Customer Service
Introductions
• Your name
• Position
• Community
• What you hope to accomplish and take away from this class
• Name one word that comes to mind when you hear the words
“customer service”
What we are going to learn…
• Definition of Customer Service
• How to provide exceptional Customer Service to our
future and current residents
• Customer Service Standards
• RedPeak Empowerment Philosophy
• How to prevent negative Customer Service experiences
• How to resolve Customer Concerns
• CEL Resident Survey Results
What does Customer Service mean to you?
Examples:
• A friendly and helpful sales person
• Receiving an immediate answer
• Knowledgeable and attentive sales people
• Making you feel valued
• Consistent experiences
Discussion: What kind of Customer are you?
1.
What kind of service do you expect?
2.
Do you complain if service is slow?
3.
Do you ask for the Manager if you are not satisfied?
4.
Do you compliment when service is good?
5.
How do you feel about a store/company if service is
bad/good?
Customer Service
Definition of Customer Service:
Customer Service is the ability of an organization or
company to consistently give the customer what they
want and need.
Exceptional Customer Service
The ability of an organization
or company to
consistently exceed the
customer’s expectations.
Leaders outside of our industry…
• Disney
• Four Seasons
• Southwest Airlines
• Nordstrom
• Starbucks
Lessons learned…
• Give the customer what they want
• Attention to detail
• Every employee IS the customer service department
• Create a fun environment and be friendly
• Team huddles are a great way to come up with new ways to
provide great service to our customers
Our Customers
The two types of Customers that we will focus on
are:
1. Prospective Residents
2. Current Residents
The Customer’s first impression… “Top Ten”
What do we do to make a good first impression with
prospective residents?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Associates are knowledgeable and friendly
Use the RedPeak phone script
Meet and Greet all customers
Provide a comfortable and organized atmosphere
Listen to and acknowledge our customers
Ask open ended questions to better meet their needs
Demonstrate clean apartment homes (models)
Curb Appeal
Extend an invitation to tour
Follow up!
“Customer service is not a department,
it’s an attitude.”
Where will they go?
Will our customers decide to lease if they are
not satisfied with the level of service they
receive when touring an apartment home?
How much confidence will they have in us if they
decide to become residents?
Let’s talk Residents!
Providing great customer service to our residents will increase
resident satisfaction and retention.
Did you know…
• It costs between 5 and 6 times more to attract a new customer
• A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect on profits as
cutting expenses 10%
• Happy customers tell 4 to 5 others about their positive experience while
dissatisfied customers tell 9 to 10 how bad it was
• Now customers can post their concerns online for millions to see!
Let’s Talk Residents (Cont.)
Consider this…t
Facts: “Sally”, the unhappy resident in #101, chooses NOT to renew her lease,
and moves out of the apartment.
• Rent is $800.00 per month (assume 1 month vacancy loss)
• Advertising costs: $350.00
• Cost to turn apartment: $500.00
TOTAL: $1650.00
***Since residents continue apartment residency at an average of 18 months in
duration, Sally’s renewal would have had a value of nearly $14,400.00. Sally
was a $9,600.00 per year customer.
Residents Expect…
• Friendly and concerned staff
• Prompt and reliable service
• Quality
• Immediate response/ follow-up
• Personal attention
• Quick resolution of problems or issues
Here’s how we may fall short…
Here are some things that we may do that make our
residents upset or unsatisfied:
•
Answering a question starting with a “No”
•
Blaming others
•
Referring to “policy”
•
Arguing or getting upset with a resident
•
Being defensive
Here’s how we may fall short…(continued)
•
Showing no interest
•
Dismissing their concern
•
Discussing the community budget
•
Lack of communication
•
Lack of follow up
Ask yourself…
• How is my attitude?
• What is my body language saying?
• How did I prepare for my day?
• Are we working as a TEAM?
RedPeak’s Customer Service Philosophy
RedPeak’s Core Purpose: “We create distinctive living environments through our
teamwork, attention to detail and consistency making the uncommon … common.”
