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.

3 Responses to “Customer Service Is Never Part-Time”

1. Katy Says:
   June 24th, 2009 at 12:26 am

   Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your site and wanted to say
   that I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Anyway
   I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon!

2. Justin Says:
   June 24th, 2009 at 9:33 pm

   Thanks.

3. Ted Hurlbut Says:
   June 24th, 2009 at 11:16 pm

   Good tips. The benefits of not having to own inventory in stock when you drop ship are balanced out by the need to set up an infrastructure that can seamlessly support your customers in a positive, memorable way.

Leave a Reply