Way To Go, Melanie!

The Mirra chairs have just arrived today and we love them! Thanks so much for your assistance. We are 100% satisfied with this purchase.

-Jean H., Pasadena, CA

We Love Serving Our Customers

"I want to thank you ... for the unsurpassed service .
No where else have I received such prompt replys and a feeling that you genuinely care !
I really appreiciate it '

-R.S. Freeport, NY

Another Happy Customer

"Thank you so much! I am very excited to get this chair and your website has hands down the easiest to use interface possible. I am sure I will be shopping with you again!"

-C. G., Hallendale, Florida

The wedding was so well camouflaged that only 3 guests were able to find it.

Alpha to Omega Customer Service

"Thanks very much. I filled out a survey but it didn't [give] me the best opportunity to describe in it how great the customer service has been, so please know that I really appreciate how quickly and easily the return has been handled and how that gives me a very favorable opinion of your company, which I had never heard of before, so now I will definitely visit your site when I am next looking for furniture." -R.U., Hoboken NJ

Thanks for the kind words, R. We consider it a privilege to be of service to you and your verbal "pat on the back" is greatly appreciated. We strive very hard to be the standard of customer service by which other companies are compared and your comments are a great encouragement for our continued success. We are delighted to hear your experience with us from purchase to conclusion met and even exceeded your expectations. Thank you again for your consideration (past, present and future!) of Smart Furniture. If there is anything else we may be able to do for you, please let us know.

Kindest Regards,
The Smart Furniture Team

ABC's of Customer Service

If you want your staff to remember the essentials of customer care, there’s no better way to teach them than with the ABC of Customer Service..

A is for Attention to Detail. Because when customers know you care passionately about the little things, they’ll know you care a great deal more about the big things.
B is for Benefits which is all your customer wants you to tell them.
C is for Complaints, your free marketing service.
D is for Dedicated staff, because when the team is fully engaged, customer loyalty goes up by two-thirds.
E is for Empowerment which means trusting and training your staff to do whatever it takes to thrill the customer.
F is for Feelings. As the Scottish Life advert says: “Make each customer feel like you’ve held the door open whilst laying your jacket across a puddle and then rescued their kitten from a tree.”
G is for Going Out Of Your Way, just like the engineer who took a 50-mile detour on his way home from work just to deliver a phone to a customer who had been waiting all day for it.
H is for Hi-Tech, Hi-Touch, because when things get complicated, that’s when people want the personal touch.
I is for Ichiban, the Japanese word for “wanting to be the best”.
J is for the customer Journey, which you must know every inch of.
K is for Kaizen, another Japanese word which means “continuous improvement”.
L is for Loyalty, which you buy by engaging their minds and piercing their hearts.
M is for Moments of Truth, those hundreds of opportunities every day to turn their heads.
N is for Now For Something Extra, that ends every customer interaction on a high.
O is for Observing your customers’ needs before they know them themselves.
P is for the Pride that staff feel when they know they’re in a valued profession.
Q is for Quality: of product, of service, of manners, of courteousness.
R is for the golden Rule: the customer is always right, even when they’re wrong.
S is for Sincere Smiles, that aren’t false but melt the coldest hearts.
T is for Tact, the one thing your customers will notice but you must pretend not to.
U is for Under promise and Over deliver, the simplest way to make someone’s day.
V is for adding Value because there’s nothing so precious as your time, your care and your attention.
W is for the Wow Factor, when you stop them in their tracks.
X is for eXtraordinary service that is out of this world.
Y is for Your Mum Was Right, because it’s all about respect.
Z is for a good night’s Zzzzz’s after a great day’s work.

Practice these attitudes and skills, and you’ll love your job and your customers will love you.

