The factor that has the highest impact on the impression of a buying experience is how the customer feels they are being treated. Understanding the importance of this is essential for all businesses because it is what is needed in order to build loyalty.  So let's amp up our customer service by making all of our customers feel VALUED and GOOD!  5 easy ways, with supporting tips, to make this happen:

In the beginning, I thought inviting people to lunch was a good idea.  Then at one of the lunches, I found out that an individual had worked the overnight shift, changed out of uniform, and caught a couple of hours of sleep prior to joining me for lunch.  This person didn't have enough time to go home and come back for our lunch, and didn't want to miss the opportunity to accept a lunch invitation from the CEO.  From that day forward, I knew that I had to have meals with staff members at rotating hours to fit into their schedules, not into mine.  Even to listen, you have to make yourself available to the logistic needs of others.

-Dr. David Feinberg, former CEO of the UCLA Hospital System, quoted in Prescription for Excellence

Appreciation, recognition, encouragement: ARE.  Together they make up a cost-free, fully sustainable fuel, one that builds self-confidence  and self-esteem, boosts individual and team performance, and keeps an organization running cleanly and smoothly.  ARE is more powerful than the fuels that make engines roar and space shuttles soar, because it propels human energy and motivation.  And unlike costly, nonrenewable fuels like oil and gas, its supply is inexhaustible.  You can give out ARE all day long, at home and at work, and wake up the next morning with a full tank.  In fact, the more we use, the more there is, because every time people receive some ARE they discover more of their own internal supply and start giving away the overflow.

-Lee Cockerell, Creating Magic

While "thanks" has a nice ring to it, words just don’t carry the gravity of actions. If you’re in the customer service business—and every business is, in some capacity—you should strive to continually show your gratitude to customers in fun and memorable ways.

-Gregory Ciotti, HelpScout.com