It’s not often mentioned as a key component of customer service, but trust is probably the most valuable area of customer service.
- If your clients see you as trustworthy, they will understand if you make mistakes and be more willing to help you resolve them. If handled correctly, you may even have them become one of your loudest advocates.
- If your clients see you as distrustful, mistakes will probably be seen as a deliberate result of poor service, quality, care or combination of them all.
- If a client has no opinion on your trustworthiness – a mistake can tip them either way. It will all depend on how you handle the error.
Trustworthiness is also a large factor in deciding what information a client is willing to share with you, and in which tasks they pass to you. It’s in the best interests of both you and your client for them to feel comfortable giving you whatever most needs doing. Otherwise the client is likely to start wondering why they use you, and you will probably get bored working with the client.
________________________________________________________________________
So how do you get a client to trust you? There’s a few basic things that you should be doing as a matter of course, but it’s worth reminding yourself of their importance from time to time. They all revolve around one simple idea:
Be honest
Yep, that’s it, the simplest thing of all – be scrupulously honest at all times. The main thing to keep in mind is that you should communicate with the client. So if there’s any anomaly to the work practice, tell the client. Because sometimes honesty is as much about the appearance of a situation as it is about the actual facts.
So what sort of things should you tell the client? It will depend a lot on the client, the situation and what you feel comfortable with. Some examples are:
- If you get it wrong
- If you’ve never done it before, if you think you know what to do
- If you’re going to outsource some of their work
- If you won’t be able to make a deadline
- If you have serious concerns about something you’re working on
1. If a client points out an error – don ‘t make excuses. By all means tell them how it happened, but don’t make excuses, just thank them for letting you know and tell them how you’ll fix it for them.
2. Be as transparent as possible in all facets of your work. I’m not talking about those times when you’re not an expert, but you know what you’re doing – it’s the times when you have to start from scratch to learn something new. If you discuss it with a client they’re often happy for you to learn as you go – but if you tell a client after you’ve done something that you had no idea how to do it, it just makes you seem amateurish and can lead the client to wonder what else you’ve just been making up as you go.
3. If you need to get someone else in to help because you have too much on your plate, because you need specialist help, because you don’t have the equipment/knowledge/resources. This might depend on what you’re doing for the client – if it involves sensitive information you should definitely tell the client before you subcontract or outsource.
4. If a job is taking longer than you thought it would and you’re sure you can’t make the deadline – let the client know ASAP. It will give them the option to get extra assistance, extend the deadline, change the scope of the job or whatever other solution they come up with. If you leave it till the last minute, you limit their options at best and at worst can cost them money.
5. Don’t do something that you consider wrong for a client. If they ask you to, tell them why you don’t feel comfortable doing it. They may be able to explain something and you’ll be willing to do it. They may be OK with you not doing this one thing. Or you may decide that you’re not a good fit. There’s no rule and no point judging others
________________________________________________________________________
How do you make sure you do the right thing by yourself and your clients?
- Set your boundaries and stick to them. It’s a personal thing, so don’t be afraid to spend some time thinking about what’s OK and what’s not OK by you. If in doubt, consider how you’d feel if the situations were reversed.
- Write them down. Make them policy. This makes it much easier when you have a problem and you can refer to documented standards. It’s also useful when other people represent the company. A communications or trust policy gives them firm guidelines on what is expected.
Lastly, keep in mind that if you aren’t comfortable communicating problems to a client – then maybe you shouldn’t be working with that particular client. Not everybody is a good fit.