Speak with a Live Person when you call Smart Furniture! 888-467-6278. smartfurniture.com

How to Have Fun During the Work Day

1. Leave the copy machine set to 99 copies, reduce 200%, extra dark, 17 inch paper.
2. Specify that your drive-thru order is "to go".
3. Reply to everything someone says with "That's what YOU think."
4. Practice making fax and modem noises.
5. Highlight irrelevant information in scientific papers and copy them to your boss.
6. Finish all your sentences with the words "in accordance with prophecy."
7. Disassemble your pen and "accidentally" flip the ink cartridge across the room.
8. Staple papers in the middle of the page.
9. Try playing the William Tell Overture by tapping the bottom of your chin. When nearly done, announce, "No, wait, I messed it up," and repeat.
10. While making presentations, occasionally bob your head like a parakeet.
11. Ask your co-workers mysterious questions and then scribble their answers in a notebook and mutter something about "psychological profiles."

Happy Customers from Beginning to End

"May I say that from placing my original order to arranging for the return, it has been a pleasure working with Smart Furniture. I will definitely recommend your company to my friends."

-J.H., NY, NY

Customer Service Kudos...

"Smart Furniture, by far, is the best furniture shopping experience i've ever had, either in person at a store or by telephone or by internet. The end tables are beautiful. They arrived in perfect condition and were not difficult to assemble."

"Karen Jennings, without question made our experience extraordinary. She was such a pleasure to deal with in every aspect of our order." -A.F., Ledgewood NJ

"everything is good"

No Automated Customer Service Here!

"It was good to be able to talk to a real person on the phone before ordering. Will order again"

-another happy customer, USA

A Perfect Shopping Experience

"I have shopped with Smart Furniture before and knew that it would be pretty much a perfect shopping experience. Completely true again."

-KG, Brooklyn NY

More Feedback From Delighted Customers

"Very user friendly website. I had questions and was able to go to chat with a rep, who was extremely helpful. Also my purchase arrived quickly and was exactly as I thought it would be! Best experience I have had in a very long time. Thank you so much, it was a pleasure doing business with you."

"Your staff are very helpful and patient. The shelving units are just great! Thank you so much ... These are great, flexible units-- I loved playing with the custom design feature."

"Quite possibly the best company I've dealt with in terms of service, design and ease of use."

The FISH Philosphy of Customer Service

Be There is being emotionally present for people. It’s a powerful message of respect that improves communication and strengthens relationships.

Play taps into your natural way of being creative, enthusiastic and having fun. Play is the spirit that drives the curious mind, as in “Let’s play with that idea!” It’s a mindset you can bring to everything you do.

Make Their Day is finding simple ways to serve or delight people in a meaningful, memorable way. It’s about contributing to someone else’s life, not because you want something out of it, but because that’s the person you want to be.

Choose Your Attitude means taking responsibility for how you respond to what life throws at you. Once you are aware that your choice impacts everyone around you, you can ask yourself, “Is my attitude helping my team or my customers? Is it helping me to be the person I want to be?”

Smart Furniture Cares for the Community

Two of our beloved customers, J. & M. Gordon, suffered a house fire recently. With all their troubles and concerns they still managed to find time to write to us...

"Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness through the difficult time of our house fire. My husband, myself, and three dogs just moved into a travel tailer on our property, so the $50 Target gift card was a huge help. We were able to buy many simple needed necessities. We cannot thank you enough for your gratitude."

J & M: We wish only the best for your family and hope this ordeal brings you closer together. If there is anything we can do for you, please let us know. We are always happy to help.

-The Smart Furniture Team

Natalie Does It Again!

"Just wanted to tell you that Natalie provides the world class service you mention on your website. I was unable to place an order on the website, and Natalie called me to facilitate the order. Great Job!!"
-A. S., Cary IL

There are no problem customers - only customers with problems

"Thanks for your follow-up and addressing the problem expediently. I appreciate that. I’ll give smartfurniture.com a very good review. My experience with your company has thus far been a pleasant one."

-KH, Malaysia

More Happy Customers!

"I am really impressed with your company and I absolutely love the bookshelf. I will definitely tell my friends about Smart Furniture."
-Assistant Professor, NC

"Once again, your friendly help and excellent service is much appreciated. I have already told several people I know about Smart Furniture..."
-L.G., Portland, OR

Great Work Natalie

From Customer Michael S

I just wanted to send you a note of thanks for the excellent planning, patience, and outcome of the bookcase system I recently purchased from SmartFurniture. You were really wonderful to work with and made my buying experience such a pleasant one. I make almost all my purchases on the Net and I've had plenty of less fortunate experiences.

