Customer service has been a topic of some of the major retail and service industry companies of our time. But what is customer service? What principles are the ideas of "good customer service" founded upon?

Let's examine this further...

Customer service can be summed us as being the desire to help the customer find what they need to solve a problem. This is a fairly basic definition but it will suit our purpose.

So this definition pre-supposes there is more than one person involved, and that there is something that is required of both parties to achieve an optimum outcome. So, how does this help us?

Well, this leads us to some solid principles that we can use to base any interaction with customers involved.

1. We are seeking a win-win solution. Any solution that is not win-win is not optimum and should be avoided. If there is no possibility of a win-win solution then the transaction or trade of values should not go ahead.

2. The person who works in the company will most likely know more about the product or service they can provide than the person seeking the product or service.

3. It is in the best interest of the person selling (or providing the service) to do everything possible to understand fully the needs of the client or customer.

4. The customer may or may not decide to buy the product or service based on their assessment of the value of the product or service being provided.

These are some of the basic principles that the theory of customer service is founded on. There are more obviously, but this is the foundation and if you understand these, the correct actions will flow from them.

Obvious kinds of actions you should be performing as a customer service rep would be to make sure you're always well presented. You should also make sure that you've prepared for the presentation so that you've got all the possible solutions that the customer might require.

Make sure you've got stock of the items that are most popular, and you're able to order the things that you need when you require them. Your customers will notice and often not comment, but these little things can make all the difference between a good sale and someone walking out of your shop.

If you've got a friend who works in customer service, make sure to ask them what they consider good service. This will lead you in the right direction too.