Most Childcare Centres strive to provide exceptional customer service, but they often don’t focus enough time in this area.
Reasons for this include low budgets and lack of resources.
Families want to visit welcoming and friendly centres, and improving Customer Service comes with many benefits including:
- Retaining families
- Inviting new business into your service
Below are 5 tips you can use to help your centre gain a reputation of providing great customer service.
1. Develop Your Team’s Communication Skills
The key to great customer service is being pro-active- don’t wait for a problem to arise before addressing it.
Take measures to prevent possible risks and be prepared with a resolution.
It’s valuable to develop your team’s communication skills. They can utilise these skills in their day-to-day practices and set the standard for new team members.
2. Inspire Your Staff To Be Welcoming & Friendly
Leading by example is a great way to inspire your team.
If management display positive attitudes, treat their teams with respect and practice active listening, it will cascade down the line to staff that are face-to-face with families.
If your front-line staff are friendly and welcoming, it will lead to word-of-mouth referrals for your centre.
3. Have A Good Social Media Presence
Social Media is a resource that all businesses should utilise.
It allows you to:
- Engage with parents and families
- Provides a place for them to leave their feedback and suggestions
- Shows that you are interested in your customer’s opinions
4. Hire Based On Attitude, Then Train For Skills
When recruiting, look for traits like enthusiasm, humility, work ethic, integrity etc. These are important to have in any business.
Once you have found the right person, train them to develop or enhance their skills in a way that fits in with your centre’s values.
5. Have An Effective Complaints Handling Strategy
It is important to have clear steps your team can follow when dealing with a customer complaint. Not only to resolve the issue but to ensure it doesn’t happen over again.
Complaints are a valuable way for your business to identify areas for improvement.
Having an effective strategy to handle complaints means customers will feel heard and understood.
It demonstrates that you care about their concerns and want to find resolution for them.
Are you considering enhancing the reputation of your centre?
Contact Sparkle Training today or simply call 1300 611 288
