While extraordinary customer service is a very important component of your business, being successful at this skill can be rather vague, as the meaning behind the words “customer service” reaches far beyond the surface.

You and your company may be receiving calls or emails from unsatisfied customers that are not having the best experience possible with the services or products you may be providing them. You must fix this by delving deep into customer service and make sure to give them the best experience possible. When we hear the words “customer service,” we tend the think of qualities such as responsiveness, calmness, and offering to make changes to fix the problem at no cost. These elements are all necessary for satisfying your customer, but don’t just skim the surface – take a look at why there is a problem to fix in the first place. You may pride yourself on your company’s ability to handle problems and give the customer a great experience as an ending result to the problem, but look more at how to eliminate having problems in the first place. It is better to provide the customer with what they ask for right away than to have multiple conversations with them to find what they need.

Don’t know what to evaluate to eliminate problems before they happen? Start by examining your interactions, control quality, and systems operations. Assess how often your customer service representatives are reaching customers and what the average for a purchase is and why. This will help you find a number that serves as an indicator that something might have gone wrong.

Next, make sure you establish simple procedures such as having a second person check products coming off of the assembly line to present some hassle that may occur with your manufacturer. Lastly, as your business grows, it becomes easy to become a bit laid back. Make sure to review your manual or create one that includes detailed procedures of handling aspects of your business so that no matter who is completing the job, it is done so the same way each and every time. While a friendly smile makes us feel good, it means little to nothing without well trained employees to ensure customers’ happiness.