best practices for customer service

[idraw]

Thought this was interesting both for all of us  who are SKs and for PODs.
For us SKs (shopkeepers) think about how any of these practices can be implemented or improved on our own sites and our blogs etc.
Onward and upward, or sideways, if you are so inclined. There's a pun there somewhere.

best practices for customer service
Inc.—article
https://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/8-practices-every-business-should-borrow-from-5-star-...
Read a detailed description on the site. I only listed the practices not the whole article.

8 Practices Every Business Should Borrow From 5-Star Companies
Five-star companies have earned their stellar reputations by delivering superior products and following best practices for customer service.
Key practices top-rated companies follow and how you can replicate them in your own business.
Respond to negative reviews.
Take your customer journey yourself.
Focus on the little details.
Stay creative and innovative.
Invest in your employees.
Engage with repeat customers.
Deliver top-notch customer service.
Make it easy to contact you.

[Windy]

Another useful article!

This part is SO  true and I know from having the OPPOSITE experience: Add forms to your site, share a business phone number, share your email and use a chat tool," Balkhi recommends. "And then, respond! When your customers can get in touch with real people from your business and get help, it makes for a 5-star experience right away and builds customer loyalty."

The "And then RESPOND" part is crucial. 

I have many times used a fill out contact form on a website only to be completely ignored by the company I contacted. Where possible, I  have abandoned entirely the idea of using contact forms because it's my firm belief that many small companies do not know how to check them.

The Reviews paragraph led me to completely redesign the language I have been using to ask my Zazzle  customers to leave a review. I think my new wording will be so much more effective. Thanks!

[shellifitz]

"Engage with repeat customers"  

A bit difficult when we get no information on said customers due to privacy issues.  

I see all of the above advice as being super relevant to the actual Zazzle employees.  But because of our role in all this, not so much for us SKs . Even if we do RESPOND, 99% of the time we can't actually help.  Why?  because we are not customer  service reps and have no access to the information needed to help.  The whole chat experience is misunderstood by customers and some designers too, who try as they might to be as helpful as they can are still not paid customer service reps and it isn't right to expect them to do that job uncompensated. 

So for me as far as Zazzle is concerned, the best practices for customer service is for real Zazzle customer service reps to deal with all things customer service related even it that means that I do not answer chats.  What good is it to get in touch with a real human being that tells you  "sorry, I can't help you with your problem" ?  That usually feels like the run around or the brush off to the average disgruntled customer.