How Important is Customer Service?

What sets you apart from your competition? It is a question that is asked and answered everyday. There are many points of view and variables that come into play, but I want to talk about the most simple and universal of them all, customer service. This is a subject that has been debated for years. If any of you have ever bought or sold something then you know something about it. To me there is nothing worse than trying to buy something and dealing with someone who is mean or not helpful. Most companies today realize that this is a very important part of any business. Whether you sell products or services people today want to be treated with respect and kindness.

Customer Service is the one thing that every company has complete and total control over. I said it was simple, and it should be. However, sometimes in companies we have such strict rules in regards to returns, exchanges, promo pricing, etc., that using common sense sometimes fails us. Now to run a successful business you have to have these rules, but your employees also have to have the power to do what makes sense and keep the customer happy so they will come back. All you have to do to keep a customer is to make them happy, having said that you will run into customers that make unreasonable requests that can't be met. That does not mean you can't treat them with courtesy and find a way to keep them happy, and these people fall in the minority of cases. The key is that you have to have employees who sincerely want to be nice to people and help them.

In today's world customer service occurs mainly online, without any verbal communication at all. Think of your favorite websites, and why they are. Chances are you like them because of content and ease of use, both customer service tools. If for some reason your customer has to call, make sure they don't have to look for the number, and please have someone on the phone line that's willing to help. The online marketplace can be a little tricky without face to face interaction, so its important to anticipate what you customer will need at every turn. Whether its design, content, or navigation, build your site with this in mind.

My boss has a great saying we live by, "Take care of your customer, because if you don't, someone else will." Have a great week, and lets try to treat everyone as we would like to be treated.

Hannah Montana makes wigs "cool".

Bookmark this on Delicious
Has anyone ever heard of Hannah Montana? Ok, if you've been living under a rock for the last 3 years there is a show on Disney called Hannah Montana, mostly targeted at young girls and early teens. Miley Cyrus plays, Miley Stewart an ordinary girl by day and a pop superstar by night. Her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus plays, well, her dad Robbie Ray Stewart. Her brother and two best friends know her secret and no one else, hence the title song, "Best of Both Worlds".

I know a lot about Hannah Montana because I have a six year old daughter who watches it every day. At first I thought, oh, I don't want her to get into this, but after watching the show I have to say, I'm glad she likes it. Its a good show. The other thing that interests me is that Miley wears a wig to become Hannah, and I happen to sell wigs for a living. My daughter has one and wears her it all the time. As a matter of fact, a lot of kids wear them, a lot of the time. Now obviously the wigs we sell are a lot different, but the principal is the same. Buy a wig to look different and have fun!

The Hannah Montana movie premiered yesterday, and I was there with my kids. I was pleasantly surprised with how good it was, and of course my kids loved it. I grew up in Tennessee myself, so I related to the town she went to back home and all of the people in it. It was closer to the truth than most people will ever know. Spoiler alert!!! The climax of the movie is when Miley reveals to her home town that she is Hannah, and takes off her wig in the middle of a benefit concert to save the town to say she can't be Hannah anymore. But wait, everyone tells her she can be Hannah and they will keep her secret! Happy Ending right? Absolutely, cause then, she puts back on the wig!

I'll let you guys in on a little secret, Miley doesn't have to wear a wig to be "cool". This girl will be huge as long as she is alive. She has a quality and confidence about her that most people don't get till they are at least 40, and she's 16. She has a great voice, and is a good actor. I've seen several blogs today talking about how bad the movie was and I disagree. Anyone who saw it and thinks otherwise knows nothing about children. Her acting was so good that my 5 year old son was sitting in my lap crying because "Hannah" was sad near the end. That's what you get with kids, truth. Maybe we could all be a little less jaded and look at things for what they are, and how we really feel, instead of how we think we should feel in front of other people.

To sum up: Hannah Montana gets a thumbs up from me, and Miley will always be "cool", with or without the wig!