Customer Service
By Scott Bristol, PrimeLending President
Customer service is a key differentiator for any company that doesn’t want to compete at a commodity level or on price alone. Since I joined PrimeLending five years ago, I have been continually in awe at the customer service our team provides to our customers every day.
I’ve been in the mortgage lending industry for nearly 18 years, and I can honestly say that PrimeLending has the highest customer satisfaction scores I have ever seen. We send customer satisfaction surveys to customers within seven days of their loan closing, and we consistently receive satisfaction scores above 95 percent.
At PrimeLending, we take customer service very seriously. “Service beyond expectations” is one of our five core convictions, and team members who don’t provide this level of service simply will not fit in to our culture comfortably.
That said, there is always room for improvement when it comes to customer service. So how can companies provide even better customer service?
I think communicating effectively is one of the secrets to providing service beyond expectations. This means listening carefully to customers, asking good questions and then repeating back what you thought you heard to check for understanding.
It’s also important to ask the customer how they prefer to be updated and in what communication medium. Would they like you to send email updates or make phone calls, or both?
When it comes to customer service, putting the customers’ needs ahead of your own is perhaps the fundamental key to exceeding expectations. When a challenge arises, we must react quickly, be upfront with the customer and be proactive in offering potential solutions.
Once customers see that we are doing our best to provide service beyond expectations, they will remain customers for life and they will refer us to their friends, family members and acquaintances. Providing service beyond expectations is the secret to building a solid customer base. How will you exceed your customers’ expectations today – and tomorrow?