Customer Service Is Never Part-Time

I often stress the need to provide the best customer service you can as a drop ship retailer.  As a drop shipper you are already behind the eight ball; you pay a little more for your products, you have extra fees, and you probably don’t have a big pile of money supporting your venture.  It’s hard to beat the big guys when it comes to these issues.  However, customer service is one place you can shine.  Most consumers recognize and search out good service, and many will pay slightly more to get it.

So this begs the question:  How do you give great customer service when you are starting out, and working part-time?  Believe it or not, there are many things you can do.

1. Site Design.  Great customer service starts with site design.  Most consumers will click around your site to find the answers to their questions before taking the time to contact you.  Take the time to give good and complete product descriptions to your items.  Make sure you have a detailed FAQ page and check it often.  If you are getting a lot of the same questions, maybe you need to add to it.  Be sure to clearly state shipping charges and return policy.  Finally, make sure all of this information is easy to find.  The more information you provide right on the site, the more likley your customer will answer their question all by themselves.

2.  Email.  The first level of customer service we all started with is a customer service email address.  Create a generic address for all customer service inquiries (service@mystore.com).  Be sure to clearly state when a customer can expect an answer and STICK TO IT.  This is also a great place to use an auto-response (Thank you for your email.  Our customer service team will review and respond within two business days).  People get fed up with customer service really quickly when claims and deadlines are not met.  If you say you will respond within one business day, then you better make every possible effort to do so.

3.  Phone.  Be it a toll free number or not, a phone number is a big and scary step for the drop ship retailer.  New retailers worry about being stuck on the phone all the time, or even worse, not being there when the phone rings.  They worry about being tied to the office when they don’t have the time to be, they are only working part-time, afterall.  These worries are not necessary, however.  Just make it clear on your site that the line is not manned, but they are free to leave a voicemail.  Then revert to the standard response time.  One word of caution, get a separate and dedicated line for the business, and make sure everyone in your house knows which line it is.  There is nothing worse than a customer calling and having your young kid answer!

4.  Call Center.  Eventually your call and sales volume will grow to a point that you really want to have someone answering the phone.  My advise is to find and hire a third-party call center.  Yes you can have professional customer service reps answering your customer’s questions and placing orders without hiring a single person.  I use Call Center Services from Solid Cactus. More about call centers coming soon.

5.  Tracking.  One of the easiest and most important  things you can do is provide tracking information.  The most popular call that customer service reps get is the classic “where’s my stuff” call.  Have your system send out emails that tell the customer their order has shipped and provide the tracking number.  Not only is this great service, but it lets the customer stop bothering you and start checking the UPS website to see where their box is.

Like any other part of the drop ship retail business, the key to customer service is information.  Give them information before they ask it, and let them know how to get help if they need it.  These simple steps will add to your business’ credibility.

Dad’s Advice

So I’m back after quit awhile.  Something happened to me that most new entrepreneurs will experience sooner or later.  It’s not fun to re-live, but let me give you the highlights.

As we’ve talked about many times before, drop shipping is so great because you can start part-time and see how things go before taking the big plunge into totally working for yourself.  Of course, I’ve always meant that you give your employer the time and attention required, then do your drop ship business in your free time (nights, weekends, etc.).  Which, of course, is what I’ve always done.

So, my employer “found out” about my part time endeavors.  I do say “found out” because honestly, I didn’t tell them.  I felt it was wrong to use my job to promote my part-time stores.  So literally not one co-worker or customer of mine even new I had my drop ship stores or blogs.  I felt, even to this day, that this was the epitome of integrity.  Had I been talking about my stores to anyone and everyone, THAT would have been a conflict of interest, something that I worked so hard to avoid.

So I got pulled into big meetings with important people and proceeded to spill my guts.  I told them the time I spend, what work is required, whether or not I was using company resources.  I was honest with everything.  Their main concern was that my endeavors looked like large operations that took up a great deal of my time.  (incidentally: what a complement.  Little old me, working evenings and weekends had accomplished what every small entrepreneur hopes to; looking big, even though I am not).

So legal got involved (this is a fortune 500 after all) and it was determined that I had not violated any company policies or conduct codes.  I was, however, asked to stop writing Drop Ship Digest while under their employ as it posed a “certain concern”.  I complied, even took the blog down for quite awhile until I left that company.  I stayed with the company awhile longer, but then left after finding something better.  It’s been eight months since I left that company by my own will, and I’m finally ready to start writing on this blog again.

For those of you that have read me in the past, you know that I have much more integrity than to disclose what company that was, or any real details, so please don’t ask.  I’m just happy to be moving forward.

So how does dad’s advice fit into all of this?  When I was at my lowest point of depression and stress, my father said something to me that I will never forget.  And it’s a good lesson for all of us.  He told me that everyone who has ever tried to do something different has been knocked down at some point or another by people who are afraid or don’t understand.

The moral of this story is, of course, that starting a new business, be it drop ship or something else, is certainly not the norm for most people.  And all of us will come across those people who tell us not to; or tell us we’re crazy; or tell us we’re stupid to try.  They’ll tell us we’ll never make it, and we’re wasting our time.  Or we might come across the folks who threaten, judge, and prey on your venerabilities.

It has always been my driving motivation that I didn’t want to be an old man who always wanted to start his own business; but never tried.

If a new business is one of your goals, I feel drop shipping is a nice thing to try.  But whatever it is, you’ll never know unless you try.  I’m still here, my businesses are open, and I feel stronger for it.

Here’s to a successful future, and remember: don’t let the bastards get you down.

Drop Ship Digest Is Coming Back….

After a long absence, Drop Ship Digest is coming back. Stay tuned for a story that every new entrepreneur needs to be aware of. It really happened to me, and could to you.