The high quality of the product--but mostly your extremely considerate customer service guarantees for me that I'll be getting back to you when I'm ready to complete my 

home-office.

By the way, the unit looks fantastic and it's such an elegant contemporary solution to the use of space. I really love the way it uses the entire staircase wall. I didn't have my camera with me but when I'm there next, I'll take a pic and email it to you.

Again, thanks for your help, friendliness, and expertise.

Paul Springer: Customer Service Hero

Great work Paul!

"I just purchased a Herman Miller Cognita bench from you guys, and I wanted to commend Paul's fantastic customer service. I chatted and emailed back and forth with him all afternoon -- it was a pleasant and very useful surprise that he was actually in your showroom. His advice was practical and informed and he was extremely helpful. I would not have made the purchase without his service -- it was a deal-maker for me. Furthermore, Paul has made a loyal customer of me, and I will make my next furniture purchase from you guys, and I will seek out Paul specifically for help."

--Jacob in NY

Flaunting It: Chat Now with Real People in Chattanooga, TN

From Jacob in NY:
"Since the 'chat with a salesperson' button goes to actual guys in your sales-room, flaunt it!

I was so surprised! I expected to get someone in India who was going to be nothing more than a human interface to your inventory system.

Worry Free 365 Day Returns

Like you, we shop online, sometimes we like what we buy--sometimes we don't. When we don't like what we buy, we want to return it.  And--we do not want to go through some major ordeal to get our money back.

Many of us have been fans of Zappos.com for some time.  Not only do they have every shoe you could imagine, they also are great to work with.  They make it really easy for you to return stuff if you don't want.  

As we started thinking about how to provide the best service we  can--we realized that buying  furniture is a big deal, and our customers could be a little reluctant to buy online because they are concerned that it may be difficult to return stuff if they don't like it. It is real important to us that our customers feel safe  when buying online and do not worry about return shipping, restocking fees and HASSLE.

We have decided that our customers should not have to worry about these things when buying from SmartFurniture.com. So, what Zappos.com has done for shoes, we can do for furniture.  The result is our Worry Free 365 Day Return Policy:   

You can always feel confident in your purchase from Smart Furniture. If, for any reason, you aren't completely satisfied with any products in your order, you may simply return it within 365 days from the original date of purchase.

Smart Furniture will refund the entire amount of any products returned (including any original shipping costs) and will also cover the shipping costs incurred to ship the product back, ensuring that your experience is as hassle-free as possible.

With our 365 day return policy, there are no special catches or exceptions. All we ask is that you send the items back to us in the original packaging, and make sure that the merchandise is in the same condition as you received it.

• You can return your purchase for up to 365 days from the purchase date.
  
• Products must be in the condition you received them and in the boxes or packaging.
  
• Return shipping is absolutely FREE.
  
• We will arrange pick-up via Fed Ex or the appropriate freight carrier for larger items
  
• Call or email us at customerservice@smartfurniture.com if you have any questions about our return policies.
  
• Once your return is received and inspected by our warehouse staff (usually within 72 hours of receipt), we will process your refund and automatically apply a credit to your credit card or original method of payment within 7 days. Please note that depending on your credit card company, it may take an additional 2-10 business days after your credit is applied for it to post to your account.
  

*Please note that this policy excludes products shipped outside the continental United States.

Let us know what you think--email us at customerservice@smartfurniture.com. 

Star Trek Meets Kiss

What are the Core Behaviors that Customer Service Personnel Exemplify?

1. Eager to solve customer's concerns with a positive attitude.
2. They take a long term view of customer relations.
3. They try to do at least one extra thing that customers don't expect but nonetheless appreciate.
4. They value their customer's time, knowing it has cash value as well as recreational value.They always apply the essentials of service. Customers should feel they are being treated with respect and their business is appreciated. So when a customer enters a business, in person or via the telephone, they should be greeted in an upbeat manner that tells them they are truly welcome. As they leave, they should be thanked for their business.
5. Customers should emerge from service encounters with the perception they have been treated exceptionally well.

