By Doug Sandler, Nice Guys Finish First”
Charlton Heston has 10 Commandments to follow, Stephen Covey has 7 habits to make people more effective and Kevin Bacon has 6 degrees to separate from, so it makes perfect sense that customer service for professional DJs has its own set of guidelines to follow.
The best part about that, these guidelines have evolved over millions, if not billions of transactions. Since the beginning of time, when caveman first invented vinyl and cassette tapes, these guidelines shaped the way each customer experience played out. Although you may play at one or more events in a weekend, or have a team playing at 10 or more events a week, the gigs we are all playing are milestone events for our clients. Many of these events are once in a lifetime for our clients, and we should never lose sight of that. So, with some much at stake, it is important to remember that although our job is to have fun, play music and pump up a crowd, it’s so much more than that for our clients. See how well you adhere to these not-so-secret guidelines:
Guideline 1 - The customer is always right. (and when they aren’t, figure out how to make them right).
Guideline 2 - Long after the money is spent, your customer will remember the experience.
Guideline 3 - You can never go wrong by exceeding your customer’s expectations. NEVER.
Guideline 4 - Under delivering will drive your customer to your competition.
Guideline 5 - A customer with a problem should take top priority.
Guideline 6 - Personal service trumps high tech service. Put down the phone, turn off the computer, get off of Facebook and go visit your clients.
Guideline 7 - No matter how busy you are, you must find time for your customers.
Guideline 8 - When communicating with a customer, it is extremely important to be present.
Guideline 9 - When you don’t know the answer to a customer’s question, do not make up an answer unless you plan on following through with your incorrect answer. Best advice, don’t make stuff up.
Guideline 10 - Keep it as simple as possible for your customer to do business with you.
Guideline 11- Know how to say I’m sorry. Nothing is worse than an insincere apology. Your customer can tell when you are faking.
How did you stack up? If you are not adhering to the guidelines, there is plenty of time to get on board. Or you may have your own set of guidelines. I’d love to hear from you with your comments, [email protected].
