Indore: Every business thrives and grows only on the basis of its customers. Most businesses have developed a customer appreciation system for festivals and special occasions. While appreciation can help a business in retaining their customers, getting to know their customers helps a business in growing by providing value services.
Reminding business owners the importance of connecting with customers, ‘Get to Know Your Customers Day’ is observed annually on the third Thursday of each quarter (January, April, July, October). Thursday, considered a relaxed day of the week, is best day to communicate and start a dialogue with customers. Talking about customer handling, Free Press talked to cross-section of people, who handle customers every day.
Answer unknown calls
“We have over 12,000 customers. I take unknown calls too because they are from our customers. In fact, I have about 8,000 customers who are personally in touch with me. I own three businesses in different sectors – real estate, tourism and information technology. I ensure that everyone in my staff follows my example and always answer to customers. It actually feels good when customers get my number from internet or friends and speak to me as they would speak to a customer care executive. I like being in touch with my customers.”
Winning trust is important
“I own a Start-Up that provides door-to-door repair services. Household customers are concerned about reliability, security and time of service. We worked hard on winning customers’ trust. We set norms for security and transparent system wherein customers can complain about vendors. Now, we are expanding and tying with other businesses to provide repair services.”
Point of no judgement
“Our job is to guide our clients. I deal with stress of my job with yoga practise and exercise. Customer handling determines success of most professions.”
Calmness is the key
“We get customers every day. Dealing with aggrieved customers requires us to be calm and patient. Many a times, customers vent their anger but we listen to them patiently. Our calmness helps in calming the customer and helping them understand the situation. I remember feeling irritated when I began working but now I remain calm. Eventually, I have learned to handle everything calmly even in my personal life.”