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Be sincere; greet everyone with a warm, genuine smile
Take pride in your grammar, demeanor and appearance
Take the time to make good judgments in your daily work
Take advantage of learning and growing opportunities
Communicate, communicate, communicate!
Look for unexpected ways to assist residents and resolve concerns immediately –
you’re empowered to “own the issue”
Build a sense of “home” for residents by creating an exceptionally clean and wellmanicured community
Build strong and professional relationships with all our stakeholders
Be consistent in all that you do
Inspect what you expect – and expect the best
ACTIVITY: How do you provide great service to your residents?
1. Divide into pairs.
2. Discuss ways you provide great service to your
customers (exceed expectations).
3. Write down the 5 things on the flipchart paper
provided that you do everyday to ensure our
customers are satisfied.
10 minutes
Exceeding Expectations
• Make the call
Package calls, rent check calls
• Resident activities
Casino night, pool party, pizza/movie night
• Weekend Maintenance
Provide maintenance services on the weekend
• Maintenance requests
Go the EXTRA mile…..
Opportunities to provide exceptional service
• The Move-in Experience
• Maintenance Requests
• Be Proactive
• Don’t use Industry Jargon
• Do the Right Thing
The RedPeak Move-In Experience
•Complete lease paperwork once the applicant is approved
•Leasing Associate will ensure that lease paperwork is completed prior to the move-in date
•Set an appointment to have the new resident pick up their keys on their move- in date
•Leasing Associate will walk and inspect the apartment home 48 hours prior to the move-in
date
•Complete any necessary service requests
•Maintenance Supervisor/Leasing Associate will walk and inspect apartment home 24 hours prior to move-in
•Leasing associate will leave a Apartment Checklist Card in the new apartment home
•Verify that the keys are ready and work properly
•Leasing Associate will leave a move in gift in the apartment
•Leasing Associate will offer to personally walk the new resident to their new home and will ensure that they are completely
satisfied with their new home
•Address any concerns/service requests immediately
•Community Manager places a call with in the first week to welcome the new resident home (1 st step of renewal contact)
Maintenance Requests
• When taking a maintenance request, ask specific questions
• Over communicate with maintenance team
• Complete service requests within
24 hours
• Document and leave a copy of the work order in apartment
• Follow up with them to make sure request was completed
to their satisfaction
More on Maintenance Requests
Response Times
– Standard/Weekday
– Standard/Weekend
– Emergency(Weekday or Weekend)
What is considered an “Emergency?”
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•
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No hot water
Only toilet out of order
No heat
No A/C in extreme heat
Flood
Fire
*Extremely upset resident
The Proactive Approach….
Seek out issues before they
become problems!
• Ask: “How is everything in your apartment
home?”
• Ask: “Is there anything else we can do for you
to make your experience more enjoyable?”
Avoid Industry Jargon
• Example of industry jargon
• Avoid using the word “policy”
• Don’t tell resident’s what we
CAN’T do; tell them what we
CAN do!
Do the Right Thing!
The Golden Rule
of Customer Service:
Treat customers and residents the
way you would like to be treated.
Putting Customer Service to the Test…
Providing great service can be tough!
What can make providing great customer service
difficult?
Let’s talk about “problem” residents
Can you think of some “problem residents”
at your property?
Why do residents get upset?
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Service was slow
Service was unsatisfactory
Lack of communication
The customer is under a lot of stress
Lack of follow up
#1 reason:
Unmet expectations
Left Brain vs. Right Brain
LEFT
RIGHT
Logic
Reason
Short Term Memory
Emotion
Foul Language
Long Term Memory
Angry customers respond with 80% emotion and 20% logic
How can we get our customers from right to left?
RedPeak Empowerment Philosophy
Our goal at RedPeak is to create a work
environment in which our team members can
be empowered , productive, and contributing.
You are trusted to make decisions and seek out
resolutions for your community, and for our
organization.
