This is a quick, research-proven way to increase customer satisfaction — and it takes less than a second to do.
Address customers by name at least once in every conversation, says customer service expert Lisa Ford.
She uses this story to prove the idea: British Airways asked everyone who talked to customers — from agents answering phones to skycaps at the airports — to address the travelers by name at least once in every conversation. Most of them used titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms.) and surnames.
After three months, and no other known changes, customer satisfaction scores rose significantly.
Two tips when using customers’ names:
- Use a title and surname before asking if they prefer you call them by their first name, and
- If you mispronounce a name (a danger with using surnames), and are corrected, respond with, “Thank you, Mr. …”
