I've written that all you really need to do to give great customer service is care. And I recently wrote of the need to have an escalation procedure and how having such can boost customer-vendor relationships. This post is about practical things you can do to deliver great service.

It's so simple.

Great customer service has more to do with communication than it has to do with actually fixing something. Think about it.

Most customer service complaints stem from the vendor Gong dark - not providing updates, not responding quickly, not following thru as promised, etc. There are fewer issues with customer service failing to perform. At least this is true in my life.

You see, there is a difference between being able to make something right and responding. You can fix any and every problem and still be regarded as providing poor customer service because you don't communicate. Conversely, you can stumble in repairing a situation and still get outstanding customer service remarks because you respond quickly and communicate effectively.

Don't get me wrong. You have to be able to perform. Things have to be righted. But great customer service first starts with fast, clear, honest, and responsive communication. And that's the one thing we all can control.