Well, it is a lot easier to tell you what bad customer service is. We have all had a vendor who did not return a message or take care of a problem that was promised to be taken care of. Bad customer service is prevalent in the restraint industry with attitudes from the staff that indicate that they could care less if we actually enjoy the food, just please don't return it. Bad customer service is around us in our personal and professional lives.

This is not an opportunity for us to gritch at every slight, but we can take some valuable lessons from the examples above. Good customer service involves at least three common elements: Quality communication, do what you promise and be sincere.

Quality communication may be one of the most important elements of customer service. Telling our customers when to expect a project to be finished, informing them of set backs and responding to their inquiries in a timely manner are all pieces of good communication.

If there is a set back or a problem, the problem exists whether you tell the customer or not. Often, though, we avoid a conflict that already exists and don't share the information and the new timeline. This creates a new problem and a conflict that is created by poor communication. Sharing the information you have with the solution in place may delay a project or frustrate the customer, but in the long run, the customer will appreciate your candor and realize that you are not ducking out when a problem comes out. Quality communication should create long term relationships rather than avoid short term problems.

Keeping your word really reflects the integrity of your department. We are loyal to vendors who do what they say they will do. Our customers expect as much, but often times these promises are either forgotten over time or pushed aside as other projects take precedence. Give promises carefully and only if you are certain that the department can provide the service promised. If necessary, put the promise in a timeframe so that it has a definite end and does not get pushed aside.

An example might be a budget officer that is looking at why the budget is overspent and enlists your department's help to determine why the postage budget is so high. A good director might promise to submit reports and volumes to the budget officer prior to being formally submitted to accounting for posting to go over charges and make changes before they get posted. Obviously, this cannot occur for every budget officer and cannot occur every month. This would be an ideal time to put a timeframe to the service, "Let's evaluate your budget for the next three months to see if we see any anomalies and see why budget is overspent"

Finally, sincerity is sacred in customer service. A phony attitude is as apparent as walking through the park naked. You cannot hide insincerity. A customer wants to know that you are in the boat with them and their problem is your problem. Even if you fail to provide a service, if the customer knows you were sincere in your efforts, the customer still feels served.

Sincerity is an element you have to desire to have in yourself. Today's mail center is part of a college or university's culture. We are not a highly visible part of that culture, but we serve a critical part in communication that drives the culture. Seeing our value in the organization is directly proportional to being sincere in helping our customer. When we see the mail services having a negative affect on the collegiate culture, it should affect us personally. We should be sincere in our attempts to improve our service and that sincerity is apparent to our customers.

The topic of customer service is a hot one. Next month will feature another article of how to improve customer service. The annual SWACUMS conference will also have topics to help improve customer service in your department, so mark Oct. xx -Oct xx on your calendar to make it to conference at Northeastern State University.