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Achieving customer service excellence
How CSRs can make a difference
By R. Scott Poole
The driving motivation for print buyers today is instant gratification. They want their jobs and they want them now! So, excellence in customer service is an absolute must. If printing companies are going to survive and compete in this era of increasingly dominant electronic media and Internet competition, they will have to be smart enough to realize that improving customer service is the key to improving business and keeping customers happy.

Whose job is customer service?
Virtually everyone in the office of a printing company is a customer service representative at some point in time. Whether it’s an estimator calling to clarify specifications, a desktop operator needing information about missing fonts or files, someone filling in for a CSR, a production planner, or a CSR just doing his or her regular job.

If everyone in your company emphasizes doing the right things the right way, you can put the service back into customer service, and your company and your customers can only benefit from it.

Industry studies have shown that print buyers leave printers for several reasons. Among the leading reasons are high prices, poor quality, and inadequate customer service. Actually, the number one reason print buyers leave printers is late deliveries.

Print buyers want to work with printing companies who will basically give them everything they need, whether it’s practical or not. If a customer wants to come in for a press OK, he or she doesn’t want to be rushed or have someone try to convince them to sign-off on a job that he or she is not happy with. Customers also want to work with printing companies who will adjust their schedules to accommodate their needs.

Most customers are willing to pay more as long as they get what they want, when they want it. They also want their CSR to be their eyes and ears in the printing plant; the person who lobbies for their jobs and communicates with them regularly and accurately.

CSRs need to be proactive with their customers. They need to get to know their customers’ whims and needs and anticipate what the customer will want, and expect, on every job, every time. CSRs need to catch errors on proofs before they go to the customer. And, if it’s the second or third proof, double-check to make sure that all the customer’s previous changes have been made, and made correctly and that the latest proof includes all those changes.

CSRs need to communicate regularly with customers to let them know, for instance, when proofs are going out, when they need them back, and what problems will be created if the customer doesn’t get the proofs back on time.

CSRs usually have more contact with the customer than anyone else in a printing company, including the sales representative. The CSR handles customer inquiries, negotiates schedules, gives advice, solves problems, tracks shipments, arranges press OKs, and much more. In fact, the customer’s perception of the company is often based primarily on the CSR’s level of service.

Good CSRs know that service is defined by the customer’s point of view, not their own. They anticipate potential problems and work with customers to head off the problems. Customers do not like to be surprised. If a CSR knows that a job is going to deliver late, or that a press OK isn’t going to be on time, the time to communicate that information to the customer is as soon as he or she knows about it. If, for instance, a job is due on Friday, and on Tuesday the CSR finds out it’s going to be late, the time to tell the customer is on Tuesday. The worst thing you can do is to wait until the customer expects the job to be delivered to let them know the job’s going to be late. Most customers, when told in advance of a potential problem, will work with you to change the schedule. But CSRs should always remember the old axiom: earlier is better than later.

Ten ways to keep customers happy

1. Find solutions to problems
The way you deal with a problem is more important to the customer than the problem itself. Customers really don’t expect you to be perfect, especially in the printing industry where copy changes, schedule changes, quantity changes, and other changing details are the norm. Customers understand that problems are going to happen. So, they put their faith in companies that find solutions. Therefore, your most important role as a CSR is to be a problem-solver.

2. Inform the customer immediately
If there is a problem with the customer’s job, even if you don’t have all the information, call the client. Let him know that you’re working on the problem and will have information for him shortly. If you tell him you’ll call him back, make sure to call back when you said you would, even if you still don’t have an answer.

3. Know what questions to ask
Never assume that you know what a customer wants or needs. Talk to the customer and ask questions to clarify the customer’s needs and their understanding of the problem. Clarify all confusing information and leave nothing to the imagination. A good CSR will “get inside the customer’s head” and learn to anticipate what the customer wants and needs, and which customers will react positively or negatively in response to bad news. Let customers know that it will help both of you if you have as much information as possible when the job comes in. Stress the fact that missing information, fonts, files, details, and laser proofs, etc., can only delay the project and increase costs. Some newer CSRs might want to keep a list of questions handy so they don’t omit important questions.

4. Be willing to learn all you can
Since the real “product” the customer is buying is expertise and problem-solving, it’s extremely important that you be willing to learn as much as you can about your company and your customer’s company, so you can be more able to service their needs. Good sources for education are local trade associations, suppliers, paper merchants, ink manufacturers, binderies, and other resources. Most suppliers are happy to share their knowledge. Many have newsletters with “tips” or changes in the industry.

