A place I used to work at had a rule. It was a golden rule, and I believe it is a rule that many companies and organizations adhere to.
The three ring rule was very simple. Never let an incoming phone call ring more than three times, and pick it up on the third ring. I remember the day the boss explained the rule to us. She had us all in her office and she picked up the telephone on the third ring. Then she did it again, and again, and again. She had us practice it. There was someone in that huge open office who was just sitting at their desk ringing the bosses' extension, for ten minutes.
But it made sense of course. You call a company and you expect them to answer your call pretty much immediately. If a company does not pick up quickly you begin to form an image of the staff in that company, and it isn't a pretty picture.
Telephones are one thing. There are other aspects of customer service that companies need to get a handle on before they can honestly claim that they treat their customers well.
Make Promises You Can Keep
Don't say you will guarantee delivery by Thursday when you know that you'll be out of the office until Friday. Look your valued customer in the eye and tell them the truth. If it helps, next time a customer asks you for a guarantee and it all sounds a bit tricky, say to yourself, in your mind I am not going to lie to you...
And then be honest with them.
Listen To Them
That means listen every time. Even when they are complaining, treat it as a personal issue that you will personnaly take care of. You are the person who works at this company, you may even be the person who has a stake in the profits because you run the company. So be a good person and listen to the customer when they are talking to you. If you don't, that person may never, ever spend money with you again.
Build A Customer Service Team
This means the A Team. You can tell when you have a good customer service team because they can point to direct results that have come out of customer care situations. They find your customers. They know what customers want. They deal effectively with complaints and you can trust them to do so. They build trust with your customers and they help other staff deal with customers more positively, including you...
Make your customer service something to be proud of. It will pay off in the long run. You might even get a kick out of it. And for goodness sake, answer that phone...