usiness revenue comes from customers, clients, and consumers, so without serving those customers, revenue can dry up. Great customer service, in addition to driving a company’s bottom line, has a number of other benefits, such as when satisfied clients share their experiences with others, boosting the potential for repeat business.

Alaska’s Top 49ers clearly know how to make sure clients, customers, and consumers want to come back again and again. Though operating in different areas, experts have much the same advice on how to make for a great customer service experience.

The heart of good customer service is giving value for the product or service. “That’s super important to everyone in the organization,” says Susan Hoshaw, assistant general manager at Everts Air Cargo. “It’s a team effort and we all contribute. You can never underestimate how far a smile and eagerness to assist goes.”

Delivering on what’s promised is also incredibly important, says Harold Mitchell, chief operating officer for Cape Fox Federal Contracting Group. He recounts his very first contract with Eagle Health (at the time, a newly formed business arm of Cape Fox, the village corporation for Saxman, near Ketchikan). “Someone took a chance on utilizing our services, and we delivered on everything I had promised,” Mitchell says. “We’re a service-based business, and we put our name on the line. Every contract has a statement of work that outlines what we’re supposed to do and how, and we do that.”

“One of the biggest things to remember is your customer has a needs base, and as a contractor we are the lowest responsive, responsible bidder, so you still have to engage your customer,” says Dave Cruz, president of Cruz Construction. “You still have to treat them like your most important customer even though you won the bid.”

If an issue does occur, it’s not always a financial solution that a customer is looking for. Professionalism and acknowledgement are also key to getting through any situation, as is addressing any issues promptly.

“Some time ago, a cherished client gently pointed out that they were hoping for a swifter response time in our staffing process. Back then, eager to highlight our thoroughness, we focused on explaining our comprehensive vetting procedure, perhaps missing an opportunity to truly hear their underlying needs,” says Mitchell. “Today, having matured in our approach, I would first deeply listen to and acknowledge their perspective. I would seek to understand their specific requirements and timelines better and collaboratively explore how we might align our efforts more closely with their expectations. This experience underscored the importance of seeing every piece of feedback not as a critique but as a bridge to deeper understanding and partnership.”

“We’ve been doing this for a long time, and there are probably dozens of things I would have handled better over the years! However, I’d say the root of most of them involve damaged freight,” says Hoshaw. “It’s an awful feeling every time, regardless of what might’ve happened or who was at fault. Since the safety of our crew, the aircraft, and the freight are always at the forefront of everything we do, we make sure we review those incidents thoroughly. Once we determine what went wrong, we do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen again. (I’m also very grateful we don’t have to make those calls very often!)”

“One of the things is, if it’s a construction project, the owner has probably spent a lot of money with an engineering firm to come up with a design and budgets, and as a contractor don’t try to reengineer the job,” says Cruz. “There’s a reason things were laid out as they were, and there are permitting issues, so you can’t come in and change things because it creates a lot of confusion rather than building to specs. If there’s a problem with that, then you take it to the owner.”

“If you have an ongoing project, the owner has a reputation there, and there should be constant communication between both parties,” says Cruz. “One of the most important things in today’s world is to get it in writing. A lot of the time we tend to over-email because both you and the owner have to document what’s happening.” He notes that, during a job, constant and immediate feedback would also lead to immediate implementation of any changes.

Mitchell agrees. One of the best practices for great customer feedback is constant communication, he says. “They shouldn’t have to come to me when there’s an issue. I should have regular meetings with them, so they should know, well, I’m going to meet with Harold on Monday, and I’ll tell him then.” It’s also about availability, he notes. “Being available 24/7 is a cliché because no one is really calling you at 10 p.m., but when they do call, I get back to them right away.”

“We’ve tried a few different methods over the years, but my favorite is picking up the phone and simply asking the question, ‘How’d it go?’” says Hoshaw. “We learn so much by having conversations with our customers, and it really does influence the decisions we make on a daily basis.”

“Basically, if you’re not getting invited back to the game, that’s probably the biggest deal right there,” says Cruz. “It means either your performance wasn’t good or something didn’t work for the client, so we’re not going to have you. It means you need to improve.”

Mitchell concurs that retention rates are a key indicator of the need for improvement. “Any noticeable drop or lack of growth prompts us to take a closer look at our processes and interactions. Then there is the feedback we receive,” he says. “If we constantly hear similar comments about a specific area, it is evident that there is room for enhancement… And we cannot overlook the invaluable perspectives of our employees. Being directly engaged with clients, they often possess the most unfiltered understanding of client sentiments. By weaving together these diverse insights, we ensure that our approach remains dynamic, always striving for excellence in the staffing arena.”

“Outside of the feedback we receive from our customers, we have a variety of internal auditing processes,” says Hoshaw. “If we start seeing that mistakes or discrepancies are popping up more frequently, or other areas that could be improved, we determine if we need to review our training or revamp the process altogether. It can take a lot of work, but it’s important. At the end of the day, we know our customers have other options but choose to work with us, and we take great pride in that.”