Blog 37: Rules to help deliver great customer service

A SaaS product can only be called a business if it has a customer base and is able to grow that base consistently.

We found a great resource on customer service. A book called ‘The Customer Rules – The 39 rules for delivering sensational service’ by Lee Cockerell.

The customer rules book by Lee Cockerell

This book helped us approach customer service with a right mindset.

1. Customer service is not a department. Customer service encompasses a customer’s entire experience. Thus, make customer service a part of every employee’s job description.

2. You win customers one at a time and lose them a thousand at a time. Every time a customer comes in contact, it’s a moment of truth. Satisfied customers are the best marketing staff.

3. Great service follows the law of gravity. The service ethos starts at the top.

4. Don’t get bored with the basics. Mastering the fundamentals makes the difference between success and failure.

5. Ask yourself, “what would mom do?”. Instil good habits within the firm.

6. Be an ecologist. Sustain an ecosystem that is based on satisfying every customer’s needs.

7. Look sharp.

8. Always act like a professional.

9. Hire the best cast.

10. Be your own Shakespeare. Tell and keep everyone informed about their role.

11. Become an expert at creating experts.

12. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

13. Expect more to get more.

14. Treat customers the way you’d treat your loved ones.

15. Be like a bee. Buzz around the organization and departments to understand what’s working and what is not!

16. Know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

17. Listen up.Great listening means paying attention not only to what people say, but also to what they don’t say and to what they’re trying to say but can’t quite articulate.

18. Be a copycat.

19. Fish where the fishermen ain’t. Look at what others are not doing, and seize that opportunity to do it yourself.

20. Be a wordsmith – language matters.

21. Make yourself available.

22. Always be the giving one.

23. If they say they want horses, give them a motorcar.

24. Don’t just make promises, make guarantees. An excellent service guarantee should:

i. Include explicit details

ii. Tell customers exactly how to reach you

iii. Minimise exceptions

iv. Be meaningful

v. Clearly state the reward if the guarantee is not met

vi. Make the reward easy to redeem

25. Treat every customer like a regular.

26. Serve to win.

27. Make ASAP your standard deadline.

28. Know the difference between needs and wants.

29. Have a geek on your team.

30. Be relentless about details.

31. Be reliable.

32. Don’t give the responsibility without the authority.

33. Never, ever argue with a customer.

34. Never say No - except ‘No problem’.

35. Be flexible.

36. Apologise like you really mean it.

37. Surprise them with something extra.

38. Keep doing it better.

39. Don’t try too hard. Trying hard is important, but trying too hard can be as bad as not trying enough.

If you like to learn more about each of the 39 rules, please do go through the book.

Jump to blog 100 to refer to the overall product management mind map.

Source: ‘The Customer Rules – The 39 rules for delivering sensational service’ by Lee Cockerell.

All the best! 😊