Tina Moore always tells her team members to think of one question when it comes to customer service:
“What if this were you?”
The Canal Winchester, OH, Postmaster finds that when employees put themselves in customers’ shoes — eager to receive an online purchase, for example, that may not be easily replaceable — it immediately encourages them to do whatever it takes to resolve concerns.
With newer tools and services such as package tracking and parcel lockers, Moore’s office is receiving more inquiries from customers than ever before.
“There is a higher volume of calls and face-to-face encounters in the Post Office, and customers have lots of questions for their carriers, too,” Moore says. “It’s challenging, but rewarding when you can meet and exceed expectations.”
To further guide employees, Moore offers three tips:
• Listen to your customers. “People need to be heard, and if you’re calm and patient, that goes a long way toward making them happy,” she says.
• Treat customers with respect. “Help them the way you want to be helped, and if something comes up on a route that can’t be resolved on the spot, don’t hesitate to give them the office number so we can look at the issue more closely.”
• Don’t leave customers hanging. “Take their name and number whenever you need to do more research, and always call them back.”
Moore, who has served as Canal Winchester’s Postmaster for 13 years, adds that customer service there also benefits from her approach to her team members.
“I strive to treat my employees as well as we treat our customers,” she says.