Ask to occasionally go on site visits with a sales representative in order to meet customers face to face and see their facilities. This will show the customer that you’re interested in them and will help develop a personal bond. It would also be helpful if you search the Internet or other resources so you learn more about your customer’s business, technology, and products.

5. Details, details, details
As a CSR in a printing company, you know how critical details are. Make sure that all specifications, schedules, delivery commitments, and other agreed-upon details of every job are put in writing. If your customer gives you information and specifications verbally, write them down, repeat them back to the customer, and ask questions if you are unsure about any of the information the customer has given you. Getting all the details when the job comes in will eliminate the need to call the customer back, and minimize the risk of making mistakes.

6. If something goes wrong, work to mend fences
As a customer service professional, mending broken promises, re-establishing your customer’s trust, and finding solutions to problems are important parts of your job. If a promise you made to a customer is broken (or if the customer thinks it’s broken), there are several things you can do to appease your customer.

First, apologize, and be sincere when you do it. All your customer really wants is to know that you are aware of the problem. He or she is just looking for confirmation that you’re working on a solution to the problem.
Then, listen to your customer. Find out what the customer expected and how the expectations were not met. Without making excuses, listen to the customer and allow him to vent his frustrations. Don’t interrupt; if you do you may miss some key information or give the customer the impression that you’re not interested in his problems.

Tell the customer you’re sorry. Empathize and assure the customer you understand how frustrated and upset he must feel.

Then, ask more questions. Find out as much information as you can about the customer’s understanding of the problem, what the customer wants to happen to fix the problem, and what his ideas for solving the problem are.

After that, listen some more. Gather additional information that might help you solve the problem. Sometimes, you have to really listen to find out what’s really bothering your customer. For example, your shipping department sent the job to the wrong place. That sometimes happens, but it’s not what your customer is upset about. What’s making her angry is that she gave you the right information, and it was either not communicated, or it was ignored. That would make almost any customer upset.

7. Whatever you do, don’t blame the sales representative
Whether the sales representative is to blame or not, blaming him will cause the customer to receive mixed signals and feel uneasy. It also makes you, and the sales rep, look like you’re not on the same team. Customers want solutions to their problems, and don’t want to hear about your internal bickering and other problems. Remember: it’s the sales rep that brings the work in, and that work pays your salary.

8. Give the customer choices
Don’t keep rehashing what the problem is and assigning blame. Instead, work with the customer to develop positive solutions to the problem. And don’t assume the onus is on you to find all the solutions. You may have to include the scheduler, the plant manager, or the president of the company before you come up with the best solution. But keep in mind, as you work on solutions, that your customer needs to be kept informed and told, each step of the way, how you’re going to solve the problem.

9. Communication is the key
No matter what else is going on, the nature of your customer’s problem, or what the scheduling issue is, it is extremely important that you keep the customer informed. If you don’t know the answer to a customer’s question, be honest about it. Tell your customer that you don’t know the answer, but that you’ll find out and get back to him within the hour. Once you’ve said that, even if you don’t have an answer within an hour, call him back and tell him you’re still working on the problem. This lets the customer know his problem is not being ignored and that you are doing your job and protecting his interests.

10. Make your customers feel important
Making your customers feel like they’re important is the definition of excellence in customer service. How you talk to them, and how important you make them feel, is of prime importance. It is critical that you never make negative statements about your company, your co-workers, or your customer or her company. Always be positive and stay positive. If you exude confidence, your customers will feel you are confident and competent. Each customer secretly wants to feel like he or she is your only customer, or at least your most important customer.

Customer service is what it’s all about
Since this is the era of instant gratification, no printing company can survive without excellent customer service. It is up to the customer service professionals in any company to make sure that when a customer makes a request, whether it’s reasonable or not, their request is honored.

The success of any printing company in the future depends on excellent customer service. To be sure, companies must keep up with technological innovations and invest in equipment that will improve quality and productivity, but, as far as your customers are concerned, they want to be treated as what they are; the reason you’re in business. Without customers, the business will die. But without excellent customer service, the customers will go away. The future of any printing company rests virtually within the hands of the customer service representatives.

About the Author: R. Scott Poole is the president of Graphic Consulting Associates, a business consulting firm in Middleton, MA, dedicated exclusively to developing management solutions for commercial printing companies. A veteran of more than 30 years in senior management in the graphic arts industry, he has been an instructor and seminar leader for Printing Institute of New England for many years, and continues to conduct in-plant employee and customer training seminars for client companies. He can be reached at 978-774-8934 or by e-mail at .