Providing good customer service can make or break your company. If the customers are happy then they will return so it is vital that they are handled correctly at all times. There are lots and lots of different techniques and best practices that should be followed but in order to help you we have listed what we believe are the top five.

Listen To The Client - The key thing to remember when dealing with the general public is that they may not understand your business processes or even care about them. When dealing with the general public either over the phone or face to face always remember to listen to what they are telling you. If you listen and take notes you will be in a much better position to help them and the fact that you are listening will win you brownie points even with the most difficult of customers.

Smiling when face to face or over the phone with a customer - Smiling is probably one of the most underutilized techniques when providing good customer service so always remember to smile. If a customer is faced with a customer service representative who appears happy because of their smile it immediately puts the customer at ease and will make the whole experience much more pleasant for both of you. When dealing with clients on the telephone always remember to smile as a smile can be heard by the client and will have the same effect as smiling when face to face.

Do what you say you are going to do - The biggest problem for customers when speaking with a customer's services department or salesperson is false promises. There is nothing worse from a client's perspective than being promised one thing and then it not happening. What will happen then is that the client will no doubt have to call or visit again and will probably be in a far worse mood and will probably complain. To ensure you can do what you say you will do, do not make any promises that you cannot keep. Always check with a line manager if there is something that you are unsure about. Always make sure you write everything down during your conversation that way you will not forget something later.

Deal with queries in a prompt manner - Nobody likes to be kept waiting so always try and deal with the query immediately if possible. If you can't sort it out straight away then ensure you inform the client of timescales and make sure you stick to them even if you have to ask for help. If for whatever reason you are not able to meet your promised deadline then do not forget to inform the customer. In the main people are reasonable and as long as they are kept up to date with your progress and informed before they have to call you then nine times out of ten they will be ok with a delay.

Know your products - Product knowledge is vital, especially if you are selling something. If you are knowledgeable about your product range then you can advise your customers properly on a whole host of areas such as the best products to go for, accessories that may work well with their chosen product or even things as detailed as product specifications. Whatever it is the client will have a better experience of your business if the customer service representative was able to provide lots of product information without having to refer to manuals or co workers.

There are many other areas that should be worked on to provide ultimate customer services but by following the above five you will be well on your way to reaching your ultimate goal of first class customer service.