The perfect solution

A colleague recently said to me: "There is nothing new in customer care." To an extent this is true. Welcoming a customer, providing them with good service, knowing the product, recognising a regular, are all important skills that have always been part of a good employer's training.

Yet many customers still do not return to an establishment because of poor service. It is vital, therefore, that businesses continually check customer service standards and work towards improving them.

Every "transaction" with a customer is a unique experience and one from which each participant can learn.

This not only applies to front of house employees but to all jobs. We are all customers of each other, even in a kitchen or a goods-receiving bay.

Often, learning by experience can be more useful than a formal training session. Most training companies and consultancies run formal customer service programmes and most large businesses offer some form of customer care training.

However, many programmes are often only skin-deep. Little is learned other than some catch phrases and basic activities. Unless constant and expensive updating is offered, the effect soon fades.

Businesses that rely on part-time labour, have a high turnover of staff, or low profit margins, may choose not to offer customer care training at all.

So how valuable is this type of training? Prior to the recession, many businesses thought it unnecessary. There were always plenty of customers: if one customer was annoyed, there was always another ready to take their place.

Pressures from the recession have changed all that. Now every customer is valuable. It is vital to create the right first impression and provide excellent customer service throughout the period that the customer is on the premises.

Customer care should be part of every induction programme. New members of staff should be made aware of a business's definition of customer care, its policies, and the procedures it has in place to check that customers are satisfied.

Show concern

Everyone who works for a business needs to have instilled in them a sense of belonging and a belief in the purpose of their job. This will mean they will show concern and interest in their customers' needs.

Staff must be taught what questions to ask in order to find out exactly what a customer wants. They must be taught how to offer the same high standard of service no matter how big or small the request, nor how friendly or difficult the customer.

To achieve this effectively cannot be solved by training alone. Induction training, questioning techniques, and product knowledge training, all play their part. However, other techniques also play their part - check-lists, questionnaires and role-playing sessions can all help.

The following procedure should be followed to achieve good customer care.

First, consult with staff and customers about the sort of care that should be provided.

Second, involve all staff in the customer care programme.

Third, get their commitment to carry out the policy and make it work.

Last, communicate policies, procedures and standards so that customer service levels can be checked.

Training and checking activities also helps staff to "sell" the service they are providing to the customer.

This is particularly important for front of house staff who are often left on their own to defend their jobs when coping with difficult customers.

There are a number of skills that hospitality staff need to perform effectively. These include good listening skills, an ability to take initiative, and the ability to be self-motivated.

The key word is satisfaction. Staff should be pleased that they have done a job well, and pleased that the customer is happy.

The qualities needed to provide good customer care can be summed up in six words, the first letters of which, rather appropriately, spell "perfect".

P - Professional

E - Efficient

R - Reliable

F - Friendly

E - Expert

C - Caring

T - Trustworthy

Of course things will go wrong from time to time. Complaints will arise and operational difficulties will get in the way.

However, exercises and discussions can help staff learn how to handle problems better next time around.

Ensuring that staff have a positive attitude, a confident approach, and the right appearance, should help avoid such difficulties.

Last impression

Customer care is not just about face to face contact. Very often the first impression comes in writing (for example, a brochure), or over the telephone (a booking).

Such forms of communication are an extension of the business's customer care and need just as much attention. Care concerns everyone within an organisation from the top to the bottom. Everyone is a customer of someone else.

The knowledge and practical application of good customer care can now be recognised in a level 3 National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) for customer service.

The NVQ covers the maintenance of reliable service, communications, working relationships, solving problems and the initiation and evaluation of change to improve service to customers.

Finally, one extra hint. A business can help achieve really good customer care by looking after its staff well.

If an employer makes its employees' prospects and welfare a priority then good customer care will follow. Enjoying work, being part of an efficient team and feeling comfortable with the management, means an employee will look after their customers in a more relaxed and efficient way.

• Simon Johnson is author of Readymade Activities for Customer Care Skills, available from Pitman Publishing and the Institute of Management. He is director of Swanborough Training and Development in Chippenham, Wiltshire.