So I recently stumbled on a rant article about the Customer Service Week celebrations; the writer based his thoughts on how very unnecessary it is to take a whole week off from major work activities, dress in a particular fashion and put up freebies just to impress the customers.
This got me thinking…
Is ‘Customer Service Week’ celebrations really overrated or is there more we can learn from it?
Truth is, a lot of people have developed a skewed view of what exactly this week is about and it’s importance.
In this article, we’ll be looking in retrospect at an industry (sports Industry) that rakes in hundreds of millions annually and has over the years kept a customer base like no other. So let’s quickly define the terms we’ll be dealing with so we know exactly what I’m referring to when I use them in this article.
Customer service has to do with the provision of services to customers before, during and after a transaction; it is the entirety of the interaction between a customer and a customer service personnel who is dedicated to attending to the various needs of the customer within company policies. Customer Service Week is a celebration of the importance of customer service and the people that render these services to customers on a daily basis.
The Sports industry has over time seen a growth in patronage equivalent to the largest industries in the world in terms of revenue generation, job creation and customer satisfaction. This industry has been projected to be very well capable of sustaining the nation as a diversified means of income.
So let’s review why this industry over time has stayed this relevant.
The most obvious reason is the number of satisfied customers.
For football fans that take out time to travel within or without the country, subscribe to watch games online or on TV, buy club made materials and so on, their satisfaction is hinged on the victories of the teams they support. One club has to lose for another to progress, and every time this happens the customers of the winning clubs are satisfied with the services they offer on the pitch.
Off the pitch, services include the purchase of tickets at the stadia, guides, the hospitality of host nation, loan or purchase of new players that are very effective and would help the club get to or stay on top.
All these accrue to why we have satisfied customers with this industry.
The Customer Service week is a public relations exercise which seeks to reassure the customers who are aware of the company’s shortcomings but still chose to stay while the company tries to improve. It is also about celebrating the people that make this happen, those that have to get into character each time to attend to customer needs and keep the customers happy.
For the sports industry, ‘customer service week’ is a regular happening every time a team pleases their customers with wins.
As a growing or established business owner, learning from how this industry interacts with its customers and customer service personnel will do your business a whole lot of good.
What exactly do the customers require of you?
How do they want to be responded to when they make a call to the customer service personnel?
Knowing and implementing this knowledge will definitely improve your company turnovers and will make for more happy customers.
