The Golden Rule of Customer Service (2024)

By James A. Baker
Author, The Anger Busting Workbook,
Finalist, Book of the Year, Foreword Magazine
Founder and CEO,
Baker Communications

At the risk of overstating the obvious, I want to begin by pointing out that in order to be in business, you must have customers. So, it only follows that if you have customers, you are also involved in customer service (even if the service itself is terrible). Therefore, if you want to succeed in business, you must find a way to reach and keep satisfied customers who want to build a long term relationship with you, or at least with your products or services.

It should come as no surprise, then, that customer service training and development is a billion dollar industry. Baker Communications has wonderful training courses on Exceptional Customer Service, and I write regular articles on customer service. Honestly, though; at its core this stuff is not rocket science. In spite of all the noise and hype involving customer service these days, it truly boils down to one simple, age-old truth, often referred to as the Golden Rule:

"Treat others as you would want to be treated."

In practical terms, this means regularly asking yourself, “Is this the way I would like for my concerns to be handled when I call customer service?” Here are some guidelines to help make sure the answer to that question is always, “Yes!”

First of all, take advantage of every opportunity to genuinely appreciate your customers. Go out of your way to let them know you value them and respect them. After all, they could do business with your competitors, but they chose you! In every interaction you have with your customers, they should be able to see, hear and sense that they are important to you. This begins with basic telephone etiquette like always speaking with a positive, friendly, respectful tone of voice. If you must put the customer on hold, always ask their permission first and explain the reason for doing so. Also, don’t leave them on hold for more than two minutes without coming back on the line and explaining the reason for the delay. When you do return to the line, always apologize for leaving them on hold, no matter how long or short their wait was.

Another way to show appreciation to your customers is to offer them extra discounts or access to special promotions. This is especially important if you were not able to resolve their issue to their complete satisfaction. Providing the customer with an extra benefit they weren’t expecting can do wonders for customer relations.

Which brings up the raison d etre for customer service: handling customer complaints.

Customer complaints are a way of life if you are in business; if you have customers, you have customer complaints. Sometimes the problem will be your company’s fault; at other times it will be the customer’s fault, the fault of the post office, a problem with an intermediary server that crashed or some misalignment of the stars in a far off galaxy. In the end, it really doesn’t matter whose fault it is. The important thing is that it is now YOUR responsibility to find the best possible solution for your customer’s complaint.

However, no matter what the issue is, keep this one thought uppermost in your mind: a customer complaint is perhaps the best opportunity you will ever have to turn a plain customer into a friend or a fan of your company! They obviously already have an interest in your products or services, but if you respond to them with caring, courtesy and professionalism when they reach out to you with a complaint or a problem, you will make a friend for life. (Translation: someone who will keep spending money with your company for a VERY long time.)

So, when dealing with customer complaints or problems, your most important job is to listen to what the customer says and focus all your effort into first understanding how the customer feels and what the customer is asking for. Most CSRs have heard it all before, so it is very easy to cut to the chase and suggest solutions before the customer has had the opportunity to express himself. This is a bad idea. This may be the customer’s first time to call customer service at your company. Just because you have heard it all before doesn’t mean the customer has faced any of this before! When you take the time to really listen to the customer and empathize with their feelings, you are sending a clear message to the customer that he is important and that your company cares about HIS needs and feelings. Also, you will learn important information to help you find the right solution.

After you have listened attentively to the customer’s concerns, it is time to ask questions. These questions serve two purposes. First of all, good questions demonstrate to the customer that you are listening and you do care. More than that, however, asking good questions (and, again, carefully listening to the answers) helps you zero in on the customer’s most important needs so that you can identify the best set of options to offer as solutions. These questions should be delivered with a friendly, helpful tone. Don’t make the customer feel like he is being interrogated.

If you follow my recommendations this far, you are well on your way to delivering great customer service, and you haven’t even agreed on a final solution yet. Of course, your customer may still be asking for the moon, and you may not be able to provide that perfect solution he would prefer. However, by taking the time to make that person feel noticed, listened to and valued, you have already addressed one of his most important needs: you have demonstrated that you (and your company) really care. It will be much easier for the customer to accept the solution you are able to provide, because you have paved the way by following the Golden Rule

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