For Our Residents
For our residents, our Customer Service Philosophy means they’ll live in a
community with a responsive, stable and attentive management team who is
focused on finding ways to say “yes” and who are empowered to seek the
best solution. In short, we provide a notably better customer experience for
their housing dollar.
Questions/ Challenges
Conflict Management Model
L.A.S.T
L = Listen and Empathize
A = Apologize and Confirm
S = Solve the problem
T = Thank them (Tangible Apology)
Don’t forget…Follow up!
Listen and Empathize
Hearing vs. Listening to Learn
Look at the situation through the customer’s eyes
“Tell me more about what needs to be corrected
in your apartment home.”
“I can understand how that situation would
have made you unhappy.”
“Together we can make a fair decision about how to make this situation
right.”
Apologize
• It doesn’t matter who’s at fault
• The customer wants us to acknowledge the problem
• An apology is NOT an admission of guilt
“We apologize for the inconvenience that this has
caused you.”
“I apologize that we have disappointed you. I will work with
you to make this situation right.”
“I am sorry this situation has upset you, let me personally take
care of this for you.”
Confirm
• Clarify that you understand what the real
problem or concern is
• Confirm that you understand the
situation and customer’s perspective
“Based on what you have told me, your greatest
concern is the condition of the carpet. Is that
correct?”
Solve the problem
• Propose solutions that are customized to
match the customer’s concerns.
• The problem is fixed when the customer perceives it
to be fixed.
“I will contact our Service Department and arrange
for a member of our service team to fix the
problems in your apartment today.”
Thank them!
Thank the customer for bringing the situation to your attention.
“Thank you and we appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention.”
Sometimes a tangible apology is necessary
• A gesture of our commitment
• A gesture that says “We want to make this right.”
“We appreciate your residency, how can we make
this up to you?”
“We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and we would like to send you and your
family to dinner on us.”
Follow Up!
• Follow up within 24 hours to ensure that everything
was taken care of
• Community Managers should also call or visit the
Resident
• You will lose your credibility if you do not follow
through
Tips
Preparing for the conversation will make it easier to
understand the problem and resolve it.
•
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Immediately acknowledge the Resident
Move to a private area (back office)
Focus-maintain eye contact
Use conflict management model (L.A.S.T.)
Have a pen and paper ready
FOLLOW UP
Review
L.A.S.T
L = Listen and Empathize
A = Apologize and Confirm
S = Solve the problem
T = Thank them (Tangible Apology)
Don’t forget…Follow up!
Role Play Exercise
• Divide into pairs
• Each participant will receive a role play exercise (with a
challenging situation)
• Each participant will have the opportunity to play the
role of the Associate and the role of the “angry”
Customer (switch roles)
• Practice using the L.A.S.T model for resolving customer
concerns
• Provide constructive feedback
Debrief Role Play Exercise
• How many of you used the LAST model?
• Did you Listen, Apologize, Solve and Thank the
customer?
• Was the experience handled to the customer’s
satisfaction?
Customer Service Tips
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Positive First Impressions
Exceed customer expectations
Ask questions to seek out potential problems
Show your customers you appreciate them
Don’t use industry jargon or refer to “community policy”
Do the right thing: treat customers like you would want to be
treated
 Conflict management model (Difficult/angry customers)
“Customer Service is a process, not
a specific set of actions.”
2011-2012 Best Practice
Overall Resident Satisfaction
Shout Out to our Maintenance Teams!
The highest scoring section of the Resident Survey
was Quality of Maintenance with an outstanding
score of 91.2%.
2nd year in a row, way to go Maintenance Teams!
Review
• Definition of Customer Service
• How to provide exceptional Customer Service to our
future and current residents
• Customer Service Standards
• RedPeak Empowerment Philosophy
• How to prevent negative Customer Service experiences
• How to resolve Customer Concerns
• CEL Resident Survey Results
Final Thought
RedPeak Properties is committed to providing a
notably higher level of service that you just can’t find
in the apartment business. It’s why our tagline is
“Making the uncommon…common.”