I was asked this week by one of my customers what the differences were between Customer Service and Customer Care. We had a chat about this and he was concerned that the training department were not adequately reflecting a difference however, he was at an odds to understand the difference himself.
Opinions will differ on this subject I am sure. In my view, customer care can be translated as caring about your customers, looking after them in every way and ensuring that nothing goes wrong with their transactions and interactions with your service, products and people. Customer care is about ensuring that customers have no cause for complaint and every cause to praise your organisation.
Customer service is what the customer expects of you, pretty much standard with no positive surprises, nothing much that says you care. Customer service feels like a department label, or a title in a customer service procedures manual. It has no feeling, no empathy and is hardly likely to distinguish you from your competitors. The word care is much more emotive but if you are going to take it seriously then you have to show you care.
Understanding the difference is the easy part, delivering the difference is the challenge.
By Kasmin Cooney OBE | Righttrackâs Managing Director