World-Class Customer Service

Originally published at http://www.smartfurniture.com/whitepapers/customerservice.html

Our Mission is to treat every customer in every situation the way we would want to be treated if our roles were reversed. We recognize that this is the highest possible standard of service, and it can only be achieved if every single one of us governs ourselves according to this principle while always striving to do the right thing. (read testimonials) 

Need to get in touch with us? Call 888-467-6278 to speak with a representative or make a request to be contacted. 

The Golden Rule of Customer Service

Simply stated, the Golden Rule of Customer Service requires that everyone at Smart Furniture treat every customer the way they want to be treated when they are customers.

• We should strive to show the kind of courtesy, competence, integrity, responsiveness and respect that each of us would like to be shown.
• This policy should affect virtually every aspect of our business. It began with the founder putting a business phone by his bed every night to answer anytime a customer called, because he would want (though maybe not expect) the same.
• Another example of the Golden Rule is our Lifetime Warranty on the quality of Smart Furniture manufactured products. Rather than qualifying this warranty with pages and pages of fine print, we simply state that if any Smart Furniture manufactured product gets damaged, we will replace it for free (that's really it).
• There are countless other examples of how this policy impacts our relationship with our customers. From having a human being actually answering the phone when a customer calls to developing packaging that makes it simple for anyone to carry and unpack, the Golden Rule of Customer Service should be a source of pride for our team and hopefully will encourage our customers to think of us a little different than our competition.

Everyone at Smart Furniture, regardless of job title, is responsible for providing customer service, and customer service is inherent in all that we do. 

• From the first prototypes of the Signature Smart Furniture product which were designed to be tool-free and customizable to fit the customers' needs, our company is built around providing customers with solutions that satisfy their needs and make their lives easier.
• Whether it is reconfiguring products that our customers have designed themselves so that the customers will save money or spending hours on the phone with multiple freight companies to ensure that we fulfill our commitment to deliver our products in time for an important tradeshow or store opening, we will go beyond ordinary customer service to provide service that is truly extraordinary.
• Such a customer service ethic applies internally too. Each of us is here to help our other team members do their jobs. We should provide the same level of service to team members as we do customers.

We will always strive to do the right thing in every situation. 

• Our young company can't claim to have any particular expertise in ''doing the right thing.'' Sometimes we don't even know what the ''right'' thing is. And sometimes, even when we do, it requires such sacrifice that an easier or more instantly ''rewarding'' choice is tempting.
• ''Doing the right thing'' is certainly not about ''rewards.'' With that said, trying our best to do the right thing has yielded a potent long-term benefit to our culture. It comes down to one word: Trust. Obviously, earning the trust of customers and vendors is important. But first, we realize that the members of our team must trust each other, up and down and across the organization, from the office, to the showroom to the warehouse.
• That may sound like a small thing, but its effects have been powerful here at Smart Furniture. Trust has opened the door to a kind of diversity, freedom, and candor that none of us has experienced before in other workplaces. People volunteer when they don't understand something or make a mistake, or have an idea that may sound silly, because they trust each other, and they trust that we're all trying to improve, all the time, all together.
• It gives a greater meaning to our professional and personal pursuits. Professionally, of course, we want to help our customers and our fellow team members. Those customers and that team must trust that the folks at Smart Furniture will do their able best to do the right thing. That trust has a tendency to remove barriers - barriers to discussion, to self-improvement, and even, frankly, to sales.
• On a more personal and ultimately more important level, we can't control every aspect of our company's success; we cancontrol how we conduct ourselves individually, and as a team, toward others, because it matters.
• Even if Smart Furniture is around for 100 years, even though our business mission is very important to us, most of us will not spend our whole lives working here. But however long we are here, and whatever we accomplish, when we're done, the more meaningful measure of our legacy - of our effect on the people we worked with and served - will not be what we did, but how we did it.