VIA Rail is dedicated to providing excellent customer service; all of their career postings stress the importance of possessing these skills. In today's market, customer service skills are imperative in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Have you noticed how many pizza shops are around your community? If you were to have a horrible experience with one of their staff members, I am sure you will likely not return.
Why travel rail if you can travel via air quicker? VIA top values are "customer focus, respect, and passion"; it is about providing a travel experience not just getting you from one destination to another. Working in customer service roles throughout my career, I have dealt with this first-hand. I worked as a bartender for several years, it wasn't just about serving drinks; it was about providing a friendly and engaging atmosphere where individuals could come and unwind from the daily stresses of life. Customer service are people skills, learning how to deal with people can be one of the hardest jobs. You must ensure that you can communicate effectively; in today's market, company's such as VIA, emphasis the importance of soft skills. Soft skills are communication skills, and business norms as professionalism and business etiquette; which was discussed in previous posts.
I will be discussing the most important soft skill, listening. Effective listening has proven to increase sales and profitability. Listening isn't an "automatic response to noise", it is an understanding of the message being relayed.
VIA ensures effective listening by providing feedback, and implementing change. If you were to listen to the ideas of others, you soon realize that the people who know the most are, the ones who are in that environment. In VIA's case this would be the employees and the passengers; by providing surveys they can ensure customer satisfaction.
VIA train's their staff to deal with customer problems as they arrive, and ensure that there is a customer service line for formal complaints, inquires or questions. VIA assesses the situation, prepare responses and keeps upper management informed. By listening to the customers and employees feedback VIA has been able to evolve and maintain their competitive advantage.
Sources:
Guffey, M. E., Rhodes, K., Rogin, P. (2008). Business communication: Process and product (6th Canadian ed.) Scarborough, ON: Nelson
Hernandez, M. (2012, March 1). 10 Things to remember when delivering customer service. [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://anromaway.wordpress.com/2102/03/01/10-things-to-remember-when-delivering-customer-service/
No comments:
Post a Comment