Customer service in Perú has considerably improved in the past few years. Notwithstanding, there is still a fairly large number of unscrupulous businesses here that focus on self-gain more than  anything else. Thus, the reason why it is imperative to tackle this issue and try to fix it in the best way  possible.  According to a recent study by "Zendesk Benchmark", the three countries (As of August 2015) with the highest customer service satisfaction rates are: "Belgium", "Norway", and "New Zealand". What should other countries due to duplicate the success of the aforesaid?. In the following, I will express my opinion on the matter, and share with you a handful of key pieces of advice on it as well.

Irrespective of the type of service you offer, your priority should always be to keep your customers satisfied. In essence, customer service is about how to please your clients by meeting their needs and expectations. For instance, if I register at a language school to learn a third language, the least I expect of the school is to have highly qualified teachers and a pleasant infrastructure. Not to mention  that I would also expect from the clerks working in the counter to be well-informed about the programs the school offers, and to have some knowledge of the languages being taught. Be that as it may, the aforementioned concept is not exactly being applied by all language centers in Lima for example. Hence, the illustration I gave can be applied to most businesses. Even so, there is more to efficient customer service than only doing what we believe the be best for our clients. Being attentive and informed of their concerns is also crucial.

One simple suggestion I would give to begin with, would be to employ the "LAST approach".

You see, the first thing you should do when a customer has a complaint is to enquire what the problem is. In order to do that nonetheless you have to listen carefully first. After they are done, you can rephrase their complaint so as to ensure them you understood the message. Lastly, you should try help the customer regain their composure as best as you can. Case in point, by expressing your point respectfully (Sir/Madam, I understand your frustration and want to help you solve your problem, but your anger/ language is getting in the way), and of course by not taking any offensive comments personally. Afterward, you should apologize on behalf of the company. You could say something along the lines of: "We are sorry you had to go through that". Regardless of whether or not it was directly your fault, you should still apologize. You do not necessarily have to put the blame on the company that is. What is more, when it comes to solving the problem, there are a couple of ways to deal with it: If you can solve it, you should explain what you are going to do. To illustrate my point, let me give you an example: If you work in the counter of a hotel and are told about a Wi-Fi problem within one of the rooms, you could tell the guest: "This is how we are going to proceed: I am going to send an IT to your room as soon as possible". Be that as it may, if you cannot resolve the problem yourself you could tell the customer: "Let me check with my manager to see how we can solve your situation as best as possible". Finally, and by the time the issue has been dealt with, you should thank the client. You could say: "Thank you for letting us know about your situation. It was indeed helpful to us" Not only can a company grow by being aware of their customers concerns, it can also do so by ending a disagreement in a friendly manner. 

In review, applying the "LAST approach" can indeed aid business owners, and by extension their employees to offer a best service overall. Even so, there is more to each one of the steps mentioned in the aforesaid approach. Consequently, the need for me to elucidate on them slightly more. The video I will attach so as to reinforce this content, was made by Coach David Brownlee, a highly successful businessman and customer service consultant that will guide you through this process in a more efficient way. Before I leave though, I would like to share the following inspirational quote by Brian Tracy: "Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking: What's in it for me?".

Sources:
- https://www.zendesk.com/blog/
- www.engvid.com