How Important is Good Customer Service To YOU?

Having been in the business world for many years and having worked for large companies (Pillsbury, Reynolds Metals, Neiman Marcus) as well as for smaller organizations, customer service has always been of the utmost importance to me.....both giving great service and receiving great service. Lately, I am becoming more and more annoyed with the lack of customer service that seems to permeate our society. Poorly trained employees, rude employees, disinterested and unappreciative business owners, and just a lack of common courtesy are complaint topics that I hear about and read about all too often in today's world. Companies seem to be aggressively seeking new customers but are failing to take care of their existing customers. Think of any product or service and I probably have either complained myself or heard a complaint about it from friends, family, neighbors, business associates, etc. So for those of us who are building businesses it seems to me the way to have an edge over competitors is to provide the absolute best customer service anyone could hope or expect to receive. To succeed our products, services, accommodations, etc. have to be great, but even if they are great we will lose customers if our service is poor. What are you doing to ensure your business is not being negatively affected by poor service? A point to remember is that many people won't actually complain. Instead they will just make a silent decision to never again shop with you, stay with you, or use your services. Time to get back to basics in these difficult economic times, and customer service is one of the most basic business principles which will grow your business. Think about it!