Customer Service
LMcD
Discussion
• What are some irritating situations that
people can experience when dealing with
customer services?
• Which businesses have a bad reputation for
customer service? Why?
• Which businesses have a good reputation for
customer service? Why?
• Are you more likely to tell people about a
good experience or bad experience with a
company?
• Have you ever had a very demanding customer or
client? How did you deal with them?
Customer Service Vocabulary
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service with a smile (saying, noun) – when
customers are greeted with a smile to make them
feel welcome.
the customer is always right (saying) – the concept
that customer satisfaction takes priority over all
other considerations.
happy to help (saying, adjective) – making yourself
available and showing enthusiasm for helping or
serving customers.
customer satisfaction (noun) – how satisfied a
customer is with their product or service.
face-to-face (adjective) – to communicate with
another person in their presence.
to exceed (someone’s) expectations (verb) – to be
bigger or better than what was expected.
•
Using the vocabulary words above, complete the
following sentences (remember to use the correct
form of the word, e.g. verb conjugation or plural
noun)
• 1. At the restaurant the waitress was extremely
moody when she took our order and brought our
food, hardly what I would call
_______________________.
• 2. Companies that don’t care about
__________________ usually find themselves out of
business pretty quickly.
• 3. It doesn’t matter if the customer ordered the
wrong item from the menu; _________________, so
go and get him what he wants!
• 4. The sales assistant really ___________________
by calling round other shops until he found one
that had what I was looking for in stock.
• 5. Whatever you want, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m
always ___________________.
• 6. Rather than phoning them or writing them an
Discussion
1. Where have you experienced service with a smile? How
did it make you feel?
2. Is the customer always right?
3. Are you always happy to help your customers?
4. What gives you customer satisfaction?
5. How is face-to-face customer service different than
on the phone?
6. When have you exceeded the expectations of one of
your customers or clients?
The Revolution in Customer Service
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBj_mA0asik
• You are going to watch a TEDx Talk by David
Bequette called “The customer revolution in
customer service.”
• Watch the video and after, discuss the following
questions:
• 1. What opinion do people in your country have
of people who work in the service industry?
• 2. Is it common for customers to mistreat
service industry workers where you live?
• 3. Do you think the ‘waiter rule’ is a good way
to determine if someone is a good person?
• 4. What differences are there in customer
service between different countries?
• 5. How is the level of customer service in your
country? Think of sectors like hospitality,
banking, services, etc.
• 6. Have you ever received better service by
Discussion Questions
• What personal qualities and skills does somebody who
works in customer service need? Which of these
qualities and skills do you have?
• Would you like to work in customer service? Why or
why not? Do you think it would be a difficult job?
• How can a company provide excellent customer service?
• What are the benefits to a business that provides
excellent customer service? What is the relationship
between customer service and sales?
• Are there any occasions when a company could ignore
providing a good service to its customers and still
experience success? Can you think of any examples?
• Do customers expect too much from businesses these
days? Why or why not?
• How can companies take advantage of technology to
provide a better service?
• Do you think the standard of customer service has
Assignment
An important part of the customer
experience that is often neglected by
companies is the post-purchase
experience.
Write a letter to one of your
customers or clients to follow up on
one of their recent purchases to
ensure they are fully satisfied.