Customer Service: the concept businesses often get totally wrong. How often have you had a friend or relative tell you of a nightmare experience in returning items/ chasing up queries/ trying to reach an actual person? It seems that genuine customer service has become something of a memory.

Isn’t it a pleasure to visit your local cafe, to see a familiar face that recognises you, knows your order and asks how you are? These details and personal touches are what set this business apart from the thousands of other places you could go for your daily cup of coffee or tea. It’s about the people. The people who care about whom they represent, their product and the customers who sustain their business.

This concept is the key to customer service and is what sets any company apart from its competitors. As Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has blogged, it’s not only about the employees buying in to your culture and service, it’s about having employees who are proud to be ambassadors for the corporate culture and core values. This care and pride in their jobs is what enables employees to go the extra mile for clients, building relationships based on a genuine knowledge of what the client wants and who they are.

Good customer service isn’t just about being courteous, friendly and helpful – it’s about being proactive and making the extra effort. It’s about being an expert in your field and taking the time to make recommendations and point out opportunities to your clients. A company might have thousands of customers they are working with and supporting, but each one of them should feel like they’re the only one.