Customer Service Dos and Don'ts

Pet Parents® is a company made up of pet parents for pet parents, providing customers not only quality products but also quality service beyond compare. Customer interaction is a must and our service standards are high. If you want the best “paw”sible impression of your retail store, there are certain guidelines to follow – may it be in person, on the phone, or online.

Here are the Customer Service Dos and Don'ts for your retail store:

Educate. Take the time to educate your customers first before they purchase. Educate your customers about the products you’re selling, when they can be used, and which ones will best work for their fur-babies. By educating your customers, you’re not only saving them from the wrong choice of purchase but also saving them from making their pets’ problems from getting worse. Put yourself in the shoes of the customer, what do you need to know to buy the product without having to ask questions.

Tip: You can educate your customers about the benefits of multiple products that can be purchased together. This helps you to upsell and cross-sell products to help customers determine any other potential wants or needs they have at home for their pets. 

Customers Dig Respect. Any relationship you have with your customers must always begin with respect. Respect makes your customers feel important and valuable. The easiest way to show your customers that you have high regard for them is by paying full attention to their questions, concerns, needs, and wants. At Pet Parents®, we not only show respect for our customers but for their pets! For example, we try to ask personal questions about their pets to figure out the best product fit.

Honesty is the Best “Paw”licy. The pet industry is huge, and you will meet a lot of competitors along the way but what will set you aside is your honesty. Be honest with your prices, your fees, your charges, your delivery time, your responses, your products, its ingredients, your marketing, and a lot more. Provide & prove the things you say and always admit mishaps, not cover them up just to look good.

Honesty is the best “paw”licy for customer service and at Pet Parents® we value this. We’re not just a leading brand of washable dog diapers, belly bands, and pee pads, self-proclaiming that our products work. We’re much more than that. We are a brand that cares. When we prove our honesty, this allows customers to see they can rely on us! Honesty leads to customer loyalty. 

Be a “Pup”fessional. Professionalism is always key to customer service. This means you are prepared to take full responsibility for any and all problems. 

As the principal representative of your retail store, you should be humble enough to take responsibility, apologize, or try to make things better even if the situation is not under your control e.g. delivery delays.

Empathize with your customers. Take a step back when dealing with customers. Ask yourself, will your words or actions frustrate them? Disappoint them? Or will these make them feel at ease and reassured? Do not become a surface-level thinker. Analyze everything, think deeply, and come up with the best forms of strategies, plans, and actions. Ask yourself: How will our customers feel? How can things be better?

Answer As Soon As Your Customer Throws A Bone. Since the Pet Parents® brand came from both pain and love, our company has been rooted in helping pet parents solve their pets’ problems, especially on health-related issues of incontinence. When questions are thrown at you about a fur-baby's health or what the product can do to improve their life it should be the top priority. Moreover, your retail store’s customer service should offer solutions in a timely manner. Make a goal for yourself, maybe it is that you will respond in 24 hours, and make it known to your customers so they know what to expect! 

“Thanks Fur Everything.” Showing your customers that you are thankful for them (and their purchases) will make them feel loved, wanted, and appreciated. A simple thank you when they leave your store is not so hard to do. But if you want to get a little more intense and personal in thanking them, you can send personalized newsletters or e-mails. You can take note of who your new and repeat customers are (purchase history, contact info, etc.) and use this information to send them a sweet note of thanks. Tip: don’t make it generic, add their name! 

Don’t Make things Ruff. The pet industry is complicated enough. Yes, modern customers might be more experienced, tech-savvy, and smart but they still hope to purchase products and avail services that are simple, easy, and straightforward. As the front runner of your retail store, your customers should have easy access to reaching out to your customer service. This includes a standby retail store employee who can make time to manage all your customer’s concerns, phone number, website contact page, email, FAQs, social media accounts, etc.

Don’t Be Afraid of Barks. Customer feedback is very important, especially when it’s a negative one. Remember not to be afraid of these barks! Making your customers’ problems your problems is a good practice as these kinds of feedbacks will help you perform better and discover aspects of your retail store, products, and services that need improvement.

How you treat your customers in your store or digitally speaks so much of your core values that will either break you or make you. Customer service is very important in every business. With great customer service present in your retail store, you are creating an environment where your customers have more options and more choices in making their fur-babies' lives healthier and happier.