.S. counterparts. However, we never once met a tired or grumpy shopkeeper who didn't have the time to give us as much attention as the first customer of the day, and who didn't go out of their way to make us feel welcome in their shop and in their city.

William von Achen is president of Strategic Management Resources, an executive coaching and management consulting firm offering advice and counsel to business owners and senior executives. For more information visit our web site at http://www.smrweb.com

---

Be the Customer: See Yourself as Your Customers Do

What do your customers experience when they interact with your... Read More

Oil Change Customer from Hell or Hoax; You Decide

Evacuation, "E-Vac" Oil System for Oil ChangingHow do most mobile... Read More

Make Sure You Get The Customer Perspective

Businesses that fail, often forget to seek out the customer... Read More

Clients... and 38 ways to communicate with them

As Alan Weiss (guru to the savvy consultant) says: "It... Read More

Make Your Customer Your Friend

The simplest way to describe a 'durian' (pronounced doo-ree-ann) is... Read More

Your Actions Tell Your Clients How You Expect To Be Treated

There is a widely accepted principle of human behavior that... Read More

How CRM Software Works -- Creating Customer Satisfaction with a Click

When people ask, "What is CRM?" the literal answer is,... Read More

Businesses Need to Rehumanise

Big companies and corporations have lost the human touch. The... Read More

Attitude of Service

When conducting a training session about customer service, I always... Read More

What Do They Want Anyway?

You want customers. I want customers. We all want customers.... Read More

Putting The Service Back In Customer Service

The future of customer service is here. Technology has made... Read More

Automating Your Customer Support

My regular readers will know that one of the things... Read More

Customer Service: Why Bears Make Bad Customers

Every business owner should have a picture of his or... Read More

What Every Manager Should Know About Seeing the World from Where the Customer Is Standing

It is important to remember that the customer doesn't necessarily... Read More

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

However, in the world of business, this clich� may not... Read More

Why Cant Microsoft Make Soft Packaging?

Why is it that Microsoft wants you to buy its... Read More

Listening: The Foundation of Communication

Listening is the #1 communication skill for leadership, selling, customer... Read More

What To Do When Youve Blown It

It's bound to happen sooner or later ? yes, even... Read More

You MUST Sweat the Small Stuff

It's The Little Things That Make or Break a Small... Read More

Doesnt Anybody Work Here? Nametags Impact Employee Communication

Walmart was the first business to require all its employees... Read More

My Child Has Opie Eye!

7:00 a.m., the silence in the house is broken by... Read More

And The Difference is... Attitude

I returned a rental car at an airport yesterday. As... Read More

Complaints Are Actually A Good Thing!

Nobody likes to get complaints. They make you question your... Read More

Poor Customer Service - Are Your Customers Driving Away Other Customers

Every customer you have is a word-of-mouth advertiser for you.... Read More

Cultivating the Trust Factor

In today's highly competitive economy, it is difficult to maintain... Read More

Dealing with People - Words to Avoid

You probably realise how the wrong tone of voice and... Read More

Ten Ways to Help You Improve Your Customer Service

1. Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis.... Read More

CRM = Customers (dont) Really Matter

CRM was supposed to bring companies closer to their clients.... Read More

How to Easily Increase Your Profits

Do you remember the last time you went into a... Read More

Make An Action Plan To Improve Customer Service

Customer Service is a critical factor for keeping your clients... Read More

The Great American Customer Service Unawareness Campaign

Q: I'm so sick of you so-called business experts always... Read More

Under Promise & Over Perform: The Art of Managing Customer Expectations

I'll always feel warmly about Conrad's restaurant, in Glendale, California.On... Read More

When the Customer Demands: Give a Discount or Lose the Order

Periodically every sales person encounters the customer who refuses to... Read More