Listen to customers to win them back

The company made the sale, got the customer, and then - through an act of rudeness, indifference, poor follow-up, bad service, slow response or the like - lost the customer it fought so hard (and spent so much) to get.
Seems ridiculous, but it happens thousands of times every day. It's happened to each of us many times. And, boy, do we talk about it. In fact, statistics show a disgruntled customer tells 20 times more people about the service than the satisfied one.
How good is your customer service? Once you make the sale, are you as intent on keeping the customer as you were to get the customer?
I recently attended a seminar by sales expert Ty Boyd entitled "The Spirit of Customer Service." I thought I was going to get a great lesson from a great speaker. I was wrong. I got an unbelievable series of lessons from a master presenter. I was rewarded with more than 100 rules, lessons and examples about what to do and what not to do in the never-ending quest to serve (and preserve) the customer.
How do we lose customers? The Seven Deadly Sins of Service are :
1. Putting money or profits ahead of service.
2. Being complacent as a result of success.
3. Organizational layering without creating teamwork (People blaming others or whining, "It's not my job.")
4. Lack of proper employee training, recognition or retention.
5. Not listening. Anticipating the answer before hearing the situation.
6. Isolationism. Not paying attention to the customer or the competition.
7. Lip service, or worse, lying.
We have probably been victims of every one of these sins at one time or another. Yet if I ask you if you commit any of these, you'll say "no." Someone is wrong.
Customer service is a complex issue critical to the ongoing success of any business. It's easy to go astray without guidelines and standards.
Some of Ty Boyd's wisdom about customer service includes:
A Satisfactory customer service is no longer acceptable.
A Customer service begins at 100%.
A The customer's perception is reality.
A A mistake is a chance to improve the company.
A Problems can create beneficial re-arrangements.
A Make the customer feel important.
A Learn how to ask questions.
A Listening is most important.
Listening is a vital key in the customer service process. As salespeople, we are prone to talk way too much. Sometimes we lose sales and customers, because we failed to hear their true needs and desires. Boyd offered the following rules to observe in order to maximize your listening skills and increase customer satisfaction.
1. Don't interrupt. (ButEbutE)
2. Ask questions. Then be quiet. Concentrate on really listening.
3. Prejudice will distort what you hear. Listen without prejudging.
4. Don't jump to the answer before you hear the entire situation.
5. Listen for purpose, details and conclusions.
6. Listen to what is not said. Implied is often more important than spoken.
7. Think between sentences.
8. Digest what is said (and not said) before engaging your mouth.
9. Demonstrate you are listening by taking action.
Sounds simple, but it isn't easy.