Customer Service Heaven or Hell?

Customer Service Heaven or Hell?

Customer Service Heaven or HellHave you begun to wonder what happened to quality customer service?  I have been through some bad experiences lately and then suddenly I had a “Wow” customer experience yesterday.

In the last week, I had two shopping returns.  One was an item I purchased on Amazon.com.  It has taken eight emails back and forth with the seller and ultimately I felt penalized.  I received a product that did not fit and was not as pictured on Amazon.  They claimed I ordered the wrong one.  Sigh…  My second return was an Origami Owl locket.  Two of the crystals had fallen out and my church friend distributer had discontinued her business.  Was I out of luck?  NO!  I called the company and they immediately said they would send me a replacement!  I thanked them for a “Wow” experience!  It was the easiest return of my year!

How is the customer service experience at your senior living community?

  • Do you have a process to check back with a new move-in?  Is someone designated to check with the new senior resident three or four times in the first week, just to make sure they are acclimating and everything is as promised?  Or do you wait for them to complain?  Or are you too busy?
  • If someone has a concern are they able to talk to administrator in a timely fashion?
  • How quickly is the response time for a maintenance request?
  • What happens if housekeeping accidentally breaks an item?
  • If an adult child has a concern about their mom or dad is it addressed immediately?
  • What if someone says their soup is cold or they don’t like the entrée?

Your tips could help others improve on a national basis, so please share by commenting on this blog.  If this weekly newsletter can help your sales and occupancy – why not sign up today so you don’t miss a single one? 

Diane Twohy Masson writes this weekly blog to support and engage with other senior housing professionals.  Her first book is Senior Housing Marketing – How To Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full.  Many sales teams and organizations have used the 12 keys contained in this book for their weekly book review.  Diane is working on her second book to help seniors select their senior housing options.

 

© Marketing 2 Seniors| Diane Twohy Masson 2014 All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog post may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of the author, unless otherwise indicated for stand-alone materials. You may share this website and or it’s content by any of the following means: 1. Using any of the share icons at the bottom of each page. 2. Providing a back-link or the URL of the content you wish to disseminate. 3. You may quote extracts from the website with attribution to Diane Masson CASP and link https://www.marketing2seniors.net For any other mode of sharing, please contact the author Diane Masson.
Who IS Your Competition?

Who IS Your Competition?

Senior Living CompetitionSounds simple – right?  It’s all the companies that provide the same services that you do.  Wrong!  It is so much more than your similar competitors down the street or in your particular industry.

Let’s just use the example of your front desk/concierge/greeter/receptionist.  Whether you are in the hotel business, retail trade or provide senior housing, each customer compares how he or she is treated when they enter your establishment.  So Wal-Mart, The Ritz-Carlton and a Continuing Care Retirement Community are competing.

Customers may call two or three different types of companies in a single day.  Each phone call either provided a great phone interaction and a solution for the customer or some frustration.  Maybe they called to make dinner reservations, a doctor appointment or inquired about their parent’s future care at an assisted living community.  How many rings did it take for someone to answer the phone?  Was their voice clear, distinct and friendly?  Did it sound like they were smiling through the phone or a bit haggard?

A FedEx delivery from an online store, a pizza delivery, a taxi transporting someone to the airport and a driver from a retirement community taking a senior to and from a doctor checkup are all competition.  Was the delivery person friendly and were they on time?  Did they leave the package in the rain or was the pizza cold?

Take time to work with you team on how you can provide better customer service.   Can you think of more examples of competitors who don’t initially seem like competitors?

Please feel free to sign up for my weekly blog.

Diane Twohy Masson is currently writing a new book for seniors on how to select senior housing options.  Her first book, “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” is available at Amazon.com with a five star rating.  Masson continues to set move in records as the regional marketing director of two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California – Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet, California.  Her mom’s struggle with dementia is inspiring Diane to pen a third book to support adult children.

© Marketing 2 Seniors| Diane Twohy Masson 2014 All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog post may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of the author, unless otherwise indicated for stand-alone materials. You may share this website and or it’s content by any of the following means: 1. Using any of the share icons at the bottom of each page. 2. Providing a back-link or the URL of the content you wish to disseminate. 3. You may quote extracts from the website with attribution to Diane Masson CASP and link https://www.marketing2seniors.net For any other mode of sharing, please contact the author Diane Masson.